How much do travel nurses make? Pay by specialty, state, contract and season
Across 65,000+ nursing job postings we analyzed (July 29, 2025 to January 25, 2026), the median advertised travel contract paid $56 to $61 an hour, depending on specialty. On a typical 36-hour week (three 12-hour shifts) that is roughly $2,000 to $2,200 a week. The median travel ICU nurse posting was $61.19/hr, or about $2,200 a week; annualised at the standard 2,080 hours, the ICU median across all postings works out to $127,171.
Those are medians. The real answer to “how much do travel nurses make” depends on five things: specialty, state, contract length, shift and time of year. Below is each one, with the numbers, followed by why the advertised figure differs from take-home pay and where the money actually comes from.
All figures are advertised hourly rates on job postings, not verified paid wages. Travel postings often quote a blended hourly number that includes tax-free stipends. See the methodology section at the end.
Travel nurse pay by specialty
ICU and ER contracts sit at the top of the five high-volume specialties we track; med-surg and dialysis sit about $5/hr lower at the median. Weekly figures assume 36 hours. Annualised figures use 2,080 hours, the usual full-time convention.
| Specialty | Postings | Median $/hr | P25–P75 | P90 | Weekly (36 h) | Annualised |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICU nurse | 22,249 | $61.14 | $54.00–$68.00 | $79.61 | $2,201 | $127,171 |
| ER nurse | 17,862 | $59.44 | $52.61–$66.00 | $74.22 | $2,140 | $123,635 |
| Telemetry nurse | 11,961 | $58.00 | $52.19–$63.03 | $67.92 | $2,088 | $120,640 |
| Med-surg nurse | 12,472 | $56.11 | $48.78–$62.86 | $68.61 | $2,020 | $116,709 |
| Dialysis nurse | 836 | $56.09 | $53.65–$62.93 | $75.35 | $2,019 | $116,667 |
About 87% of these postings are travel contracts, so the all-postings median and the travel median are nearly identical (ICU travel median $61.19, ER $59.47, med-surg $56.61). The gap to staff jobs is large: staff ICU postings in the same window had a median of $35.32/hr (n=371), ER $34.84 (n=451) and med-surg $34.25 (n=487). Per diem and PRN postings fell in between, for example ICU at $54.00 (n=133). If you're weighing local shift work instead, see what per diem means in healthcare.
One caution on annualising. Few travelers work 52 straight weeks, and 2,080 hours assumes 40 hours a week. At 36 hours for all 52 weeks the ICU median comes to about $114,000. Gaps between contracts lower it further.
Highest and lowest paying states for travel nurses
Location moves pay far more than specialty does. Among states with at least 100 postings for the role:
| Specialty | Highest-paying states (median $/hr) | Lowest |
|---|---|---|
| ICU | Alaska $75.53, California $73.81, New York $70.77 | Texas $45.67; Florida, Mississippi, Alabama around $46–$47 |
| ER | Rhode Island $70.17, Massachusetts $69.94, Alaska $69.22, California $68.24 | Texas $45.00 |
| Med-surg | Massachusetts $65.58, North Dakota $64.89, New Hampshire $63.69 | Texas $42.42 |
The spread is wide. A median ICU contract in Alaska advertised about $30/hr more than one in Texas, roughly $1,075 a week on 36 hours. High-paying states tend to combine high living costs, strict staffing requirements or remote locations that are hard to fill. Keep in mind that state samples vary in size, and a handful of high-rate facilities can lift a smaller state's median.
Contract length: short contracts pay more, extensions pay less
Most postings are 9 to 13 weeks. Shorter, often crisis-driven contracts pay a premium; long assignments of 26 weeks or more pay noticeably less.
| Contract length | ICU median | ER median | Med-surg median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–4 weeks | $70.90 | $61.21 | — |
| 5–8 weeks | $63.92 | — | — |
| 9–13 weeks | $61.14 | $59.40 | $56.42 |
| 14–26 weeks | $61.73 | — | — |
| 26+ weeks | $57.53 | $46.89 | $40.08 |
A 1–4 week ICU contract advertised about 16% more than a standard 9–13 week one. At the other end, 26+ week med-surg postings ran 29% below the 9–13 week median, and ER 21% below. Facilities pay for speed and flexibility; when they can lock in coverage for six months or more, they price closer to staff rates. Some long-duration postings are also closer to local or staff-like arrangements, which pulls their median down.
For travelers, this is why an extension offer at the same facility is worth checking against the current market rather than accepted by default.
Shift and season: when travel nurse pay peaks
Shift. Rotating shifts pay the most. ICU postings with rotating schedules had a median of $68.00/hr, against $61.03 for nights and $60.71 for days. The day/night gap in advertised travel rates is smaller than many nurses expect, likely in part because travel packages often fold differentials into one quoted number.
