As of August 01, 2026, the average annual pay of Traveling Nurse in the United States is $83,197.
While Salary.com is seeing that Traveling Nurse salary in the US can go up to $100,434 or down to $67,947, but most earn between $75,215 and $92,220.
Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills,
and your experience levels.
With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target.
View Traveling Nurse Salary by Hour, Week, Month, Year
Salary.com provides you with accurate and diversified Traveling Nurse salary data based on specialized databases to help you get a fairer salary.
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View Traveling Nurse Salary by Experience Levels
An entry-level Traveling Nurse with no related experience makes about $81,610.
With less than 2 years of experience, a mid-level Traveling Nurse makes around $81,774.
After 2-4 years, the Traveling Nurse pay rises to about $83,995.
Those senior Traveling Nurse with 5-8 years of experience earn roughly $87,220,
and those Traveling Nurse having 8 years or more experience are expected to earn about $87,450 on average.
The states and districts that pay Traveling Nurse the highest salary are District of Columbia (around $92,116) ,
California (around $91,767) ,
Massachusetts (around $90,544) ,
Washington (around $90,211) ,
New Jersey (around $90,178),
Alaska (around $90,061),
Connecticut (around $88,913).
The metropolitan areas that pay the highest salary in the Traveling Nurse profession are
San Jose,CA,
San Francisco,CA,
Oakland,CA,
New York,NY,
Paramus,NJ,
Queens Village,NY,
Passaic,NJ,
Bergenfield,NJ,
Stamford,CT,
and Huntington,NY.
Best-Paid Skills and Qualifications for Traveling Nurse
What skills does a Traveling Nurse need?
Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
1.
Planning: An act or process of making or carrying out plans. Establishment of goals, policies, and procedures for a social or economic unit city planning business planning.
2.
Nursing Process: The nursing process is a modified scientific method. Nursing practise was first described as a four-stage nursing process by Ida Jean Orlando in 1958.
3.
Long Term Care: Long-term care (LTC) is a variety of services which help meet both the medical and non-medical needs of people with a chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for long periods. Long term care is focused on individualized and coordinated services that promote independence, maximize patients' quality of life, and meet patients' needs over a period of time. It is common for long-term care to provide custodial and non-skilled care, such as assisting with normal daily tasks like dressing, feeding, using the bathroom. Increasingly, long-term care involves providing a level of medical care that requires the expertise of skilled practitioners to address the multiple chronic conditions associated with older populations. Long-term care can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living facilities or in nursing homes. Long-term care may be needed by people of any age, although it is a more common need for senior citizens.
4.
Critical Care: Critical care is sometimes referred as intensive care. Intensive care medicine, or critical care medicine, is a branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and management of life-threatening conditions that may require sophisticated life support and intensive monitoring. An intensivist is a physician who specializes in the care of critically ill patients, most often in the intensive care unit (ICU). Intensivists can be internists or internal medicine sub-specialists (most often pulmonologists), anesthesiologists, emergency medicine physicians, pediatricians (including neonatologists), or surgeons who have completed a fellowship in critical care medicine.
5.
Infection Control: Infection control is the discipline concerned with preventing nosocomial or healthcare-associated infection, a practical (rather than academic) sub-discipline of epidemiology. It is an essential, though often underrecognized and undersupported, part of the infrastructure of health care. Infection control and hospital epidemiology are akin to public health practice, practiced within the confines of a particular health-care delivery system rather than directed at society as a whole. Anti-infective agents include antibiotics, antibacterials, antifungals, antivirals and antiprotozoals. Infection control addresses factors related to the spread of infections within the healthcare setting (whether patient-to-patient, from patients to staff and from staff to patients, or among-staff), including prevention (via hand hygiene/hand washing, cleaning/disinfection/sterilization, vaccination, surveillance), monitoring/investigation of demonstrated or suspected spread of infection within a particular health-care setting (surveillance and outbreak investigation), and management (interruption of outbreaks). It is on this basis that the common title being adopted within health care is "infection prevention and control."
Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay.
Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Traveling Nurse's salary.
Telemetry: Can increase your salary by up to 3%.
Accountability: Can increase your salary by up to 2%.
Dedication: Can increase your salary by up to 2%.
Skill
Salary
Salary % Increase
Telemetry
$85,693
3%
Accountability
$84,861
2%
Dedication
$84,861
2%
Partnering
$84,861
2%
Innovation
$84,861
2%
Commitment
$84,861
2%
Get Latest Data
View Traveling Nurse Salary Trends
For those exploring the changing dynamics of Traveling Nurse salaries, Salary.com offers detailed insights through our Job Trending in CA Labor Market analysis.
Our research highlights a notable shift in Traveling Nurse compensation over the past six years.
For instance, the median salary has moved from $73,508 in 2023 to about $74,140 in 2024
(for a comprehensive analysis of Traveling Nurse salary trends, click here).
It's crucial to consider several elements, including geographical location, experience level, industry demand, and economic development, as they play a significant role in influencing salary variations.
Average Annual Salary of Traveling Nurse Over Time
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FAQs Regarding Traveling Nurse
1. What is the average salary of a Traveling Nurse?
The average annual salary of Traveling Nurse is $83,197.
In case you are finding an easy salary calculator,
the average hourly pay of Traveling Nurse is $40;
the average weekly pay of Traveling Nurse is $1,600;
the average monthly pay of Traveling Nurse is $6,933.
2. What does a Traveling Nurse do?
Traveling Nurse provides professional nursing care to assigned patients. Records patient histories, performs various diagnostic tests, administers medications, and develops patient care plans in conjunction with other medical professionals. Being a Traveling Nurse assists physicians during examinations and procedures, operating and monitoring medical equipment as necessary. Observes patients' progress and records observations in patient medical records. Additionally, Traveling Nurse promotes patients' independence by teaching patients and families to understand conditions, medications, and self-care skills. May require a bachelor's degree in nursing. Requires a valid state Registered Nurse (RN) license. Typically reports to a manager or head of a unit/department. The Traveling Nurse occasionally directed in several aspects of the work. Gaining exposure to some of the complex tasks within the job function. To be a Traveling Nurse typically requires 2-4 years of related experience.
3. What’s typical Career Path for Traveling Nurse?
A career path is a sequence of jobs that leads to your short- and long-term career goals.
Some follow a linear career path within one field, while others change fields periodically to achieve career or personal goals.
For Traveling Nurse, the first career path typically progresses to Maternity Services Director.
The second career path typically progresses to Head of Intensive Care Unit.
Additionally, the third career path typically progresses to Staff Nurse - RN III.
4. Where can a Traveling Nurse earn the most?
A Traveling Nurse's earning potential can vary widely depending on several factors, including location, industry, experience, education, and the specific employer.
According to the latest salary data by Salary.com, a Traveling Nurse earns the most in San Jose, CA, where the annual salary of a Traveling Nurse is $104,937.
