2023 Index: The Best States for Travel Nurses to Work

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Working as a travel nurse comes with great perks, including the freedom and flexibility to work anywhere across America as you explore a healthcare career. With great freedom, however, comes great responsibility. In this case, it’s a life-changing decision that impacts where you work, where you live and how comfortably you do so.

To empower travel nurses’ decisions across the country, we’ve created a Travel Nurse Location Index, awarding each state a score out of 100 based on its performance across four key categories.

To reach this score, we analyzed all 50 states based on a range of criteria, including:

• The average travel nurse salary per week as of February 20, 2023
• The number of available travel nurse jobs on Vivian per 100k people as of February 20, 2023
• The number of hospitals per 100k people per the American Hospital Association
• Cost of living estimates from Sperling’s Best Places compared to the US average

Factoring in performance across these four categories, the Travel Nurse Location Index helps pinpoint the best states for travel nursing in the U.S.

The Top States to Work As a Travel Nurse

Working as a travel nurse, America is your oyster. That’s why we’ve factored in all the important aspects to provide the pearl-like states that are the ideal choice for your next job, depending on your personal priorities.

Combining all ranking factors, here’s how our scoring system ranked the 50 states for travel nurses.

© Vivian Health 2023

The index revealed that overall, the Dakotas are the best states to work as a travel nurse, scoring high marks across the board for salary, cost of living and travel nurse job opportunities statewide. Taking the top spot, South Dakota scored a full 100, followed closely by North Dakota, with a score of 96.62.

Scoring lowest in the index, California ranked as the worst state for travel nurses to work. While it scored high for salary, the state scored low for jobs available per capita and the number of hospitals available for work. The state also ranked last for its cost of living compared to the national average, bringing its overall average down and placing it at the bottom of the list.

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© Vivian Health 2023

The Highest Paying States for Travel Nurses

Despite all the reasons you may have become a travel nurse, money is inevitably an important factor. If you want to go where the money is, don’t worry; we’re here to help.

In support of salary transparency, we analyzed travel nurse salary data from Vivian within our index. When comparing average weekly salaries from January 2023 to those from the same month last year (Jan 2022), we see that salaries are down 16% overall this year. The only state with a positive salary change is Hawaii, where wages increased by 2%. The state with the biggest decrease is Georgia, where January salaries dropped by 27% compared to figures from the same month last year.

Our index ranked the states below as the best for travel nurses based on average weekly salaries.

Source: Vivian salary data. © Vivian Health 2023

Despite coming last in the overall index ranking, California has the highest salaries for travel nurses, paying an average of $3,070 per week. An important factor for most during the current economic situation, it’s no wonder California has proven a popular state for healthcare professionals overall.

If you want to know more about the Golden State, our California Location Guide can help you navigate its sunny cities to find one that suits you.

Other top-paying states include New Jersey ($3,011) and North Dakota ($3,002).

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The Lowest Salary States for Travel Nurses

Our index revealed Florida has the lowest salaries for travel RNs, paying (on average) $2,220 per week for these positions. Oklahoma ($2,303) and Texas ($2,323) follow closely behind.

If money is the biggest priority for you when it comes to your next job, you may want to be wary of the following states that ranked lowest in pay. However, many states with lesser pay may have lower costs of living or don’t collect state income tax, which helps offset smaller paychecks.

Source: Vivian salary data. © Vivian Health 2023

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The Best Cost of Living States for Travel Nurses

When relocating as a travel nurse, you not only have to think about the money coming in but also expenses. With a nomadic lifestyle, you must consider the money spent on rent, utilities and travel to have a comfortable living situation outside the workplace.

With this in mind, Arkansas, where the cost of living is 22.5% lower than the national average, is the best state for travel nurses looking to hold on to more of their paychecks. Mississippi (21.3% lower) and West Virginia (20.6% lower) come in second and third, based on data from Sperling’s Best Places. 

In comparison, Hawaii has the highest cost of living at 65.7% higher than the national average. California (49.9% higher) and Massachusetts (27.5% higher) have the next-highest living costs.