Season. Winter is when rates spike. Compare January 2026 medians with the full 180-day medians:
| Specialty | 180-day median | January 2026 median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICU | $61.14 | $75.85 | +24% |
| Med-surg | $56.11 | $66.22 | +18% |
| Telemetry | $58.00 | $65.00 | +12% |
| ER | $59.44 | $65.00 | +9% |
Respiratory illness season, holiday coverage gaps and staff time off commonly push facilities to pay up in winter. If you want the highest paying travel nursing jobs, the pattern in this data is consistent: ICU, in a high-paying state, on a short contract, on rotating shifts, starting in winter.
Why the advertised rate is not your take-home pay
A travel posting that says “$2,200/week” is usually a blended figure. Inside it is a taxable hourly base, often well below the headline, plus housing and meals and incidentals (M&IE) stipends that can be paid tax-free if you maintain a qualifying tax home. Stipend amounts are typically tied to GSA per diem rates for the assignment location.
Two packages with the same weekly total can differ a lot in take-home pay, overtime rate, retirement contributions and what happens if a shift is cancelled. That is why it pays to ask for the taxable base rate, not just the weekly number. We cover the package structure, with a worked weekly example, in the travel nurse pay breakdown.
Where travel nurse pay comes from: the bill rate
Every travel package is funded by the bill rate, the hourly price the hospital pays the staffing agency. Out of that come MSP or VMS program fees, payroll taxes and other burden, stipends, travel and insurance costs, and the agency's margin. What is left over is the pay package.
That explains most of the variation above. Crisis contracts, winter demand and hard-to-fill states carry higher bill rates, so there is more to pass through to the nurse. Long contracts and saturated markets carry lower ones. For the full rate stack, see bill rate vs pay rate, or model a contract yourself with the bill rate calculator.
For agencies and hospitals: price from live rates
Medians from a six-month window are useful for orientation but too slow for pricing. The January spike above shows how far a market can move in a few weeks. An agency quoting a package off last quarter's numbers loses candidates to a competitor; a hospital with a stale rate card sees it as unfilled shifts.
ClinicalRate's Rate Explorer shows pay and bill rate percentiles for 400+ clinical roles by state and metro, refreshed every business day. See how agencies use it on ClinicalRate for staffing agencies.
Methodology and caveats
- Source. ClinicalRate analysis of 65,380 nursing job postings for ICU, ER, telemetry, med-surg and dialysis nurses, July 29, 2025 to January 25, 2026. About 87% are travel contracts, mostly 9–13 weeks.
- Advertised, not paid. These are rates employers and agencies posted, not payroll data. Final offers can be higher or lower, and some postings never fill.
- Blended rates. Many travel postings quote an hourly or weekly figure that includes stipends. We report the advertised hourly figure as posted.
- Conversions. Weekly = hourly × 36. Annualised = hourly × 2,080. Both are arithmetic conveniences, not reported earnings.
- Sample sizes. Specialty medians rest on hundreds to tens of thousands of postings; staff and per diem cuts and some state cuts are much smaller and should be read as directional. Dialysis (836 postings) is the thinnest specialty.
For how ClinicalRate collects and normalizes rate data, see our methodology.
Frequently asked questions
How much do travel nurses make per hour?
In a ClinicalRate analysis of 65,000+ postings from July 2025 to January 2026, median advertised travel pay ranged from about $56/hr (med-surg, dialysis) to $61/hr (ICU). The 90th percentile for ICU was $79.61/hr. These are advertised rates and often include stipends.
How much do travel nurses make a week?
At 36 hours a week, the median advertised rates work out to roughly $2,000 to $2,200 a week. The median ICU travel contract was about $2,200 a week, and the 75th percentile about $2,450.
What is the average travel nursing salary per year?
Annualised at 2,080 hours, median advertised pay comes to about $127,000 for ICU, $124,000 for ER, $121,000 for telemetry and $117,000 for med-surg. Actual annual earnings are usually lower because travelers rarely work 52 weeks without gaps.
What are the highest paying travel nursing jobs?
In this data, ICU contracts paid the most, especially in Alaska, California and New York, on short 1–4 week contracts, on rotating shifts and in winter. January 2026 ICU postings had a median of $75.85/hr.
Why is travel nurse pay higher than staff nurse pay?
Facilities pay a premium bill rate for short-term, flexible coverage, and part of that funds stipends for housing and meals. Staff ICU postings in the same period had a median of about $35/hr, against about $61/hr for travel ICU postings.
Is the advertised travel nurse rate what I take home?
Usually not. Advertised weekly figures often blend a taxable base rate with tax-free housing and M&IE stipends. Take-home pay depends on the taxable base, whether you qualify for tax-free stipends, and deductions.