Travel Nurse vs Staff Nurse Pay in 2026: Is Travel Nursing Still Worth It?
By CircleRN Team | Published 2026-10-01 | 7 min read
Travel nursing advertises $2,347 a week at the median against $1,876 for the median staff RN, about 25% more on paper. At that rate a traveler needs about 42 working weeks a year to gross the staff nurse's $97,550, before housing, benefits and the stipend's tax advantage. When travel wins, and when staff does.
On paper, travel nursing pays about a quarter more. The median open travel nursing contract on CircleRN advertises $2,347 a week; the median registered nurse in the United States earns $97,550 a year, about $1,876 a week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But those are different kinds of number, and the honest comparison is narrower than the headline: at the median package, a traveler has to work about 42 weeks of the year to gross the median staff nurse's annual pay on paper, before housing and benefits, and before the stipend's tax advantage.
This guide compares the two on the terms that decide it, and says plainly what neither figure measures. To run your own numbers, use the travel pay calculator.
How much more do travel nurses make than staff nurses?
About 25 percent more per week on the headline figures: $2,347 against $1,876. The staff figure is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 median annual wage for registered nurses, $97,550 or $46.90 an hour across 3.38 million nurses, divided by 52. The travel figure is the median advertised weekly total across 4,814 open travel nursing contracts on October 1, 2026.
They are not the same kind of number. The staff figure is the BLS straight-time wage, the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, without overtime or bonuses, and all of it taxable. The travel figure is what contracts advertise, before tax, usually including tax-free housing and meal stipends, and for almost all postings it is the top of an advertised range rather than the offer you would sign. Read the 25 percent as a headline, not the gap: part of it is the top of an advertised range, and part is stipend money that pays for a second home. The stipend's tax treatment and the staff figure's missing overtime push the other way.
What does the weekly comparison leave out?
Three things, and each one narrows it.
- Weeks worked. A staff nurse's annual wage covers 52 weeks, paid time off included. A traveler is paid only for contract weeks, so gaps between assignments, travel days and time off are unpaid. At $2,347 a week, matching $97,550 takes 41.6 working weeks. Every week below that, the traveler grosses less on paper than the median staff nurse's wage; every week above it, more.
- Two homes. The tax-free stipend exists because a traveler keeps a permanent home and pays for housing on assignment too. That second cost is real, and the stipend is only tax-free if the first home is a genuine tax home, which the tax home guide covers.
- Benefits. Staff jobs commonly carry employer health insurance, retirement matching and paid leave. Travel contracts vary widely, coverage can lapse between contracts, and the gap is yours to fill: health insurance between contracts walks through the options. Staff RN benefits are worth about $590 a 36-hour week at the median; see travel nurse benefits vs staff.
Is the tax-free stipend really worth more?
Yes, when it is genuinely tax-free. A stipend paid under an accountable plan, up to the federal per diem rate, is not wages, so no income tax, Social Security or Medicare tax is withheld from it, and a package built mostly of stipends takes home more than a fully taxable salary of the same size. That is why a travel package and a staff wage cannot be compared on gross alone.
Two cautions. The advantage depends on a real tax home; without one, the stipend is taxable wages and the advantage disappears, which living with your parents does not settle on its own. And Social Security counts only taxable earnings, so a package that is mostly stipend builds less toward retirement benefits than the same gross as salary. The ceiling on how much can be tax-free is set by location; the stipend calculator shows it for any ZIP code.
When is travel nursing worth it in 2026?
When you can keep the weeks up and the second home down. Travel nursing tends to come out ahead for a nurse who:
- maintains a real tax home, so the stipend stays tax-free
- can line up contracts back to back and comfortably clear the low forties in working weeks
- works in a specialty and market that pay above the median; specialty medians span about 46 percent, and within a single specialty states can differ by more, as the specialty table and the state rankings show
- has the savings to cover the first weeks, since the first paycheck can arrive one to three weeks in, as your first assignment explains
The money is not the only reason people travel, and it is reasonable to choose it for the experience, the locations or the control over your schedule. It is worth knowing which reason is yours before comparing offers.
When is a staff job the better deal?
When stability and benefits are worth more to you than the weekly rate. A staff nurse with employer health coverage, a retirement match, paid leave, a pension or seniority carries value the weekly figure does not show, and a traveler who works fewer than about 42 weeks a year at the median package grosses less on paper than the median staff nurse's wage before any of that is counted. If you want more flexibility without leaving home, local per diem work is the middle path, compared in per diem vs travel nursing.
Bottom Line
Travel nursing advertises about 25 percent more per week than the median staff nurse earns, $2,347 against $1,876, but the headline is not the gap: the travel figure is an advertised package that includes stipends and is usually the top of a range, travelers are paid only for the weeks they work, and the stipend's tax treatment cuts the other way. At the median, about 42 working weeks a year grosses the median staff nurse's $97,550 on paper, before housing and benefits, and before the stipend's tax advantage. With a real tax home, steady contracts and a strong specialty or market, travel comes out ahead; without them, a staff job can pay as much and carry benefits travel does not.
Run your numbers in the pay calculator, or browse open travel assignments.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, registered nurses (29-1141), national: median annual wage $97,550, median hourly wage $46.90, employment 3,379,720 (series OEUN000000000000029114113, 08 and 01). The annual figure is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, without overtime or bonuses.
- CircleRN job postings, measured October 1, 2026: 4,814 open, priced travel nursing contracts with a state; median advertised weekly total $2,347. Before tax, usually including tax-free stipends; for almost all postings the top of an advertised range. Not take-home pay.
- IRS, Revenue Procedure 2019-48 (per diem allowances up to the federal rate treated as substantiated rather than as wages)