After a month of flat wages in September, the national average travel nursing salary saw a return of declines in October 2023. However, the decline was relatively small, with weekly pay dropping 0.3% from $2,431 in September to $2,423 in October. Vivian Health recorded much larger decreases in earlier months in 2023, including wages in March, which fell by 3.1% that month alone. Taking a long-term view, October represents a continuation of the wage stabilization trend we’ve commented on since our June travel nursing salary report.

Throughout 2023, healthcare facilities have been trying to keep units more adequately staffed with perm staff hires, taking some of the heat out of the market for travel nurses. In year-over-year comparisons with October 2022 wage trends, nationwide average travel nursing pay has fallen 9.6%, declining in every state but Florida. In the Sunshine State, wages have gone up 1.7% year-over-year but remain well below the national average at just $2,223 per week.

In our review of October 2023 monthly wage data, exactly half of states saw relatively small wage changes of less than 1% up or down. Of the remaining states, seven experienced increases above 1%, and 18 saw decreases of 1% or more. Mississippi stood out for its dramatic wage decrease of 7.6% during the month.

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States Experiencing Travel Nursing Salary Increases

In October, just seven states recorded travel RN salary increases of 1% or more. South Dakota led the pack, with average weekly wages climbing 4.1% from $2,432 in September to $2,531 in October. This increase puts wages in the Mount Rushmore State 4.5% above the national average of $2,423.

States Where Travel Nurse Pay Decreased

Meanwhile, 18 states experienced travel RN pay decreases of 1% or more. Mississippi recorded a significant fall of 7.6% from $2,208 per week in September to $2,041 in October, making the Magnolia State the lowest-paying state in the nation.

We’ve also had our eye on Delaware in recent months after a huge wage increase in August followed by the largest wage decrease of any state at 8.7% in September. Delaware continues that decline, with wages falling another 4.7% in October from $2,524 to $2,405, putting it just below the national average.

Travel Nurse Wages Remained Relatively Flat in Half of States 

Holding with the ongoing trend of stabilizing travel RN salaries, we weren’t surprised that half of all states saw wages rise or fall by less than 1% during October. Roughly half of those states saw rates increase slightly, with the other half decreasing slightly.

State and Regional Rankings for Travel RN Pay

This month, we also looked at the variability in pay levels across both states and regions to help illustrate which areas might be most attractive to travel nurses. This view can also help highlight what health systems might offer to compete in different regions. Average weekly salaries varied considerably in October depending on the state, from Mississippi with the lowest pay at $2,041 a week to California with the highest pay at $2,939 per week.

A few states stand out because they offer above-average travel nursing salaries but a more modest cost of living. These states include:

• Arizona
• Minnesota
• Nevada
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Vermont
• Wyoming
• Wisconsin

Although none of these states are among the top 15 states by cost of living, they’re all in the top 15 for travel nurse pay. Travel nurses may find that taking temporary posts in states like these allows them to save money before moving on to their next position.

Pay rates also vary on average depending on the region of the country. We grouped states into four often-cited Census Bureau-defined regions and then calculated average travel nursing pay in the Northeast ($2,512), the South ($2,203), the Midwest ($2,358) and the West ($2,477).

Rather than compete for travel nurses with higher pay, many health systems today focus on improving their hiring tactics for staff roles. Vivian covered some of the highlights of this transition in our Return to Perm webinar. 

Vivian can offer your organization an array of tools for both travel nurse and staff role hiring.

Schedule a demo to learn more today.

All average salary data based on travel RN jobs posted on Vivian Health during the complete month of October 2023 compared to the jobs posted during the complete month of September 2023.