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Among all the potential benefits, many consider above-average registered nurse (RN) pay as one of the top motivations to pursue travel nursing jobs. With 2024’s second quarter (April, May, June) having now wrapped up, Vivian Health continues our quarterly wage trends series to help you keep track of changes in travel RN salaries across the U.S. We looked at how pay rates in June at the end of the second quarter (Q2), compared to pay rates in March, which was the end of the first quarter (Q1).
From the end of Q1 in March to the end of Q2 in June, the national average weekly travel nursing salary declined from $2,360 to $2,298, a decrease of 2.6%. We based average pay on all jobs posted to Vivian during the specified month.
| March 2024 Avg Pay | June 2024 Avg Pay |
Quarter-over-Quarter Change |
|
| National Average Travel RN Wage | $2,360 | $2,298 |
-2.6% |
To track the year-over-year change in pay, we can also compare pay at the end of Q2 2023 to wages at the end of Q2 2024. Over that time frame, pay fell 5.2% from $2,425 per week to $2,298. Travel nurse salaries have been in an ongoing period of decline, though pay isn’t dropping as quickly in recent quarters as it had earlier in 2023 or back in 2022.
| June 2023 Avg Pay | June 2024 Avg Pay |
Year-over-Year Change |
|
|
National Average Travel RN wage |
$2,425 | $2,298 |
-5.2% |
Source: Average Pay from Vivian Health
Travel RN Pay Declines to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Overall, these decreases have certainly brought travel nurse pay back down in the post-pandemic period. In January 2020, just before travel nursing salaries spiked due to unprecedented demand from the COVID-19 pandemic, the average travel nurse pay was $2,308 when adjusted for inflation to today’s dollars. With pay today now down to $2,298, travel nurse wages are, for the first time, back below pandemic levels.
However, travel nurses still earn more than staff RNs, on average, in all 50 states. Additionally, travel nursing has always been about more than just above-average pay. It’s also a chance to meet new people, experience new places and discover how different health facilities and nursing units operate.
The chart below shows the percent increase or decrease in travel RN salary for all 50 states during Q2 2024.
The quarterly percent change in the average travel nursing pay for all 50 states is based on a comparison of pay for all travel RN jobs posted on Vivian Health in March 2024 and all jobs posted in June 2024.
States Where Travel RN Salaries Are Still Rising
Over the past quarter, only six U.S. states saw average travel RN salaries increase. However, in four of those states, the average pay increase didn’t even amount to 1%, the minimum threshold we consider a notable increase in pay.
Idaho led the group of states with rising wages, with the average travel nursing salary increasing from $2,181 in March to $2,223 in June, an increase of 1.9%. However, this still leaves travel nursing pay below the national average of $2,298.
Following Idaho was Rhode Island, where pay increased from $2,413 at the end of Q1 to $2,442 at the end of Q2, above the national average. Rounding out the small group were Iowa, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas. Among those, and despite the quarterly increases, all but South Dakota still see average travel RN salaries below the national average.
| State | March 2024 Avg Pay | June 2024 Avg Pay | Percent Increase |
| Idaho | $2,181 | $2,223 | 1.9% |
| Rhode Island | $2,413 | $2,442 | 1.2% |
| Iowa | $2,236 | $2,257 | 0.9% |
| South Dakota | $2,330 | $2,351 | 0.9% |
| Oklahoma | $2,102 | $2,118 | 0.8% |
| Texas | $2,033 | $2,050 | 0.8% |
States Where Travel Nursing Salaries Decreased
In the 44 states listed in the table below pay decreased from Q1 to Q2 2024. The chart above shows just those states where pay fell faster than the national average decrease of 2.6%. Of all the states with falling pay, Nevada stood out with a substantial decline of 8.8% from $2,725 per week in the first quarter to $2,485 in the second quarter.
