The cold, hard truth about cold, hard cash for travel nurse pay.

All About Allied or Travel Nurse Salary 

At Triage, we’re not shy when talking about traveler pay. That’s why our board of allied and travel nurse jobs highlights a weekly pay rate whenever possible. (NOTE: sometimes our contracts prohibit listing pay so if you don’t see it, that’s why.) Our goal is to be as transparent as possible, whenever possible.  

We’re here to help break down and answer some of your most common questions, such as how much does a travel nurse make a year and addressing rumors on a travel nurse pay cap. And although we’re focusing on nurses, much of this advice applies to allied travelers too, so don’t worry. We haven’t forgotten about y’all and we’ll have an entire section below going over allied health careers.  

How Much Do Travel Nurses Make 

The average annual salary for a nurse is about $75,000, but the average travel nurse salary can be much higher. Travelers typically make a higher hourly wage staff nurses and for good reason. They may not receive as many internal benefits as a staff nurse so they’re paid more to make up for it. Travel nurses who work full time (meaning all 52 weeks out of the year) can make an average travel nurse salary of $115,000, but some specialties can be even higher or lower. It all depends on the demand for the specialty at any given time in the year and by location. 

That number can be misleading though. Because travel nurses are higher paid, the facilities they work at don’t usually provide paid vacation time. Instead, travelers need to set funds aside for when they’re not working to make up for paid time off. Aside from the pay rate, one of the best things about healthcare travel is the ability to make your own schedule. Want to take 2 months off work during the winter holidays? You have the freedom to do that! You’ll just want to plan ahead of time to make sure you have savings tucked away. 

What Are the Highest Paid Travel Nurse Specialties 

It’s hard to say what is consistently the highest paid travel nurse specialty. So much goes into the travel rate and it’s impossible to have a one-size-fits-all approach when you’re looking at pay. Typically specialties like OR, cath lab, CVOR, PICU and RNFA are all higher paid specialties, though the rate can depend on location, hours and hospital needs. If you’re looking for a highly paid specialty, consider getting experience in one of the above specialties.  

If you’re currently working in a different specialty and want to move into one of the higher paid ones, you may need to take a staff job or a PRN job to get experience in that specialty before you can transfer. Most travel nurse jobs require at least two years of recent, applicable experience before you can take a travel position. That’s a facility requirement and not something that we can easily change. 

Factors That Affect Travel Nurse Pay 

Most travel nursing contracts are for 36 hours a week, but it’s possible to find some for 48 if you want to put in an extra day of work each week. Allied folks typically work a full 40 hours, but as always, things vary by location, contract and specialty. When asking how much does a travel nurse make a month, it’s important to know what you’re looking at. Companies can figure how much does a traveling nurse make an hour in a few different ways, so let’s break it down. 

All contracts are subject to the bill rate. The bill rate is the amount that the facility pays. Everything related to your contract comes out of the bill rate, including your hourly salary, your housing stipend, meals and incidentals, hourly rates for completing required modules, health insurance, payroll taxes, 401k matches, drug tests, liability insurance, compliance and credentialling costs, any required vaccines or medical exams and so much more, meaning the travel nurse salary number you see isn’t quite the full picture.  

The best way we’ve seen this explained is using a pie chart. The bill rate is the full pie and everything else gets divided up depending on stipend, hourly rate, insurance and everything else. If your agency gives out expensive gifts for professional holidays like North Face jackets, Figs scrubs or anything else that’s expensive, guess what? Those are coming out of the bill rate too—you’re just not seeing it.  

What About a Cap on Travel Nurse Pay 

When Covid and Covid rates were at their highest, rumors were all over social media talking about capping travel nurse pay. The rumors went rampant in travel nursing Facebook groups and many nurses worried that there would be a salary cap on what they can earn while on a travel assignment. Like most rumors, there wasn’t much truth to this.  

Instead, a two congressmen wrote a letter to the White House’s Covid-19 response team in January 2022. In the letter, they expressed concern that staffing companies would take advantage of the pandemic to inflate their rates charged to the hospitals. More than 200 members of Congress also signed the letter.  

This is where the confusion came in. One of the letter’s original writers, Congressman Morgan Griffin (R-VA), was concerned with rumors that some staffing agencies were keeping as much as 40% of the bill rate for the agency, instead of passing the money on to the nurses. He flat out said that he does not support legislation to cap nurses’ pay.  

It’s a good lesson for everyone to thoroughly research anything found on social media before worrying about it or getting worked up. Chances are good that you’re only seeing half the story. 

How Much Do Allied Travel Health Care Pros Make 

Although we’ve been going over all things travel nurse pay, allied folks, we haven’t forgotten about you. But comparing pay rates for allied travel health care jobs is difficult. With so many different career types as well as a big difference in education requirements for these jobs, comparing them isn’t really possible.  

