The median advertised pay for a travel PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) contract is $2,707 per week. The middle half of contracts fall between $2,546 and $2,876. Measured across 100 active travel contracts at 55 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.
| State | Open contracts | Median weekly |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 12 | $2,638 |
| California | 11 | $2,965 |
| Ohio | 9 | $2,722 |
| Colorado | 8 | $3,026 |
| Illinois | 7 | $2,644 |
| Pennsylvania | 6 | $2,818 |
| Oklahoma | 5 | $2,741 |
| Florida | 4 | $2,568 |
| Missouri | 4 | $2,540 |
| North Carolina | 4 | $2,096 |
| Oregon | 3 | $2,189 |
| Virginia | 3 | $2,461 |
| Massachusetts | 3 | $2,675 |
| New York | 3 | $3,078 |
| New Jersey | 2 | $2,820 |
| New Mexico | 2 | $2,506 |
| Alaska | 2 | $3,226 |
| Connecticut | 2 | $2,760 |
| Washington | 2 | $2,569 |
| Wisconsin | 1 | $2,609 |
| Arkansas | 1 | $2,394 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | $2,662 |
| Iowa | 1 | $2,419 |
| Nebraska | 1 | $2,494 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | $3,036 |
The 25 states with the most open PICU contracts, of 27 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 PICU contracts, are Colorado at $3,026, California at $2,965 and Pennsylvania at $2,818. The table above is ordered by how many contracts are open, not by pay.
| Weekly rate | Open contracts |
|---|---|
| Under $2,200 | 7 |
| $2,200 to $2,350 | 6 |
| $2,350 to $2,500 | 8 |
| $2,500 to $2,650 | 22 |
| $2,650 to $2,800 | 24 |
| $2,800 to $2,950 | 10 |
| $2,950 to $3,100 | 9 |
| $3,100 and up | 14 |
All 100 open contracts, banded by advertised weekly rate. The outer bands are open-ended so nothing falls outside the chart.
See every open PICU assignment, including those from partner agencies.
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.