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Last updated: 21 October 2026. Figures as of: BLS OEWS May 2025 (national, industry and state estimates); GSA FY2027 per diem rates (effective 1 October 2026); IRS Publication 463 (current online edition).
Written by WageNorth Editorial. Fact-check: pending human review.
Part 1 of 2: What travel nurses make, pay by state and how stipends compare with per diem rates
In this guide:
- What travel nurses make, pay by state and how stipends compare with per diem rates (this page)
- Specialty, shifts and overtime, tax-home rules and the contract checklist
The honest answer: there’s no official “travel nurse salary”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not publish a separate wage series for travel nurses. Any single “average travel nurse salary” you see online comes from job ads or agency surveys, not from official statistics. Job-ad pay is the offer for a specific contract. It isn’t what travel nurses typically earn over a year.
What official data can show:
| BLS measure (May 2025) | Median hourly | Median annual | 75th percentile (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All registered nurses | $46.90 | $97,550 | $112,350 |
| RNs employed in employment services (staffing firms, NAICS 5613) | $43.67 | $90,840 | $120,930 |
| RNs in general medical and surgical hospitals | $48.18 | $100,210 | $118,990 |
About 102,110 RNs worked in the employment services industry in May 2025, according to BLS. This group includes travel nurses employed by staffing agencies, but it also includes local per diem and temporary staff, so it isn’t a pure travel-nurse figure. Importantly, BLS defines OEWS wages as straight-time gross pay. They exclude meal and lodging payments, overtime pay and shift differentials, so these figures reflect only the base-wage part of a travel package.
Travel nurse pay by state: the closest official benchmark
BLS doesn’t publish travel-nurse pay by state either. The closest official benchmark is the median for all RNs in each state, because travel contracts are priced against local labour markets.
| State | RN median annual pay, May 2025 | Median hourly |
|---|---|---|
| California | $140,270 | $67.44 |
| Hawaii | $136,320 | $65.54 |
| Oregon | $129,010 | $62.02 |
| Washington | $124,200 | $59.71 |
| New York | $109,440 | $52.62 |
| Texas | $95,970 | $46.14 |
| Florida | $84,190 | $40.48 |
| Alabama | $77,080 | $37.06 |
The full 16-state table is below.
Stipends and tax-home rules, in brief
- Stipends: agencies often set housing and meal stipends with reference to federal per diem rates. For fiscal year 2027, GSA’s standard rate is $113 a night for lodging and $68 a day for meals and incidentals, with higher lodging maximums in 295 non-standard areas (see below).
- Tax home: stipends can be non-taxable only if you have a genuine tax home with expenses you duplicate while away. An assignment expected to last more than 1 year in one place is “indefinite” under IRS rules, and the reimbursements then become taxable (Part 2).
How a travel contract is usually built
Most travel nurse offers combine:
- A taxable hourly wage, which is reported on your W-2.
- Stipends or reimbursements for lodging, meals and incidentals, which may be non-taxable only if IRS conditions are met (see Part 2).
- Overtime and extra shifts, paid under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rules for hourly workers.
- Other items, such as travel reimbursement, completion bonuses and benefits.
Because the split between wage and stipend varies, always compare offers on two numbers: the taxable hourly rate and the total weekly package.
The five factors that move pay most
- Location. Local RN wages and federal per diem rates both vary widely by state and city (see below).
- Specialty and shift. Critical-care and procedural units, nights and weekends often pay more (Part 2).
- Your tax situation. Whether stipends can be non-taxable depends on having a genuine tax home and duplicated expenses (Part 2).
- Contract terms. Guaranteed hours, cancellation clauses and overtime rules change what you actually take home.
- Licensing. A multistate license under the Nurse Licensure Compact can widen your options. NCSBN reports 43 jurisdictions have enacted it, though some are still implementing.
General information, not legal, financial or immigration advice. Rules vary by state/province; check the official source or a licensed professional.
See also
In short: there’s no official travel nurse salary. BLS shows a median of $43.67 an hour for RNs at staffing firms before stipends, state RN medians run from $77,080 to $140,270, and stipends are only tax-free with a genuine tax home.
Staff RN pay by state
Travel contracts are priced against local labour markets, so staff RN wages by state are a useful benchmark. These are BLS medians for all RNs in each state, not travel-specific figures.
| State | RN median annual pay, May 2025 | Median hourly | RN jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $140,270 | $67.44 | 338,940 |
| Hawaii | $136,320 | $65.54 | 12,940 |
| Oregon | $129,010 | $62.02 | 39,730 |
| Washington | $124,200 | $59.71 | 69,260 |
| Alaska | $109,480 | $52.64 | 7,510 |
| New York | $109,440 | $52.62 | 205,810 |
| New Jersey | $106,500 | $51.20 | 92,680 |
| Massachusetts | $104,550 | $50.27 | 88,200 |
| Pennsylvania | $96,430 | $46.36 | 146,520 |
| Texas | $95,970 | $46.14 | 271,380 |
| Florida | $84,190 | $40.48 | 229,940 |
| Arkansas | $78,940 | $37.95 | 29,400 |
| Iowa | $78,630 | $37.80 | 34,420 |
| South Dakota | $78,060 | $37.53 | 14,710 |
| Mississippi | $77,090 | $37.06 | 29,060 |
| Alabama | $77,080 | $37.06 | 54,340 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates. The table shows the eight highest-paying states, the three largest RN states not already listed, and the five lowest-paying states.
The gap between the top and bottom states is more than $60,000 a year at the median. Travel pay often follows similar patterns, but local cost of living also differs. A higher rate in an expensive city doesn’t always mean more money left over.
How stipends relate to federal per diem rates
Agencies often set housing and meal stipends with reference to the federal per diem rates published by the US General Services Administration (GSA). For federal fiscal year 2027 (1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027), GSA set:
- a standard lodging rate of $113 a night across the continental US, up $3 after a freeze in FY2026;
- a standard meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) rate of $68 a day, with M&IE tiers from $68 to $92;
- higher lodging maximums in 295 “non-standard areas”.
GSA’s website lists the rate for each city and county. Comparing an offer’s stipend with the GSA rate for that location is a practical sense check.
Why the per diem benchmark matters for overtime
Under Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR 778.217), reimbursements for travel expenses are generally excluded from the “regular rate” used to calculate overtime, if they reasonably approximate the expenses incurred. A reimbursement is considered per se reasonable if it’s at or below the Federal Travel Regulation (GSA) maximum or the IRS per diem guidance. If a “stipend” is disproportionately large, the excess counts towards the regular rate.
See also
In short: RN pay ranges from about $77,000 to $140,000 at the state median, and the FY2027 federal per diem baseline is $113 a night plus $68 a day for meals. Both help you sense-check an offer.
