How Much Do Travel Nurses Make in Seattle and Washington State? 2026 Pay

By CircleRN Team | Published 2026-11-03 | 9 min read

Travel nurses in Washington State are offered a median of $2,635 a week (November 2026), 5th of 42 states plus DC, and $2,854 in Seattle. Greater Seattle area hospitals hiring, staff RN wages, FY2027 stipend limits, license and tax.

Travel nurses in Washington State are offered a median of $2,635 a week across 87 open contracts, measured November 3, 2026, against $2,415 nationally. That ranks Washington 5th of the 42 states, plus DC, with at least 30 open contracts. In Seattle the median is $2,854 a week. But Washington staff nurses earn about 27 percent more than the national median, so a travel contract there pays only about 10 percent more than a typical local staff job, against about 29 percent nationally.

These are advertised weekly totals before tax, which usually include tax-free stipends, and for most postings they are the top of an advertised range. They are not take-home pay. Live figures are on the Washington travel nursing page and the Seattle travel nursing page.

How much do travel nurses make in Washington State?

The median advertised weekly total on 87 open travel nursing contracts in Washington is $2,635, measured November 3, 2026. The middle half runs from $2,406 to $3,202 a week. Over a 26-week year of assignments the median comes to about $68,500, or about $137,000 for 52 weeks with no gaps.

On October 1, 2026 the median was $2,569 across 96 contracts, also 5th in the country. Most of the openings are in two places: Seattle and its suburbs on Puget Sound, and Spokane in the east.

How much do travel nurses make in Seattle?

The median on 28 open travel nursing contracts in Seattle is $2,854 a week, with the middle half between $2,577 and $3,776. Labor and delivery makes up nearly half of them and pays the most, which is most of why Seattle's median is high. Compared contract by contract with the national median for the same specialty, Seattle pays about the national rate.

Spokane is the other big market: 28 contracts at a median of $2,624 a week, at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. On the same-specialty measure Spokane pays about 8 to 9 percent above the national median, more than Seattle, and its rents and stipend ceiling are much lower.

Which greater Seattle area hospitals are hiring travel nurses?

On November 3, 2026, hospitals in the greater Seattle area with open travel contracts on CircleRN included:

Edmonds, Everett, Issaquah and Olympia each have too few priced nursing contracts for a median of their own, so they count toward the Washington figure but not Seattle's. The list changes weekly; the Washington job board has today's openings.

How does Washington travel nurse pay compare with other states?

On the raw median, Washington is near the top. Of the 42 states, plus DC, with at least 30 open contracts on November 3, 2026, only Alaska ($2,888), California ($2,682), Rhode Island ($2,676) and Massachusetts ($2,675) rank higher. The neighbors pay less: Oregon $2,445 and Idaho $2,415.

A state's median partly reflects which specialties it is hiring, so we also compare each contract with the national median for its own specialty. On that measure Washington pays about the national median for the same work; on October 1 it was 3 percent above. Prices in Washington run about 7 percent above the national average (BEA Regional Price Parity), which leaves it about 6 percent behind after prices. All states are ranked three ways in highest-paying states for travel nurses.

Which nursing specialties pay the most in Washington?

Of specialties with at least five open contracts in Washington on November 3, 2026:

SpecialtyWA median a weekNational medianGapWA contracts
Labor and delivery$2,949$2,731+8%28
NICU$2,885$2,562+13%6
Telemetry$2,624$2,417+9%10
Operating room$2,598$2,657-2%10
PCU$2,559$2,300+11%12
ER$2,292$2,353-3%11

Labor and delivery is Washington's biggest travel specialty by far, a third of all open contracts, and NICU pays almost as much. ER and operating room pay about the national rate. Several rows rest on about ten contracts, so a few postings can move them; the linked pages carry today's figures. Our specialty pay guide compares specialties nationally.

