Pay for travel nurses has shifted in recent years due to various factors such as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are five things to know about the state of travel nurse pay:
1. Average weekly travel nurse pay climbed from $1,896 in January 2020 to $3,782 in December 2021, a 99.47% increase, according to a report shared with Becker's in January from Vivian Health, a national healthcare hiring marketplace.
2. The January report, which examined Vivian Health's data aggregated since September 2019, also found that a new floor for average travel nurse pay materialized in July 2022, at $2,997 per week, as pay declined, then stabilized in the U.S.
3. In recent months, the average weekly travel nurse pay in the U.S. has been lower each month than in the same month in 2022. The average weekly travel nurse pay in September, for example, was $2,383, a decrease of 0.2% from the previous month and a 9% decrease from the same month in 2022, according to a report from Vivian Health, shared with Becker's earlier in October.
4. According to the most recent Vivian Health report, Delaware and Nebraska experienced the largest dips in average weekly travel nurse pay in September compared with August.
5. The report also showed that the top-paying specialties for travel nurses in September, based on average weekly pay, were cardiac progressive care at $3,287, pediatric intensive care at $3,140, and first assistant at $3,080.