| State | March 2024 Avg Pay | June 2024 Avg Pay | Percent Decrease |
| Nevada | $2,725 | $2,485 | -8.8% |
| Arkansas | $2,031 | $1,888 | -7.0% |
| Alabama | $2,022 | $1,895 | -6.3% |
| California | $3,178 | $2,985 | -6.1% |
| Utah | $2,457 | $2,308 | -6.1% |
| Oregon | $2,583 | $2,430 | -5.9% |
| Massachusetts | $2,681 | $2,539 | -5.3% |
| Minnesota | $2,700 | $2,557 | -5.3% |
| Wisconsin | $2,512 | $2,395 | -4.7% |
| New York | $2,627 | $2,507 | -4.6% |
| Wyoming | $2,471 | $2,370 | -4.1% |
| Georgia | $2,192 | $2,104 | -4.0% |
| Montana | $2,426 | $2,335 | -3.8% |
| North Dakota | $2,438 | $2,351 | -3.6% |
| Hawaii | $2,410 | $2,337 | -3.0% |
| Louisiana | $2,099 | $2,036 | -3.0% |
| Michigan | $2,222 | $2,155 | -3.0% |
| Colorado | $2,302 | $2,235 | -2.9% |
| New Jersey | $2,672 | $2,598 | -2.8% |
| Arizona | $2,379 | $2,314 | -2.7% |
| Illinois | $2,405 | $2,342 | -2.6% |
| North Carolina | $2,164 | $2,107 | -2.6% |
| Ohio | $2,321 | $2,264 | -2.5% |
| Maryland | $2,279 | $2,224 | -2.4% |
| Tennessee | $2,018 | $1,969 | -2.4% |
| Missouri | $2,240 | $2,188 | -2.3% |
| West Virginia | $2,356 | $2,305 | -2.2% |
| Nebraska | $2,366 | $2,317 | -2.1% |
| Kentucky | $2,288 | $2,242 | -2.0% |
| Pennsylvania | $2,409 | $2,362 | -2.0% |
| Maine | $2,528 | $2,481 | -1.9% |
| South Carolina | $2,105 | $2,066 | -1.9% |
| Alaska | $2,958 | $2,909 | -1.7% |
| New Mexico | $2,185 | $2,147 | -1.7% |
| Mississippi | $1,886 | $1,856 | -1.6% |
| Virginia | $2,282 | $2,246 | -1.6% |
| Kansas | $2,142 | $2,110 | -1.5% |
| Indiana | $2,226 | $2,195 | -1.4% |
| Washington | $2,467 | $2,437 | -1.2% |
| Delaware | $2,662 | $2,644 | -0.7% |
| Florida | $2,203 | $2,188 | -0.7% |
| Vermont | $2,320 | $2,310 | -0.4% |
| Connecticut | $2,375 | $2,371 | -0.2% |
| New Hampshire | $2,369 | $2,365 | -0.2% |
States Where Travel Nurse Salaries Are Highest and Go Furthest
While quarterly changes in pay are important, as a travel nurse, you may also be focused on knowing where pay is the highest and where that pay goes the furthest. To help address that, we created the chart above listing all the states where the average travel nurse salary is above the national average, $2,298, indicated by the dashed red line. We then juxtaposed those pay figures in the table below with each state’s cost of living relative to the national average, according to Sperling’s Best Places.
Two states come out far ahead of the rest with the highest travel nurse pay in the nation. At the end of Q2, travel pay in California was $2,985 or 129.9% of the national average, while Alaska was just behind at $2,909 per week or 126.6% of the national average. However, both states have a higher than average cost of living, 149.9% of the national average in the case of The Golden State and 116.5% in the case of The Last Frontier.
Therefore, as a travel nurse in California, you may actually come out behind financially despite higher-than-average pay, while in Alaska, you may come out ahead since the higher pay offered in the state more than offsets the higher cost of living, on average.
| State | Average Travel RN Pay End of Q2 2024 | State Pay as a Percent of the National Average | State Cost of Living as a Percent of the National Average |
| California | $2,985 | 129.9% | 149.9% |
| Alaska | $2,909 | 126.6% | 116.5% |
| Delaware | $2,644 | 115.1% | 103.5% |
| New Jersey | $2,598 | 113.1% | 119.8% |
| Minnesota | $2,557 | 111.3% | 97.2% |
| Massachusetts | $2,539 | 110.5% | 127.5% |
| New York | $2,507 | 109.1% | 121.5% |
| Nevada | $2,485 | 108.1% | 109.7% |
| Maine | $2,481 | 108.0% | 97.0% |
| Rhode Island | $2,442 | 106.3% | 112.5% |
| Washington | $2,437 | 106.0% | 121.9% |
| Oregon | $2,430 | 105.7% | 114.3% |
| Wisconsin | $2,395 | 104.2% | 89.9% |
| Connecticut | $2,371 | 103.2% | 111.8% |
| Wyoming | $2,370 | 103.1% | 98.5% |
| New Hampshire | $2,365 | 102.9% | 105.8% |
| Pennsylvania | $2,362 | 102.8% | 94.6% |
| North Dakota | $2,351 | 102.3% | 88.6% |
| South Dakota | $2,351 | 102.3% | 89.3% |
| Illinois | $2,342 | 101.9% | 93.7% |
| Hawaii | $2,337 | 101.7% | 165.7% |
| Montana | $2,335 | 101.6% | 100.0% |
| Nebraska | $2,317 | 100.8% | 87.8% |
| Arizona | $2,314 | 100.7% | 106.4% |
| Vermont | $2,310 | 100.5% | 100.8% |
| Utah | $2,308 | 100.4% | 114.2% |
| West Virginia | $2,305 | 100.3% | 79.4% |
Sources: Average Pay from Vivian Health / Cost of Living from Sperling’s Best Places
Several states join Alaska in the group where higher-than-average pay outweighs the higher cost of living. These include Delaware, Minnesota, Maine, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia. These states all feature large rural areas, and rural areas in the U.S. tend to have a lower cost of living than the cities and suburbs of major metropolitan areas. However, keep in mind that in certain states on this list, such as Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Illinois, the cost of living tends to be significantly higher in major cities such as Minneapolis/St. Paul, Philadelphia or Chicago, compared to the state average.
Vivian is your leading source of travel nurse job listings for all 50 states. Explore our extensive job listings and find the travel job or staff role of your dreams.
