Travel nursing demand rose in most states since the end of the second quarter of 2026, according to Aya Healthcare data shared with Becker’s.
Aya Healthcare provides temporary staffing, permanent staff placement, vendor management, float pool technology and predictive analytics. The data include open travel nursing positions from Aya clients and its partners, reflecting demand only within Aya’s network and do not represent the broader travel nursing market. Pay rates and hospital spending are also excluded.
Nationally, open travel nursing positions totaled 8,186 quarter to date, as of Aug. 20, up from 6,005 in the second quarter.
Open travel nursing positions by state:
| State | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 QTD |
| Total | 6,918 | 6,383 | 5,770 | 6,994 | 5,479 | 6,005 | 8,186 |
| California | 657 | 384 | 436 | 599 | 398 | 476 | 665 |
| Ohio | 309 | 319 | 336 | 367 | 271 | 358 | 504 |
| North Carolina | 483 | 566 | 415 | 417 | 368 | 394 | 452 |
| Texas | 352 | 377 | 308 | 418 | 326 | 328 | 422 |
| Missouri | 326 | 285 | 210 | 317 | 265 | 282 | 397 |
| New York | 392 | 298 | 292 | 228 | 306 | 287 | 313 |
| Tennessee | 275 | 190 | 176 | 236 | 171 | 170 | 260 |
| Colorado | 136 | 110 | 110 | 257 | 76 | 132 | 259 |
| Virginia | 311 | 274 | 302 | 319 | 191 | 152 | 244 |
| New Mexico | 116 | 183 | 130 | 163 | 136 | 203 | 227 |
| Arizona | 242 | 209 | 273 | 474 | 145 | 170 | 221 |
| Georgia | 134 | 118 | 113 | 155 | 171 | 188 | 213 |
| Pennsylvania | 126 | 130 | 126 | 123 | 106 | 111 | 211 |
| Wisconsin | 104 | 126 | 126 | 145 | 102 | 118 | 205 |
| Massachusetts | 180 | 119 | 100 | 157 | 136 | 141 | 204 |
| Kentucky | 194 | 225 | 127 | 145 | 134 | 138 | 197 |
| Oklahoma | 199 | 168 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 177 | 196 |
| Iowa | 74 | 70 | 73 | 81 | 74 | 99 | 186 |
| Washington | 185 | 128 | 129 | 173 | 73 | 126 | 182 |
| Indiana | 177 | 261 | 143 | 163 | 137 | 133 | 179 |
| Maryland | 142 | 151 | 138 | 142 | 151 | 135 | 162 |
| Illinois | 134 | 133 | 118 | 137 | 139 | 131 | 160 |
| Michigan | 53 | 60 | 103 | 92 | 78 | 68 | 158 |
| Alabama | 79 | 112 | 80 | 89 | 121 | 146 | 155 |
| Florida | 140 | 105 | 84 | 118 | 138 | 129 | 155 |
| Connecticut | 107 | 113 | 109 | 89 | 69 | 102 | 152 |
| South Carolina | 117 | 124 | 118 | 133 | 99 | 99 | 144 |
| Kansas | 88 | 83 | 49 | 74 | 62 | 62 | 134 |
| Louisiana | 98 | 69 | 56 | 60 | 99 | 128 | 122 |
| New Jersey | 148 | 110 | 136 | 172 | 122 | 85 | 119 |
| West Virginia | 95 | 107 | 75 | 75 | 78 | 84 | 118 |
| Oregon | 80 | 60 | 57 | 82 | 37 | 77 | 118 |
| New Hampshire | 63 | 52 | 79 | 73 | 55 | 54 | 90 |
| Arkansas | 28 | 36 | 51 | 57 | 56 | 70 | 81 |
| Nebraska | 108 | 58 | 46 | 59 | 67 | 69 | 81 |
| Minnesota | 36 | 28 | 16 | 19 | 25 | 43 | 72 |
| Maine | 53 | 49 | 61 | 57 | 40 | 47 | 62 |
| District of Columbia | 78 | 139 | 66 | 59 | 68 | 48 | 61 |
| Montana | 33 | 37 | 44 | 47 | 28 | 39 | 50 |
| Idaho | 41 | 38 | 40 | 49 | 24 | 27 | 46 |
| Nevada | 18 | 31 | 25 | 32 | 31 | 35 | 42 |
| Mississippi | 48 | 34 | 34 | 38 | 57 | 41 | 40 |
| South Dakota | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 29 |
| Alaska | 43 | 23 | 21 | 42 | 20 | 21 | 26 |
| Vermont | 4 | 10 | 9 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 17 |
| Wyoming | 11 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 17 |
| Utah | 6 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| North Dakota | 54 | 30 | 32 | 48 | 27 | 13 | 12 |
| Rhode Island | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Hawaii | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Delaware | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
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