Have Skills, Will Travel: Salary Bump a Top Reason Nurses Choose to Travel (2024)

• A new Voices of Care survey found that the top reason nurses choose to travel for their career is because of the increased salary.
• The same survey also found that 19% of perm nurses and 14% of per diem respondents had a desire to shift into travel nursing.
• But just two years ago, there wasn’t enough data to understand why nurses make the jump from a full-time, permanent position to a travel role, according to an article in the “Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing.”

Nearly all practitioners who opt for a career as a travel nurse do so for the higher salary, according to a new Voices of Care survey.

Conducted by Medical Solutions, the survey includes responses from more than 7,000 registered nurses.

“The overwhelming response to our Voices of Care survey highlights the significance of understanding the multifaceted reasons behind nurses’ decisions to pursue travel opportunities,” Patti Artley, Chief Nursing Officer at Medical Solutions, said in a news release.

The survey also found that 19% of perm nurses and 14% of per diem resondents have a desire to move into travel nursing.

News coverage of travel nursing has amplified due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the industry’s workforce shortage, ensuring that the niche stays in the larger conversation.

“Notwithstanding incentives or inspiration, these nurses’ decisions to travel catalyzed a shift that interacted with an existing complex and fragmented supply versus demand situation,” April Hansen, MSN, RN, and Carol Tuttas, PhD, RN, wrote in their 2022 “Nurse Leader” study. “Individually, the choice to travel generated a sense of control amidst an environment of mounting uncertainty. Collectively, the nursing workforce gained fluidity to counter the ill effects of maldistribution, funneling much needed expertise to practice settings in greatest need during census surges.”

Still, the origins of travel nursing — and interest in this particular niche — go beyond dollars and cents.

Nurses Choose to Travel: Where Did it all Start?

Travel nursing can be traced back to a nursing shortage in the 1970s, according to the Professional Association of Nurse Travelers. Asthe decade neared its end, businessman Bruce Male established Traveling Nurse Corps, an agency for travel nurses.

Over the next 20 years, these nurses would routinely cover maternity leave, making the 13-week contract commonplace, NBC News reported.

More than 1.7 million people currently are employed as travel nurses in the U.S., according to data compiled by Zippia, the majority of which are white and female.

And Medical Solutions data, as of Dec. 23, 2023, shows the following states have the highest demand for travel nurses:

1. California
2. Texas
3. Ohio
4. Massachusetts
5. Missouri
6. Pennsylvania
7. New York
8. North Carolina
9. Virginia
10. Arizona

Salary, Autonomy Lead to Travel Nurse Careers

Just two years ago, Jan Odom-Forren, PhD, RN, CPAN, FASPAn, FAAN, wrote in the “Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing” that there wasn’t enough data to know why nurses transition to a travel role.” When she asked a nurse why she chose a travel position, the nurse’s response included a flexible schedule, “poor pay and poor treatment” in a full-time capacity; and seeing new places.

“This nurse went further to say that if hospitals are not going to prioritize retaining their most experienced staff, then people like her are going to look elsewhere to make nursing more tolerable,” Odom-Forren wrote.

Zip Recruiter data shows that travel nurses in the U.S. make nearly $50 per hour, with New Lisbon, Wisconsin, named the best city for travel nursing. Located about 85 miles northwest of Madison, the city boasts an average annual salary of nearly $130,000 and hourly wage of $62.27 for travel nurses.

However, travel nurses who hold a master’s degree can earn a median annual income of nearly $106,000, followed by those with a doctorate, who can earn upwards of $97,000, according to Zippia. It was unclear why a doctorate would not result in a higher salary than a master’s degree.

Ivan Gan, an assistant professor in the Department of Arts and Communication at the University of Houston-Downtown, found that, of the nearly 30 nurses he interviewed for a study on temporary workers, most left full-time positions because of burnout.

“Although they welcomed the bump in pay, travel nursing also gave them the autonomy to decide when and where to work,” Gan wrote in an article originally published by The Conversation. “That autonomy allowed them to pursue personal and professional interests that were meaningful to them, and it made some of the other hassles, such as long commutes, worth it.”

Resume development, increased pay, potential housing stipends, and flexibility are also top advantages to travel nursing.

Dilemmas for Nurses Who Choose to Travel

Despite the pay and autonomy, some who have spent a considerable amount of time as a travel nurse urge caution for those considering the change. They suggest comparing current expenses to what would be incurred while traveling; being OK with the unknown; and separation from family and friends.

And in Iowa, legislators are attempting to implement a measure that would put a cap on how much travel nurse agencies can charge for temporary staff. If approved, temporary nurse staffing agencies would be restricted to charging 150% of the state’s average nursing wage.

The Bottom Line

A recent survey of 7,000 registered nurses found that almost all nurses who choose to travel did so because of the increase in pay. While education level plays a role, even those who only have an associate degree can make roughly $80,000.

But some who have experienced the travel nurse life stress caution and urge potential travel nurses to fully understand the expenses they would incur, how much time they would spend away from family and if the added income is worth it at the end of the day.