Travel Nurse Pay: How Much We REALLY Make
If there's one thing people tend to hear about travel nursing is that you can make a lot of money. Getting paid loads of money to travel the country sounds like a no brainer, right? Easy, tiger. Travel nurse pay depends on quite a few things; supply and demand, location, cost of living, and your specialty to name a few. Let's take a look.
Supply and Demand
Now I'm no economist by any means, but somewhere deep in the neural pathways hidden behind obsolete telephone numbers from 20 years ago, movie quotes, and other useless information are some remnants of old lessons of supply and demand. I'll keep it simple. In times of abundance, supply exceeds demand. When you have plenty of something and there's not a lot of demand for it, it's going to be cheaper. In scarcity, demand exceeds supply and boom! You are going to be paying exponentially more for whatever it is you desire because of the limited supply.
What That Means in the Travel Nurse World
In the travel nursing world this is applicable to a lot of things but especially pay packages. Times of abundance may mean hospitals are adequately staffed and there are far more travel nurses than there are jobs. This may mean "low ball" offers: aka offers that aren't exactly up to snuff. Also meaning if you and Nurse Ratchet have the same application and the same skills but Nurse Ratchet puts her application with a travel nurse agency offering $200 less a week, guess who they are going to take? Nurse Ratchet. In all her glory. Healthcare is a business after all.
In times of scarcity, when units are short staffed and desperately needing nurses, demand exceeds supply and you will see higher paying jobs. This may be for things like strikes (these are common in unionized states like California), computer system conversions, or extenuating circumstances such as the Covid 19 crisis.
At the time of this writing, we are about to experience the second wave of COVID-19 sweeping across our country. COVID-19 has turned the whole world upside down, and travel nursing has certainly not been immune to that. Because of the increased need for critical care, specialties such as ER and ICU are in high demand and paying crazy high rates. However, if you are in a specialty like Pre-Op or PACU (like me!) the cancellation of elective surgeries at many hospitals has caused the number of travel nurse jobs to drop.
So, kids, supply and demand can definitely affect your travel nurse pay. You can thank me later for your economics lesson.
Location, Location, Location
Travel nurse pay can also depend on the location where you are looking. This has to do with the cost of living associated with where you are going, but in some cases the pay packages will be lower even if cost of living is higher in that area. One way to get a ball park idea of what you should be making for a certain location is to look up the GSA Per Diem Rate . The GSA website is a government website that lists daily rates of per diem (essentially your stipends but in a daily sum versus weekly or monthly) by county and state. Keep in mind these are the maximum amounts allowed per the government. But as a general rule most travelers can expect to be allotted 50-75% of the maximum allowed rate.
Lower-Paying Travel Nurse Jobs
The Southeast is pretty well known in the travel nurse world for lower travel nurse pay. That does have something to do with the fact that cost of living is low in this area of the country. However, that doesn't always mean you should be content with a super low paying southern job. Hospitals in the southern states know they are highly desired destinations with their warm weather, many beaches, and slower pace of life and as such are often known to “pay in sunshine.” However, big cities like Atlanta and Miami and even my own lovely hometown of Charleston, SC ain't cheap to live in, so be sure you are getting paid enough to not break the bank.
Higher-Paying Travel Nurse Jobs
California is well known as a hot spot for high paying travel nurse jobs. But, along with these great pay packages often comes a higher cost of living. Sure $2200 weekly take home pay sounds great on paper, but if you are paying $2500 a month for a one-bedroom apartment plus living expenses at your home...well that's not so nice after all. I’ll get into a full breakdown on why in a bit.
Specialty
Another factor playing into how much a travel nurse makes is the specialty you are in. Typically, specialties that fall under the critical care umbrella like ER, ICU, PACU, Cath lab and the like pay a bit better than say Med Surge or telemetry. Needs in the different critical care areas will fluctuate individually, but typically these jobs are easier to come by.
I feel this was perhaps a bit more evident when I started travel nursing originally in 2014. But these days there doesn't seem to be much of a difference between specialties; you can still get good rates and make that good money. So just know your worth!
Let's Talk Numbers
Ok, so we talked about some factors that can affect your travel nurse pay. Now, let's look at what travel nurses are typically making these days. Before we talk about what you are going to make there is one important thing that you have to get clear on before you start dreaming of fat bank rolls: BUDGET. First things first: look at your own expenses.
Monthly Expenses
When looking at travel nurse pay and what you need to make each month, you have to have a clear idea of what your basic monthly spending habits are. Just normal everyday things like bills, loans, credit cards, rent/mortgage at home, groceries, toiletries, etc. What are you normally spending every month at home?
