Planning estimates, not a job offer, career or tax advice. Nursing Salaries is an independent reference site. We are not a school, hospital, staffing or travel-nurse agency, recruiter, board of nursing or credentialing body, and we do not enroll students or place nurses.
Wage figures are survey estimates
Every salary on this site is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) estimate for May 2025, as republished by O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor). The figures describe what employers paid wage and salary workers. They leave out the self-employed, most benefits, sign-on bonuses, overtime and shift premiums, and travel or agency contracts, and a single state or metro figure can carry a sampling error of several percent. Your own offer depends on the employer, unit, shift, experience, certifications, union contract and local market.
Travel nurse pay
No government agency publishes travel nurse pay rates, so we do not print any. The travel calculator only does arithmetic on the offer you enter. Whether stipends are tax-free depends on your own tax home under IRS rules; ask a tax professional about your situation.
Take-home pay is an approximation
Take-home results apply the IRS 2026 federal income tax brackets and standard deduction, Social Security (6.2% up to the 2026 wage base) and Medicare to the gross pay shown, plus the state rate you type in. They ignore credits, itemized deductions, local taxes, insurance premiums and how your employer actually withholds. Your pay stub is the real number.
License, exam and school rules change
NCLEX fees, Nurse Licensure Compact membership, nurse aide training hours, practice authority for nurse practitioners and accreditation rules for nurse anesthesia programs are set by NCSBN, state legislatures, state boards of nursing, federal regulation and accreditors, and they change. We link the rule behind each statement and date it. Confirm with your board of nursing or program before you apply, enroll or pay.
School costs and payback
The payback calculator does arithmetic on the numbers you enter. It does not know your admission chances, financial aid, clinical placement or future salary. Use each program's published cost of attendance and your own loan terms.
No paid relationships
We carry no affiliate links and are not paid by schools, agencies, lenders or employers. The site may be supported by display advertising; advertisers have no say over our data or pages.
Corrections
If you find an error, tell us through the contact page. We fix mistakes and note material changes on the page.