The median advertised pay for a travel NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) contract in Illinois is $2,599 per week, with the middle half between $2,530 and $2,602. Measured across 5 active travel NICU contracts in Illinois at 1 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 1 percent over the $2,573 national median for travel NICU contracts.
Illinois is not a Nurse Licensure Compact state, so you need a Illinois license to work here even if you hold a multistate license. The compact state list explains which states issue one, and the compact checker tells you whether yours covers you here.
| Weekly rate | Open contracts |
|---|---|
| $2,400 to $2,450 | 0 |
| $2,450 to $2,500 | 1 |
| $2,500 to $2,550 | 1 |
| $2,550 to $2,600 | 1 |
| $2,600 to $2,650 | 2 |
| $2,650 to $2,700 | 0 |
All 5 open contracts, banded by advertised weekly rate. The outer bands are open-ended so nothing falls outside the chart.
Illinois has the 19th highest price level of the 51 states and territories the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures: 0 percent under the national average overall. The premium is concentrated in housing, at 6 percent under, while goods sit 4 percent over and services 0 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.
Browse the board for current NICU assignments in Illinois.
All 28 states with NICU openings