But what we can do is go through some of the different types of allied health care careers and the educational and experience requirements, as well as the average page. One thing to note about a lot of allied health careers—sometimes there are fewer jobs for these specialties so you may need to be open to multiple locations. The best way to get where you want to go is to have a conversation with your recruiter. He or she can talk through your “must-have” assignment aspects, so that you can get as close to perfect as possible. For instance, if you want to be in Florida because you’ll be near the beach, maybe you’ll be happy working in South Carolina instead. Once you have that conversation, your recruiter will be able to find out what’s a requirement for your assignment and what’s a “nice to have” bonus.  

Rehab Allied Health Career Pay 

Rehab allied health careers include physical therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapy assistants and speech language therapists. These rehab therapists can typically travel right after graduation, unlike most other healthcare careers that require a couple years of experience before traveling. However you will need to be licensed in a state before you take a job in that state. Pay packages for rehab careers can vary wildly depending on location, but currently, it’s possible to find a pay package up to $2900 a week.  

Radiology Allied Health Career Pay 

Radiology allied health careers include cath lab techs, CT techs, echo techs, MRI techs, radiation therapists, respiratory therapists, ultrasound techs and X-ray techs. With such a varied group of careers, there’s naturally a lot of range in the base pay. Although the pay can vary by facility and location, cath lab techs currently enjoy higher pay rates than many other radiology careers. However, there are plenty of jobs available for many specialties that are currently higher than $3000 a week. 

Cardiopulmonary Allied Health Career Pay 

Cardiopulmonary allied health careers include anesthesia techs, respiratory therapists, dietitians, sleep techs and EEG techs. Although the need for (and pay rate) for respiratory techs peaked during the Covid pandemic, they’re still in need throughout the U.S. and command a rate of at least $2500 per week in some areas of the country. The demand for sleep techs and EEG techs is lower, but it’s still possible to find a position that pays between $1200-$2000 per week. Realize that if your specialty isn’t in as high demand, you may need to be flexible with what state you’re working in if you want to chase a higher rate of pay.  

Laboratory Allied Health Career Pay 

Laboratory allied health careers include blood bank techs, cytotechnologists, histotechnician, clinical lab scientists, lab directors, medical technologists, microbiology technologists, MLTs, pathology assistants and phlebotomists. With so many different careers, the pay rate can vary wildly. For instance, a clinical lab scientist can earn anywhere from $1800-$3500 a week, while a medical technologist is about $2000-$2300. There are fewer laboratory jobs than there are nursing positions, so you might have to be open to different areas throughout the country if you’re chasing the money. 

Questions to Ask About Your Allied or Travel Nurse Pay Package 

Before you sign a contract as a traveler, make sure you ask your recruiter these questions about your travel nurse pay package and your travel nurse pay breakdown. Knowing what to ask before means you’ll be able to make better decisions for your career—and your wallet. And we’re here for that.  

Allied or Travel Nurse Pay Question #1: What’s the Weekly Rate? 

The weekly rate on our site is an estimate, as your tax situation can vary. Factors like living in a state with no state tax or a state with high taxes will affect your take-home pay. Use this as a starting point, but keep in mind it’s not a one-size-fits-all answer.

Allied or Travel Nurse Pay Question #2: What About the Tax-Free Stipends? 

Next, have a chat about the tax-free stipends. Typically, these can include housing and travel allowances, but they should be clearly spelled out in your contract. Sometimes recruiters will push for a very low hourly rate and a stipend amount that exceeds the GSA’s allowance for that area. While it sounds great (on paper), it can have major consequences for travelers. Having a low hourly rate and a higher rate of tax-free stipends can open a travel nurse up for an IRS audit, but it can also affect things like Social Security when you’re older and the ability to qualify for a mortgage. Lenders typically only look at your taxable rate, so having an extremely low taxable rate can limit your spending ability later on.  

Allied or Travel Nurse Pay Question #3: Do You Offer Benefits? 

Your benefits are an important part of your pay package, so ask your recruiter what they offer and more importantly, how much you’ll pay. Make sure to get the answers that match your situation—obviously family medical coverage costs more than single coverage.  

If you’re interested in a retirement account, ask about that too. Triage offers a company match once you’ve reached 1000 hours worked, and a year of employment. However, you can open an account after you receive your first paycheck.  

Allied or Travel Nurse Pay Question #4: Does Your Company Offer Gifts? 

While gifts may not see like part of your pay, companies often factor the cost into your paycheck. Lavish gifts like North Face jackets, Figs scrubs or other lavish gifts are paid for by you, even if they’re not listed in your contract. Ask about the company’s gifting policy and consider if you’re comfortable with the cost. We’re just being honest with you.

Want to find a new travel nurse job? Connect with your recruiter or check out our job site full of allied and travel nurse jobs.