Travel Nurse Pay by State
See what the same travel-nurse pay package nets in all 50 states and DC. Ranked by true take-home after federal, FICA, and state tax, and by cost-of-living-adjusted value, with each state's average RN wage (BLS) for context. Find the best-paying states for travel nurses — no-income-tax states are flagged.
Last reviewed: · Reviewed by the Money Scale editorial team · How we source our data
Power mode. Every input exposed, every assumption sourced, charts and shareables.
$24.00
$1,300
$350
3 shifts
12 hours
The same package nets $23/wk more ($1,106/yr) in Alaska than in California — largely because it has no state income tax.
| # | State | State tax/yr | Net/wk | COL | Adj. net/wk | Avg RN/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaskano tax | — | $2,505 | 125 | $2,004 | $53.00 |
| 2 | Californiayou | $1,106 | $2,482 | 138 | $1,799 | $68.00 |
| 3 | Floridano tax | — | $2,390 | 102 | $2,343 | $38.00 |
| 4 | Nevadano tax | — | $2,390 | 102 | $2,343 | $49.00 |
| 5 | New Hampshireno tax | — | $2,390 | 110 | $2,172 | $42.00 |
| 6 | North Dakota | — | $2,390 | 95 | $2,515 | $38.00 |
| 7 | South Dakotano tax | — | $2,390 | 92 | $2,597 | $34.00 |
| 8 | Tennesseeno tax | — | $2,390 | 90 | $2,655 | $36.00 |
| 9 | Texasno tax | — | $2,390 | 92 | $2,597 | $42.00 |
| 10 | Washingtonno tax | — | $2,390 | 116 | $2,060 | $50.00 |
| 11 | Wyomingno tax | — | $2,390 | 94 | $2,542 | $39.00 |
| 12 | Ohio | $358 | $2,382 | 93 | $2,561 | $39.00 |
| 13 | Arizona | $634 | $2,376 | 102 | $2,330 | $44.00 |
| 14 | New Jersey | $744 | $2,374 | 114 | $2,083 | $51.00 |
| 15 | New Mexico | $816 | $2,373 | 94 | $2,524 | $42.00 |
| 16 | Louisiana | $858 | $2,372 | 91 | $2,606 | $37.00 |
| 17 | South Carolina | $866 | $2,372 | 96 | $2,470 | $38.00 |
| 18 | Mississippi | $927 | $2,370 | 86 | $2,756 | $33.00 |
| 19 | Rhode Island | $938 | $2,370 | 110 | $2,155 | $46.00 |
| 20 | Vermont | $955 | $2,370 | 115 | $2,061 | $42.00 |
| 21 | Iowa | $964 | $2,370 | 90 | $2,633 | $35.00 |
| 22 | Missouri | $1,012 | $2,369 | 89 | $2,661 | $36.00 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $1,075 | $2,367 | 95 | $2,492 | $41.00 |
| 24 | Colorado | $1,116 | $2,366 | 105 | $2,254 | $44.00 |
| 25 | North Carolina | $1,146 | $2,366 | 96 | $2,464 | $38.00 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $1,148 | $2,366 | 90 | $2,629 | $36.00 |
| 27 | Nebraska | $1,183 | $2,365 | 92 | $2,571 | $37.00 |
| 28 | Montana | $1,192 | $2,365 | 103 | $2,296 | $40.00 |
| 29 | Indiana | $1,194 | $2,365 | 90 | $2,628 | $38.00 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | $1,273 | $2,363 | 96 | $2,462 | $41.00 |
| 31 | Washington, DC | $1,322 | $2,362 | 153 | $1,544 | $53.00 |
| 32 | Kentucky | $1,334 | $2,362 | 92 | $2,567 | $36.00 |
| 33 | Idaho | $1,345 | $2,362 | 98 | $2,410 | $41.00 |
| 34 | Minnesota | $1,400 | $2,360 | 95 | $2,485 | $45.00 |
| 35 | Arkansas | $1,434 | $2,360 | 91 | $2,593 | $34.00 |
| 36 | Oklahoma | $1,449 | $2,359 | 87 | $2,712 | $36.00 |
| 37 | Maine | $1,472 | $2,359 | 110 | $2,145 | $41.00 |
| 38 | Michigan | $1,512 | $2,358 | 91 | $2,591 | $40.00 |
| 39 | Georgia | $1,530 | $2,358 | 91 | $2,591 | $40.00 |
| 40 | Virginia | $1,571 | $2,357 | 102 | $2,311 | $40.00 |
| 41 | Maryland | $1,606 | $2,356 | 116 | $2,031 | $44.00 |
| 42 | Connecticut | $1,616 | $2,356 | 113 | $2,085 | $47.00 |
| 43 | New York | $1,642 | $2,355 | 125 | $1,884 | $52.00 |
| 44 | Hawaii | $1,670 | $2,355 | 184 | $1,280 | $60.00 |
| 45 | Delaware | $1,735 | $2,353 | 101 | $2,330 | $43.00 |
| 46 | Alabama | $1,809 | $2,352 | 89 | $2,643 | $35.00 |
| 47 | Massachusetts | $1,854 | $2,351 | 148 | $1,589 | $53.00 |
| 48 | Utah | $1,866 | $2,351 | 102 | $2,305 | $39.00 |
| 49 | Illinois | $1,908 | $2,350 | 92 | $2,554 | $43.00 |
| 50 | Kansas | $2,026 | $2,347 | 87 | $2,698 | $35.00 |
| 51 | Oregon | $3,055 | $2,326 | 113 | $2,058 | $56.00 |
