Travel L&D Nurse Pay
The median advertised pay for a travel L&D (labor and delivery) contract is
$2,753 per week. The middle half of contracts fall
between $2,392 and $3,109.
Measured across 350 active travel contracts at 235 facilities, as of 2026-10-30.
These are advertised weekly totals before tax, usually including tax-free housing and meal
stipends; for almost all postings the figure is the top of an advertised range. They are not
take-home, and the tax-free part depends on maintaining a tax home.
How to read a pay package
explains the split.
Travel L&D pay by state
| State | Open contracts | Median weekly |
|---|
| California | 78 | $3,193 |
| Washington | 27 | $2,945 |
| Colorado | 18 | $2,648 |
| Texas | 17 | $2,154 |
| Arizona | 13 | $2,393 |
| Massachusetts | 12 | $3,036 |
| Missouri | 10 | $2,531 |
| Minnesota | 10 | $2,672 |
| North Dakota | 9 | $3,474 |
| North Carolina | 9 | $2,367 |
| Oklahoma | 9 | $2,358 |
| New York | 9 | $2,934 |
| New Jersey | 9 | $2,790 |
| Kansas | 8 | $2,142 |
| Oregon | 7 | $2,809 |
| Florida | 7 | $2,199 |
| Ohio | 7 | $2,100 |
| Illinois | 7 | $2,323 |
| Tennessee | 6 | $2,736 |
| New Hampshire | 6 | $2,663 |
| Virginia | 6 | $2,536 |
| Iowa | 5 | $2,748 |
| Indiana | 5 | $2,224 |
| South Carolina | 5 | $2,372 |
| New Mexico | 5 | $2,525 |
The 25 states with the most open L&D contracts, of 50 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 5 open
L&D contracts, are North Dakota at $3,474, California at $3,193 and Massachusetts at $3,036. The table
above is ordered by how many contracts are open, not by pay.
Where every open L&D contract falls
| Weekly rate | Open contracts |
|---|
| Under $2,100 | 22 |
| $2,100 to $2,300 | 39 |
| $2,300 to $2,500 | 51 |
| $2,500 to $2,700 | 51 |
| $2,700 to $2,900 | 54 |
| $2,900 to $3,100 | 41 |
| $3,100 to $3,300 | 41 |
| $3,300 and up | 51 |
All 350 open contracts, banded by advertised weekly rate. The
outer bands are open-ended so nothing falls outside the chart.
Is travel L&D pay rising or falling?
Over the last seven days the median advertised rate rose
1.1 percent, from $2,717 to
$2,747 a week. Measured against the seven days before it, across
364 open postings, 2026-10-17 to 2026-10-30.
A national median moves when the states that are posting change, not only when a rate
changes, so this is published only while the share of contracts held by each state is
steady across both weeks. Where it is not, no figure is shown.
Open L&D contracts
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Seattle, WA — $4,095/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Everett, WA — $4,088/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Issaquah, WA — $4,083/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Seattle, WA — $3,984/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Issaquah, WA — $3,959/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Edmonds, WA — $3,911/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Seattle, WA — $3,844/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Seattle, WA — $3,844/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Seattle, WA — $3,844/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Seattle, WA — $3,844/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Seattle, WA — $3,776/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Seattle, WA — $3,776/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Spokane, WA — $2,952/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Everett, WA — $2,945/week
- Registered Nurse - Labor and Delivery — Everett, WA — $2,945/week
See every open L&D assignment, including
those from partner agencies.
What L&D travel roles ask for
- 13 weeks is the most common contract length, on 307 of the 350 postings that state one.
- 2 years of experience is the most common requirement, among the 102 postings that state one.
- Certifications named most often, among the 143 postings that list any: NRP (143), BLS (104), ACLS (77), AWHONN (16).
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 L&D nurse make?
- The median advertised pay for a travel L&D contract is $2,753 a week, with the middle half of contracts between $2,392 and $3,109. Measured across 350 active travel contracts at 235 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 L&D 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 L&D nurses the most?
- North Dakota at $3,474, California at $3,193 and Massachusetts at $3,036, by median advertised weekly pay. Only states carrying at least 5 open L&D contracts are ranked, because a median drawn from a handful of postings moves on one contract closing. These are advertised weekly totals before tax, usually including tax-free stipends and for almost all postings the top of an advertised range, not take-home, and a higher median does not survive a higher cost of living on its own.