Travel ER Nurse Pay

The median advertised pay for a travel ER (emergency room) contract is $2,264 per week. The middle half of contracts fall between $2,128 and $2,489. Measured across 592 active travel contracts at 349 facilities, as of 2026-09-15.

These are advertised weekly totals, a taxable hourly base plus tax-free housing and meal stipends. They are not take-home, and the tax-free half depends on maintaining a tax home. How to read a pay package explains the split.

Travel ER pay by state

StateOpen contractsMedian weekly
California106$2,443
Georgia47$2,124
Massachusetts29$2,578
Arizona27$2,132
Illinois25$2,298
Virginia21$2,135
Oregon17$2,228
New York17$2,571
Texas17$2,038
Missouri15$2,216
Iowa15$2,196
Ohio15$2,114
Michigan14$2,195
Wisconsin13$2,169
Delaware13$2,591
New Hampshire13$2,306
Rhode Island13$2,621
Indiana11$2,033
Connecticut11$2,421
Colorado10$2,275
North Carolina10$2,024
Minnesota10$2,222
Maryland9$2,069
Kansas9$2,299
New Mexico9$2,454

The 25 states with the most open ER contracts, of 46 with any. Pay varies by market, facility and shift, and a state with few contracts moves more than one with many, so treat a median drawn from a handful of postings as an indication rather than a rate.

The highest medians, among states carrying at least 10 open ER contracts, are Rhode Island at $2,621, Delaware at $2,591 and Massachusetts at $2,578. The table above is ordered by how many contracts are open, not by pay.

Where every open ER contract falls

Weekly rateOpen contracts
Under $1,90042
$1,900 to $2,05061
$2,050 to $2,200111
$2,200 to $2,350146
$2,350 to $2,50086
$2,500 to $2,65059
$2,650 to $2,80039
$2,800 and up48

All 592 open contracts, banded by advertised weekly rate. The outer bands are open-ended so nothing falls outside the chart.

Open ER contracts

See every open ER assignment, including those from partner agencies.

What ER travel roles ask for

Drawn from the postings that state a requirement, which is not all of them, so each figure carries the number it was measured from. Your recruiter confirms the specifics for a given contract before submission.

Related

Common questions

How much does a travel ER nurse make?
The median advertised pay for a travel ER contract is $2,264 a week, with the middle half of contracts between $2,128 and $2,489. Measured across 592 active travel contracts at 349 facilities, as of 2026-09-15. These are advertised weekly totals, taxable base plus tax-free stipends, not take-home.
Where does this ER pay figure come from?
From the travel contracts currently posted on CircleRN, not from an industry survey or an estimate. No federal source publishes pay by nursing specialty: the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports registered nurses as a single occupation, so there is no official median for an ICU or a labor and delivery nurse. We publish the median rather than the average because one crisis-rate assignment moves an average enough to misrepresent the market.
Which states pay travel ER nurses the most?
Rhode Island at $2,621, Delaware at $2,591 and Massachusetts at $2,578, by median advertised weekly pay. Only states carrying at least 10 open ER contracts are ranked, because a median drawn from a handful of postings moves on one contract closing. These are advertised weekly totals, taxable base plus tax-free stipends, not take-home, and a higher median does not survive a higher cost of living on its own.