States with the Lowest Cost of Living
State	Cost of Living as % of US Average
Arkansas	-22.5%
Mississippi	-21.3%
West Virginia	-20.6%
Iowa	-19.9%
Oklahoma	-17.8%
Kentucky	-17.7%
Ohio	-17.3%
Kansas	-16.9%
Indiana	-16.3%
Alabama	-15.9%

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Within our research, we also looked at data from Numbeo. This user-generated platform asks real-life residents about their actual costs of living. For the purposes of this analysis, we collected information on each state’s most populated city since state-wide averages weren’t available.

Our research found that Mississippi has the cheapest rent. The average cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the city center is $763.33, making it one of best states for nurses to afford. Arkansas ($977.60) and West Virginia ($1,000) were second and third for cheapest rent.

Unsurprisingly, New York has the highest average rent. A one-bedroom apartment in the Big Apple could set you back $3,974.40 per month. Massachusetts ($2,745.71) and California ($2,643) were the next highest.

If you’re looking for the states where you might find the cheapest rentals, the states below are your best bet.

States with the Lowest Average Rent
State	Avg. Cost of Rent*
Mississippi	$763.33
Arkansas	$977.60
West Virginia	$1,000.00
Iowa	$1,006.33
Montana	$1,050.00
South Dakota	$1,095.00
Wyoming	$1,100.00
Kansas	$1,106.25
North Dakota	$1,112.50
Nebraska	$1,120.00

* One-bedroom apartment in the city center

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But day-to-day living requires more than just rent. That’s why we also looked into data covering the average cost of utilities such as electricity, heating, cooling, water and garbage so you can consider your monthly bills in your relocation strategy, too. 

The data suggested that Virginia has the cheapest basic utilities at an average cost of $98.96 per month, followed by Montana ($109.43) and Delaware ($131.53). People in Oklahoma pay the most for utilities at an average cost of $287.59 per month, followed by Hawaii ($280.07) and Connecticut ($279.31).

States with the Lowest Basic Utilities
State	Cost of Basic Utilities*
Virginia	$98.96
Montana	$109.43
Delaware	$131.53
Utah	$132.93
Maryland	$142.83
Minnesota	$143.19
Florida	$147.65
New Mexico	$152.14
California	$152.60
North Dakota	$153.70

* Monthly average for electricity, heating, cooling, water and garbage

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Finally, we considered the cost of the daily commute when it came to day-to-day outings. Traveling on local transportation is the most expensive in New Jersey, where a one-way ticket on the cheapest form of transport, be that bus or rail, will cost you $4.03. Tennessee was the next highest at $3.08. By contrast, a one-way ticket in New Mexico costs $1, the cheapest in our dataset, followed by Nebraska and Texas at $1.25.

The States with the Most Travel Nurse Positions

If you’re a travel nurse because you love the job variety and the range of opportunities available to you, it’s worth considering the states with more positions and more hospitals that may require travel nurses.

At the time of writing, New Hampshire had the most travel nurse positions on Vivian per capita, at 81.56 jobs per 100k of the population, followed by Alaska (76.47) and Vermont (57.49). By contrast, Utah had the fewest jobs available, with just 2.93 travel nurse positions available per 100k of the population, followed by Mississippi (6.09) and New Jersey (6.59).

Based on data from the American Hospital Association, South Dakota has the most hospitals per capita, at 6.26 hospitals per 100k of the population, followed by North Dakota (5.26) and Montana (4.99). Delaware has the fewest hospitals per capita, with less than one (0.69) hospital per 100k of the population.

Making Informed Decisions as a Travel Nurse

While your nomad lifestyle as a travel nurse can be exciting, it doesn’t have to be sporadic. Utilizing our index, you should be able to pin your next work location on the map in a strategic way by considering your key lifestyle priorities and making a decision that’s right for you and your family.

For further state-specific breakdowns, head to our travel guides which offer more information on locations across the country. If you need further assistance in finding your next travel nurse position, Vivian Health can help. Getting started is quick and easy with a Vivian Universal Profile, which gives you access to 1,000s of travel jobs from 100s of agencies with a single application.

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© Vivian Health 2023