20 of the Highest-Paying Cities for Travel Nurses

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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 healthcare sector. Traveling nurses alleviate some of these shortages, providing short-term relief to overburdened staff.

RELATED: Nursing Shortages in 2024: A State-by-State Breakdown

Vivian Health analyzed its proprietary data to find 20 cities where travel nurses earn the most relative to the typical earnings for the area. This analysis was based on salary data on March 1, 2024, in nearly 600 U.S. cities, limited to those with populations above 10,000 people and fell within the 1,000 overall highest-paying cities for travel nurses. These 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 through 2022.

Many of the highest-paying cities for travel nursing are in California, the overall highest-paying state for travel nurses, at an average of $2,332 per week on March 1, 2024. The most lucrative cities for travel nurses on this list range in size — urban, suburban and rural communities all need help covering nursing shortages.

20 Cities Where Travel Nurses Earn More than the Norm

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#20 Colton, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $3,146 (6.54x the average wage in the area)
• Change from previous month: +4.6%
  

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#19 Davenport, Florida

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $3,224 (6.69x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: +15.8%

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#18 Rexburg, Idaho

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,664 (6.89x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: Not Available

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#17 Clearlake, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,680 (6.94x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -3.2%
  

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#16 Oroville, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $3,201 (7.01x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -3.4%
  

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#15 Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,895 (7.06x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -27.7%
  

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#14 Opelousas, Louisiana

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,629 (7.13x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: +3.6%

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#13 Calexico, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,710 (7.16x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: No Change
  

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#12 New Brunswick, New Jersey

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $3,314 (7.16x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -2.5%

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#11 Camden, New Jersey

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,616 (7.19x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -2.5%

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#10 Sunnyside, Washington

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,506 (7.53x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: +8.9%
  

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#9 Chowchilla, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $3,021 (7.59x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: Not Available

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#8 Susanville, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,634 (7.65x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -1.6%
  

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#7 Delano, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,601 (7.72x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -0.7%
  

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#6 Blythe, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,700 (7.76x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -1.3%

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#5 Madera, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $3,514 (7.94x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: +8.9%

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#4 Soledad, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $3,183 (8.91x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -2.1%

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#3 Huntington Park, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $3,332 (9.02x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -2.5%

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#2 Avenal, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $2,736 (10.28x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: +0.6%

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#1. Corcoran, California

• Average weekly pay for travel nurses: $3,236 (12.19x the average weekly earnings in the area)
• Change from previous month: -5.3%

Why Choose Travel Nursing?

Since the 1970s, nurses have traveled around the country to supplement hospital staff when facilities experience an influx of patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals nationwide experienced a record number of patients and relied heavily on travel nurses to help. Even with this assistance, the increased workload 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 nurses opt for travel nursing to help mitigate burnout. According to a May 2023 AMN Healthcare survey, about 12% of U.S. nurses plan to work as travel nurses in the coming year, up from 8% who planned to pursue travel nursing in 2019. The stat is slightly higher among hospital nurses, with 15% saying they’d work as travel nurses in the coming year.

Travel nurses work on a contract basis. Most contracts last between 13 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 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 weekly, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By comparison, travel nurses earn an average of $2,154 per week, according to Vivian Health’s salary data in early February 2024.

Browse Vivian’s jobs marketplace to find a high-paying travel nursing role that lets you see the country while earning a paycheck.

Story editing by Shannon Luders-Manuel. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Ania Antecka.