I’ll use my situation as an example. I own my home in Charleston. I have been able to rent part of it out most of the time while I am traveling, so that is helpful. However, I budget as if I did not have that person in my home and I am responsible for the entire mortgage and all the bills in addition to my normal everyday living expenses. Roommates move, things break, hurricanes come, etc.
So, find a ballpark number of your regular monthly expenses. Some people obviously have more expenses than others, some have mortgages where others just have rent, some may have costly student loan payments or car payments, etc. The reason this is important is because you are going to have to account for this when you are looking at a pay package. I'll explain.
Travel Nurse Pay Package
There's a lot that goes into breaking down a pay package, but we will focus generally at this time. Companies will usually give you two different numbers: gross pay and net pay. Gross pay is non-taxed, net pay is taxed. Most companies tend to give out gross pay first, and then your recruiter may help you calculate estimated net pay. You obviously want to really zero in on net pay, because as the saying goes the only two things certain in life are death and taxes.
Typical pay packages pre-COVID ran anywhere from $1400-$2200 per week gross. A lot depends on the aforementioned factors, but it is good to have a very rough idea of what recruiters will be offering. It is important to note that the pay packages for $4,000 a week or more are very temporary and only available in select specialties in areas that are seeing high rates of COVID admissions. These are not typical and the range I mentioned above is much more consistent with pay rates I have seen over the last several years.
While obviously no one wants to take a low-ball offer, if it's a location you really want and you can make a pay rate work for your budget you could still come out on top. Do your research, know your worth, and work with your recruiter to find the best pay package for you. Once you have your monthly expense amount in mind, and have pay packages to look at it's time to circle back to... drumroll... BUDGET.
Budget
Even if you have never written a budget before, I promise we all start somewhere. I know it's scary and seems like way too much adulting, however this is a pretty darn important topic when it comes to travel nurse pay.
When you are looking at a pay package, you want to calculate your net pay for the month minus your normal monthly expenses. This is the golden number to really pay attention to because this is what you will actually have to live on while on assignment.
More than likely the most expensive part of your budget will be housing. This is why one of the first things I do when I start submitting to jobs is looking at housing costs in the cities I may be potentially working in. It's always nice to have a private place, but will that fit in my budget given my regular monthly expenses? If not, can I cut corners to make it work? If not, then leave it might not be the best job choice for you. No one gets into travel nursing to live paycheck to paycheck!
I regularly budget for around $3000 a month to cover my basic expenses. As I mentioned before this includes my mortgage back home and some savings, because it is always important to have an emergency fund when you work as a travel nurse. So, say I get quoted $1500 a week gross and I am going to a place where let's say housing is $1100 a month. As a single person after taxes I usually estimate about 25% of my pay will go to taxes and insurance. This could vary a bit depending on if you take company insurance or if you have dependents. The breakdown looks like this:
$1500 x 4 weeks = $6000$6000 x .75 (25% taken out for taxes) = $4500 a month$4500-$3000 general expenses = $1500 a month net$1500 - $1100 for housing = $400 a month profit
Kinda dismal huh? In this situation I would certainly look for ways to cut corners and make better net profit. After all, you likely got into travel nursing to travel and ENJOY the area you are in, so plan to spend a bit more on entertainment, eating out, and exploring than you would when living at home.
How to Make it Work
Now, not everyone has a $3000 a month monthly expenses, and honestly that is being overly cautious for me. But I tend to err on the side of caution because I like to be prepared as well as save money.
The primary way to cut expenses would be looking into your options for housing. There is a lot to think about in regards to travel nurse housing including opting for shared housing or negotiating pricing. The financial gurus advise to keep housing cost at no more than 28% of your gross monthly income, but I have a good idea if I can afford an area based on my net profit. Is $400 a month enough to have “play” money and cover unexpected expenses? Not really!
Pro Tips for Negotiating Housing
- Always do your research. Look at housing sites like Furnished Finder and Travel Nurse Housing.com to gather what typical housing cost is in that area. Another great resource is the Furnished Finder Housing Stats Tool.
- Be up front with the property owner. Have a budget in mind and stick with it. Many will ask what your budget is and see what they can do to work with you.
- Plead your case. Most people have respect for traveling nurses and know that we are generally good humans and will respect their property. Any references you can give are always helpful!
- Be kind and courteous. Property owners put a lot of time and money into these places, and as a property owner myself I can confirm it ain't always easy. Be respectful!
At the end of the day, you have to do what is best for you! Be wise with your money and budget and you can make just about any situation work if you are flexible.
Gypsy love, Katie