Travel NICU Nurse Pay
The median advertised pay for a travel NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) contract is
$2,573 per week. The middle half of contracts fall
between $2,322 and $2,783.
Measured across 145 active travel contracts at 98 facilities, as of 2026-10-31.
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 NICU pay by state
| State | Open contracts | Median weekly |
|---|
| California | 45 | $2,710 |
| Arizona | 16 | $2,273 |
| Colorado | 8 | $2,496 |
| New Jersey | 7 | $2,691 |
| Washington | 7 | $2,374 |
| Texas | 5 | $2,055 |
| Oregon | 5 | $2,903 |
| Illinois | 5 | $2,599 |
| New York | 5 | $2,783 |
| Indiana | 4 | $2,394 |
| Ohio | 4 | $2,666 |
| Louisiana | 4 | $2,055 |
| Connecticut | 3 | $2,591 |
| Oklahoma | 3 | $2,415 |
| Arkansas | 3 | $2,451 |
| New Mexico | 3 | $2,760 |
| North Carolina | 2 | $1,962 |
| Hawaii | 2 | $3,044 |
| Massachusetts | 2 | $2,625 |
| North Dakota | 2 | $2,885 |
| South Carolina | 2 | $2,318 |
| Virginia | 2 | $2,515 |
| Wisconsin | 1 | $2,609 |
| Kansas | 1 | $2,567 |
| Wyoming | 1 | $2,413 |
The 25 states with the most open NICU contracts, of 28 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
NICU contracts, are Oregon at $2,903, New York at $2,783 and California at $2,710. The table
above is ordered by how many contracts are open, not by pay.
Where every open NICU contract falls
| Weekly rate | Open contracts |
|---|
| Under $2,100 | 13 |
| $2,100 to $2,250 | 11 |
| $2,250 to $2,400 | 24 |
| $2,400 to $2,550 | 19 |
| $2,550 to $2,700 | 30 |
| $2,700 to $2,850 | 18 |
| $2,850 to $3,000 | 14 |
| $3,000 and up | 16 |
All 145 open contracts, banded by advertised weekly rate. The
outer bands are open-ended so nothing falls outside the chart.
Open NICU contracts
- Registered Nurse - NICU — Spokane, WA — $3,397/week
- Registered Nurse - NICU — Spokane, WA — $3,397/week
- Registered Nurse - NICU — Spokane, WA — $3,397/week
- Registered Nurse - NICU — Spokane, WA — $2,374/week
- Registered Nurse - NICU — Spokane, WA — $2,374/week
- Registered Nurse - NICU — Spokane, WA — $2,374/week
- Registered Nurse - NICU — Edmonds, WA — $2,246/week
See every open NICU assignment, including
those from partner agencies.
What NICU travel roles ask for
- 13 weeks is the most common contract length, on 126 of the 145 postings that state one.
- 2 years of experience is the most common requirement, among the 28 postings that state one.
- Certifications named most often, among the 35 postings that list any: NRP (35), BLS (34), PALS (8), ACLS (2).
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 NICU nurse make?
- The median advertised pay for a travel NICU contract is $2,573 a week, with the middle half of contracts between $2,322 and $2,783. Measured across 145 active travel contracts at 98 facilities, as of 2026-10-31. 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 NICU 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 NICU nurses the most?
- Oregon at $2,903, New York at $2,783 and California at $2,710, by median advertised weekly pay. Only states carrying at least 5 open NICU 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.