Highest-Paying States for Travel Nurses in 2026: Three Ways to Rank Them
By CircleRN Team | Published 2026-10-01 | 7 min read
California pays travel nurses the highest median, $2,704 a week against $2,347 nationally. Compare the same specialties and South Dakota ties it; count cost of living and South Dakota leads at 27% above. All 40 states ranked three ways.
On open travel nursing contracts, California pays the most: a median of $2,704 a week, against $2,347 nationally across 4,814 contracts. South Dakota ($2,645), Massachusetts ($2,631), Delaware ($2,577) and Washington ($2,569) follow. That ranking changes twice once you ask better questions. Compare the same specialties and South Dakota draws level with California. Count what things cost and South Dakota leads by a wide margin, while California falls to about the national figure.
These are advertised weekly totals before tax, which usually include tax-free stipends; for almost all postings (98 percent that day) the figure is the top of an advertised range. They are not take-home pay. Current figures for every state are on the travel nursing hub.
Which states pay travel nurses the most?
By the median advertised weekly total, measured on October 1, 2026 across every state with at least 30 open nursing contracts:
- California: $2,704 (670 contracts)
- South Dakota: $2,645 (45)
- Massachusetts: $2,631 (213)
- Delaware: $2,577 (35)
- Washington: $2,569 (96)
Read that list with its sample sizes. California's figure rests on 670 contracts and South Dakota's on 45, so a handful of new postings can move the smaller states several places in a week. The full table is at the end of this page.
Why does the ranking change when you compare the same specialties?
Because a state's median measures which specialties are hiring there as much as what they pay. A state whose open contracts are mostly operating room and labor and delivery will post a higher median than one hiring mostly Med-Surg, even if each pays the same as everywhere else.
So we also compare every contract with the national median for its own specialty, and take the state's median of those ratios. On that measure South Dakota (+13%) and California (+13%) are effectively tied at the top, followed by Massachusetts (+12%), Delaware (+10%) and Rhode Island (+9%). At the other end, Florida (-14%) and Texas (-12%) pay well below the national median for the same work. Washington drops from fifth to thirteenth: its high median comes partly from its specialty mix.
Which states pay the most after cost of living?
Dividing that same-specialty figure by the state's price level, the Bureau of Economic Analysis's Regional Price Parity, reorders the list again:
- South Dakota: +27% after prices
- North Dakota: +17%
- Kansas: +13%
- Nebraska: +12%
- New Mexico: +12%
California falls to about the national figure (+2%), and Washington (-4%) and New York (-3%) drop below it. Florida is last on this measure too, at -17%. Apart from South Dakota, which also pays well above the national median for the same work, this list is mostly about prices: North Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and New Mexico pay within 5 percent of the national median for the same specialties, but prices there run 8 to 11 percent below average.
Should you choose an assignment by state pay?
Use it to decide where to look, not which offer to sign. Four things limit what a state figure can tell you:
- The price adjustment overstates for travelers. Price parities describe someone paying rent from taxed wages. A traveler's housing is largely covered by a tax-free stipend whose ceiling already rises with local costs, which our stipends by state guide covers, so expensive states hurt a traveler less than the adjusted column suggests. It also ignores state income tax on the taxable part of the package, which South Dakota, Washington, Texas and Florida do not levy. Treat it as an outer bound.
- Markets inside a state differ. Each state page breaks its median down by city and specialty; a state median hides both.
- Licensure decides what you can take. California and New York are not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, and Massachusetts has joined but not yet put it into effect, so a multistate license covers none of the three: their contracts need a license in that state first, and that takes time. The license compact checker shows where yours applies.
- Advertised is not paid. These are offers, not accepted packages, and for almost all postings the figure is the top of an advertised range.
Your specialty matters too: the same-specialty column is an average across specialties, and the specialty table shows how far apart they sit.
How does every state rank?
Every state with at least 30 open nursing contracts on October 1, 2026, by median. "Same mix" compares each contract with its specialty's national median; "after prices" divides that by the state's BEA price level.
| # | State | Median a week | Same mix | After prices | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $2,704 | +13% | +2% | 670 |
| 2 | South Dakota | $2,645 | +13% | +27% | 45 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $2,631 | +12% | +6% | 213 |
| 4 | Delaware | $2,577 | +10% | +10% | 35 |
| 5 | Washington | $2,569 | +3% | -4% | 96 |
| 6 | Minnesota | $2,558 | +3% | +5% | 51 |
| 7 | New Jersey | $2,528 | +5% | -4% | 67 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $2,493 | +9% | +7% | 56 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $2,461 | +7% | +3% | 58 |
| 10 | New York | $2,422 | +5% | -3% | 135 |
| 11 | New Mexico | $2,412 | +3% | +12% | 49 |
| 12 | Colorado | $2,407 | +1% | -2% | 113 |
| 13 | Nebraska | $2,394 | +1% | +12% | 81 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $2,385 | +4% | +7% | 110 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | $2,380 | +1% | +7% | 88 |
| 15 | North Dakota | $2,380 | +4% | +17% | 48 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | $2,364 | +5% | +1% | 67 |
| 18 | Missouri | $2,349 | 0% | +10% | 145 |
| 19 | Virginia | $2,346 | -3% | -4% | 139 |
| 20 | Illinois | $2,343 | +2% | +2% | 223 |
| 21 | Oregon | $2,323 | 0% | -3% | 117 |
| 22 | Maine | $2,283 | -1% | +2% | 33 |
| 23 | Michigan | $2,277 | -1% | +3% | 96 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $2,277 | -4% | +7% | 85 |
| 25 | Tennessee | $2,271 | -4% | +5% | 81 |
| 26 | Kentucky | $2,269 | -4% | +7% | 45 |
| 27 | Oklahoma | $2,247 | -5% | +8% | 119 |
| 28 | Ohio | $2,245 | -3% | +5% | 124 |
| 29 | Iowa | $2,218 | -3% | +11% | 99 |
| 30 | Maryland | $2,202 | -4% | -9% | 76 |
| 31 | Arizona | $2,191 | -8% | -8% | 214 |
| 32 | Florida | $2,186 | -14% | -17% | 70 |
| 33 | Indiana | $2,180 | -4% | +3% | 98 |
| 34 | Kansas | $2,168 | +2% | +13% | 72 |
| 35 | Georgia | $2,135 | -8% | -4% | 365 |
| 36 | Louisiana | $2,132 | -6% | +6% | 43 |
| 37 | North Carolina | $2,085 | -8% | -3% | 117 |
| 38 | Texas | $2,077 | -12% | -9% | 167 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $2,034 | -13% | -7% | 72 |
| 40 | Alabama | $2,015 | -12% | -1% | 41 |
Twelve places had fewer than 30 open contracts that day and are left out: Vermont, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arkansas, Utah, Nevada and Guam.
Bottom Line
California pays travel nurses the highest median, $2,704 a week against $2,347 nationally, but much of that is specialty mix and cost. Comparing the same specialties, South Dakota matches it at about 13 percent above the national median; after prices, South Dakota leads at 27 percent above, with North Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and New Mexico next, and California near the national figure. Florida and Texas pay below the national median for the same work on every measure. Use state pay to choose where to look, then compare the offers themselves.
Live state figures are on the travel nursing hub. Ready to look? Browse open travel assignments.
Sources
- CircleRN job postings, measured October 1, 2026: 4,814 open, priced travel nursing contracts with a state; national median $2,347. Advertised weekly totals before tax, usually including stipends; for 98 percent of postings, the top of an advertised range. Not take-home pay.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area (all items, 2024)