Skilled nurses and other healthcare professionals are always in demand, but Covid-19 and the continued spread of the Delta variant have made them more needed than ever, especially in the ICU. Many states saw travel worker healthcare wages in the ICU increase over July 2021, while other states recorded drops in healthcare pay rates. A few states had little movement in healthcare pay, so wages remained about the same. Stay ahead of market trends by exploring ICU healthcare wage trends during July in all 50 states.
States With Wage Increases
All but seven states saw ICU healthcare wages increase during July, some by much more than others. Of these 43 states, Vermont recorded the highest overall increase at 34.2% and South Dakota had the lowest at 2.7%. The top three states with hefty wage increases also recorded rising Covid cases.
- Vermont has seen a distinct uptick in Covid-19 cases. The state recorded 34 new Covid diagnoses during the week ending June 28, which rose to 282 in just five short weeks.
- After months of relatively stable cases, Wyoming’s health department noted a sharp increase, largely due to the Delta variant. Wyoming had 47 confirmed Covid cases on July 1, which doubled to 94 by August 1.
- Covid-19 numbers are rising quickly in Mississippi and there’s already an extreme shortage of intensive care beds statewide. On July 1, Mississippi recorded 113 patients with confirmed infections, 36 patients in ICUs, and 12 patients on ventilators. By July 31, there were 907 patients with confirmed infections, 250 in ICUs, and 124 on ventilators.
| State | Average Weekly Pay July 1 |
Average Weekly Pay July 31 |
Percent Increase |
| Vermont | $1,782 | $2,392 | 34.2% |
| Wyoming | $2,055 | $2,628 | 27.9% |
| Mississippi | $1,949 | $2,469 | 26.7% |
| Kansas | $1,955 | $2,466 | 26.1% |
| Idaho | $2,083 | $2,495 | 19.8% |
| Oklahoma | $2,224 | $2,613 | 17.5% |
| Louisiana | $2,039 | $2,365 | 16% |
| Arizona | $2,119 | $2,456 | 15.9% |
| Florida | $2,133 | $2,460 | 15.5% |
| South Carolina | $2,079 | $2,388 | 14.9% |
| Alaska | $1,869 | $2,140 | 14.5% |
| Georgia | $2,255 | $2,580 | 14.4% |
| Minnesota | $2,366 | $2,702 | 14.2% |
| New Hampshire | $2,038 | $2,318 | 13.7% |
| Texas | $2,062 | $2,343 | 13.6% |
| Virginia | $2,024 | $2,279 | 12.6% |
| Arkansas | $2,199 | $2,464 | 12% |
| Maine | $2,084 | $2,334 | 12% |
| Connecticut | $2,330 | $2,604 | 11.8% |
| New York | $2,237 | $2,489 | 11.3% |
| Missouri | $2,395 | $2,655 | 10.9% |
| California | $2,383 | $2,619 | 9.9% |
| Washington | $2,146 | $2,345 | 9.3% |
| Massachusetts | $2,349 | $2,553 | 8.7% |
| Alabama | $1,931 | $2,092 | 8.3% |
| Wisconsin | $2,300 | $2,487 | 8.1% |
| North Carolina | $2,152 | $2,309 | 7.3% |
| Kentucky | $2,174 | $2,327 | 7% |
| Oregon | $2,310 | $2,471 | 7% |
| Nevada | $2,243 | $2,397 | 6.9% |
| Iowa | $2,267 | $2,418 | 6.7% |
| Hawaii | $2,194 | $2,331 | 6.2% |
| Tennessee | $2,085 | $2,215 | 6.2% |
| Utah | $2,120 | $2,233 | 5.3% |
| Michigan | $2,178 | $2,284 | 4.9% |
| New Mexico | $2,343 | $2,456 | 4.8% |
| West Virginia | $2,043 | $2,137 | 4.6% |
| Pennsylvania | $2,362 | $2,469 | 4.5% |
| Illinois | $2,349 | $2,433 | 3.6% |
| Maryland | $2,295 | $2,358 | 2.8% |
| South Dakota | $2,339 | $2,402 | 2.7% |
Travel workers in Vermont saw the highest pay increases in July 2021. States With Wage Decreases
Due to the current demand for healthcare professionals, it isn’t surprising that only three states saw healthcare pay rates decrease in July 2021. Montana had the largest drop with an 11.5% decrease in healthcare wages, despite 59 daily Covid-19 cases on July 1 jumping to 151 by July 31.
| State | Average Weekly Pay July 1 |
Average Weekly Pay July 31 |
Percent Increase |
| Ohio | $2,210 | $2,231 | -1% |
| Colorado | $2,341 | $2,281 | -2.6% |
| Montana | $2,409 | $2,131 | -11.5% |
States That Stayed the Same
Healthcare wages in four states stayed relatively the same throughout July. The overall change in pay rate between July 1 and July 31 was less than 1%.
| State | Average Weekly Pay July 1 |
Average Weekly Pay July 31 |
Percent Increase |
| Indiana | $2,417 | $2,404 | -0.5% |
| New Jersey | $2,356 | $2,342 | -0.6% |
| North Dakota | $2,710 | $2,686 | -0.9% |
| Nebraska | $2,499 | $2,476 | -0.9% |
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