Educational estimate, not tax advice. Take-home is modeled for a single filer, standard deduction, taxed in the assignment state (we don't model your resident-state return and other-state credit). Cost-of-living indices are state averages (US = 100). "Avg RN/hr" is the BLS OEWS May 2024 state mean for staff RNs — travel pay typically runs higher. Your actual offer and metro will differ.
🥇 Alaska: $2,505/wk
The identical $24.00/hr + $1,650/wk stipend package, run across every state.
Save this scenario
Email me my Travel Nurse Pay by State scenario
Get a one-page PDF of these numbers — your inputs, your results, and a deep link back to tweak them later. Free, no spam.
The Travel Nurse Pay by State tool answers the question every traveler asks before picking a destination: where does my pay go the furthest? Enter one pay package — your taxable base rate, weekly housing and M&IE stipends, and schedule — and it instantly runs that identical package through all 50 states and DC, then ranks them by true weekly take-home after federal, FICA, and state income tax. Because nine states levy no income tax, the same contract can keep noticeably more in Texas, Florida, Washington, or Tennessee than in California or New York. But more dollars isn't the same as more spending power, so the tool also ranks states by cost-of-living-adjusted take-home and shows each state's average RN wage (from the BLS) for context. It's the fastest way to build a shortlist of the best-paying states for your situation.
Free, private, and no signup
Money Scale is built the opposite way from the big finance sites: the numbers you enter never leave your device, and there's nothing to sign up for.
- Your numbers stay privateEvery calculation runs in your browser. We never receive or store your salary, balances, or inputs.
- Always freeNo paywall, no upsell to a calculator that actually works.
- No login, no emailUse every tool instantly — we never gate results behind a signup.
- Sourced defaultsStarting rates and assumptions cite real data, not made-up numbers.
How this calculator works
- Enter your pay package once: taxable base hourly rate, weekly housing stipend, and weekly M&IE stipend.
- Set your schedule (shifts per week and hours per shift) and pick your current or reference state to benchmark against.
- Toggle whether stipends are tax-free for you, then choose to sort by raw take-home or by cost-of-living-adjusted value.
- Scan the ranked table of all 51 jurisdictions: state income tax per year, net per week, cost-of-living index, adjusted net, and the average RN wage. No-income-tax states are flagged.
- Use the headline callout to see exactly how much more (or less) the same package nets in the top state versus your reference state.
net_weekly(state) = taxable_wages − fed − FICA − state_tax(state) + tax_free_stipends adjusted = net_weekly ÷ (COL_index ÷ 100)The same package is held constant and only the state changes, so every difference you see comes from state income tax and cost of living — the two levers a traveler actually controls by choosing where to work. Sorting by take-home surfaces the no-income-tax states; sorting by adjusted value surfaces where that take-home buys the most.
- taxable_wages
- Weekly hourly pay (base rate × scheduled hours)
- state_tax(state)
- That state's income tax on the taxable wages (single filer)
- tax_free_stipends
- Housing + M&IE stipends, tax-free when you qualify
- COL_index
- State cost-of-living index, US average = 100
Frequently asked questions
Related calculators
See all- Travel Nurse PayReal take-home from a blended package — overtime, stipends, tax, by state.
- Compare ContractsRank 2–3 offers on real take-home and cost-of-living-adjusted value.
- Stipend AnalysisCheck stipends vs GSA limits and score your tax-home eligibility.
- Salary to HourlySalary → hourly with honest PTO accounting.
- Net WorthAssets − debts, with US-median comparison by age.