How much do staff nurses make in Washington and Seattle?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median registered nurse wage in Washington at $124,200 a year, or $59.71 an hour, across 69,260 employed RNs (May 2025). That is about 27 percent above the national median of $97,550. By metro area:

Spread over 52 weeks, the state's staff median is about $2,388 a week, so the $2,635 travel median is only about 10 percent more. In Seattle the gap is about 16 percent ($2,854 against $2,467), and in Spokane about 22 percent ($2,624 against $2,149). Nationally the same comparison gives about 29 percent. The comparison is not like for like: the travel figure is gross and usually includes tax-free stipends, but it also has to cover a second home and the weeks between contracts. For a nurse who already lives in Washington, a local staff job can come close to a travel contract. Our travel versus staff pay guide covers those terms.

What are the tax-free stipend limits in Seattle and Washington?

The tax-free part of a travel package is capped by the federal GSA per diem rate for where you work: daily lodging plus meals, times seven. The FY2027 rates took effect October 1, 2026:

Area (county)Lodging a nightMeals a dayWeekly ceiling
Seattle (King, including Bellevue and Issaquah)$188; $255 Jun to Oct$92$1,960 to $2,429
Port Angeles, Port Townsend (Clallam, Jefferson)$131; $252 Jun to Sep$92$1,561 to $2,408
Olympia, Tumwater (Thurston)$149; $176 Jun to Aug$80$1,603 to $1,792
Vancouver (Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania)$161$86$1,729
Tacoma (Pierce)$143$86$1,603
Everett, Lynnwood (Snohomish, including Edmonds)$120; $147 Jun to Aug$86$1,442 to $1,631
Richland, Pasco (Benton, Franklin)$136$86$1,554
Spokane (Spokane)$126$86$1,484
Ocean Shores (Grays Harbor)$136; $155 Jul to Aug$86$1,554 to $1,687
Rest of Washington$113$68$1,267

King County's ceiling rises by about $470 a week from June through October, so the same Seattle offer can carry a bigger tax-free share in summer. Crossing the county line north to Edmonds or Everett lowers the ceiling by $518 a week from November to May, $798 from June to August and $987 in September and October, when King County is still on its summer rate. These are ceilings, not what an agency pays. Every state's limits are in travel nurse stipends by state, and the stipend rules explain who qualifies.

Do travel nurses pay state income tax in Washington?

No. Washington has no state income tax on wages, so the taxable part of a Washington travel package owes federal income and payroll taxes but no Washington income tax. Your home state may still tax it: if your tax home is in a state with an income tax, you usually owe that state on income earned anywhere, with no credit to claim because Washington charged nothing. If your tax home is also in a state with no income tax, a Washington contract carries no state income tax at all. Washington usually deducts a small employee premium for its paid family and medical leave program.

Do you need a Washington nursing license to travel there?

Not if you hold a multistate license. Washington joined the Nurse Licensure Compact, and nurses with a multistate RN license from another compact state have been able to work there since July 24, 2023. If your primary state of residence is outside the compact, for example California, Oregon or New York, you need a Washington license by endorsement first. The license compact checker shows which kind you hold.

What does housing cost for a travel nurse in Seattle?

On November 3, 2026 there were 54 active rentals in Seattle on CircleRN, and the median one-bedroom was $1,838 a month. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom in Seattle is $2,420. A month in a one-bedroom costs less than one week of a stipend paid at Seattle's $1,960 winter ceiling.

Across Washington there were 315 active rentals with a median one-bedroom of $1,500, and HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent, taken as a median across 127 Washington cities, is $1,580. Spokane is much cheaper: a median one-bedroom on CircleRN of $1,250. Browse travel nurse housing in Seattle, or all of Washington, including Spokane, Everett and Olympia.

Bottom Line

Travel nurses in Washington are offered a median of $2,635 a week across 87 contracts, 5th of 42 states and DC, and $2,854 a week in Seattle. Much of that lead comes from which specialties are hiring, especially labor and delivery: for the same work, Washington pays about the national median, and Spokane pays more than Seattle. Washington staff RNs earn a median of $124,200, so travel pays only about 10 percent more than a local staff job. Washington is a compact state with no state income tax, and its tax-free stipend ceiling runs from $1,267 a week on the standard rate to $2,429 in Seattle in summer.

Ready to look? See open Washington travel nursing jobs, or compare it with the highest-paying states for travel nurses.

Sources

Back to blog