Many nurses enter the profession to help others, but long hours, stress, and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a toll on the profession, contributing to shortages throughout the health care sector. Traveling nurses alleviate some of these shortages, providing short-term relief to overburdened staff.
Vivian Health analyzed its proprietary data to find the 20 cities where travel nurses earn the most, relative to typical earnings for the area. This analysis was based on March 1 data from nearly 600 U.S. cities, limited to those with populations above 10,000 people and fell within the top 1,000 overall highest-paying for travel nurses. Cities were then ranked based on the ratio of total average weekly wages for travel nurses compared to the city's average income per capita, sourced from the Census Bureau.
Since the 1970s, nurses have traveled around the country to supplement hospital staff when they experience an influx of patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals nationwide experienced higher patient numbers and called on travel nurses to help. The increased workload also contributed to many nurses leaving the industry altogether. By the end of 2021, about 100,000 nurses quit or transferred to roles outside of patient care, a four-decade high, according to Health Affairs.
Many who stayed in the profession have opted for travel nursing, with more considering this option. About 12% of U.S. nurses say they will work as travel nurses in the coming year, up from 8% who planned to pursue travel nursing in 2019, according to a major AMN Healthcare survey from May 2023. The stat is slightly higher among hospital nurses, 15% of whom said they would work as a travel nurse in the coming year.
Travel nurses work on a contract basis. Most contracts last between eight and 26 weeks but can be as short as a few days or up to a year. Many nurses appreciate the flexibility of contract work, which allows for breaks between stints and the opportunity to experience different areas of the country.
Travel nursing can also be more lucrative than salaried staff nursing; when a hospital is understaffed, travel nurses can negotiate for more money, particularly if they have technical expertise. Across the U.S., registered nurses earn an average of $89,010 annually—or about $1,712 per week. By comparison, travel nurses earn an average of $2,128 per week, according to Vivian Health data.
Many of the highest-paying cities for travel nurses are in California, which is among the highest-paying states for travel nurses, at an average of $2,332 per week. The most lucrative cities for travel nurses on this list range in size—as urban, suburban, and rural communities all need help covering nursing shortages.
