Where does this ICU 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.

Travel ICU Nurse Pay in Washington

The median advertised pay for a travel ICU (intensive care unit) contract in Washington is $2,582 per week, with the middle half between $2,374 and $2,667. Measured across 5 active travel ICU contracts in Washington at 3 facilities, as of 2026-10-30.

Advertised weekly totals before tax, usually including tax-free stipends; for almost all postings the top of an advertised range. Not take-home.

That is 6 percent over the $2,429 national median for travel ICU contracts.

Washington is a Nurse Licensure Compact state, so an active multistate license covers you here. A single-state license from elsewhere does not. The compact state list explains which states issue one, and the compact checker tells you whether yours covers you here.

Where every open ICU contract falls

Weekly rate	Open contracts
$2,300 to $2,450	2
$2,450 to $2,600	1
$2,600 to $2,750	1
$2,750 to $2,900	0
$2,900 to $3,050	0
$3,050 to $3,200	0
$3,200 and up	1

All 5 open contracts, banded by advertised weekly rate. The outer bands are open-ended so nothing falls outside the chart.

Washington has the 6th highest price level of the 51 states and territories the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures: 7 percent over the national average overall. The premium is concentrated in housing, at 26 percent over, while goods sit 4 percent over and services 4 percent over. That matters more than the headline number, because housing is the part a tax-free stipend is meant to cover and the rest comes out of taxed wages.

ICU pay by metro in Washington

Metro	Open contracts	Median weekly	Rent, 1 bed
Seattle	2	$2,625	$2,420/mo
Spokane	2	$2,854	$1,120/mo
Edmonds	1	$2,312	$2,230/mo

Rent is the one-bedroom Fair Market Rent HUD publishes for that metro, which is what a housing stipend is trying to cover. The open-contract count beside each metro is the sample its median rests on, and outside the largest markets that sample is small: a median over one or two contracts is a single posting's rate rather than a market rate, so read the count first.

Open ICU contracts in Washington

Registered Nurse - ICU — Spokane — $3,335/week
Registered Nurse - ICU — Seattle — $2,667/week
Registered Nurse - ICU — Seattle — $2,582/week
Registered Nurse - ICU — Spokane — $2,374/week
Registered Nurse - ICU — Edmonds — $2,312/week

See every opening, including partner agencies.

ICU pay in other states

Travel ICU pay in South Dakota — $2,876/week median across 6 contracts
Travel ICU pay in California — $2,711/week median across 136 contracts
Travel ICU pay in Massachusetts — $2,635/week median across 19 contracts
Travel ICU pay in Rhode Island — $2,602/week median across 5 contracts
Travel ICU pay in Minnesota — $2,563/week median across 11 contracts
Travel ICU pay in Ohio — $2,546/week median across 12 contracts
Travel ICU pay in Connecticut — $2,468/week median across 14 contracts
Travel ICU pay in Idaho — $2,425/week median across 13 contracts
Travel ICU pay in Illinois — $2,390/week median across 24 contracts

All 46 states with ICU openings

Travel ICU pay nationally
Travel ICU nurse pay
Travel nursing in Washington
Open travel assignments
How we measure this: the sources, the sample and what the figures do not cover

Common questions

How much does a travel ICU nurse make in Washington?: The median advertised pay for a travel ICU contract in Washington is $2,582 a week, with the middle half of contracts between $2,374 and $2,667. Measured across 5 active travel ICU contracts in Washington at 3 facilities, as of 2026-10-30. These are advertised weekly totals before tax, usually including tax-free stipends; for almost all postings the figure is the top of an advertised range. Not take-home.
Where does this ICU 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.