Press & Data
TravelNurseCalc publishes quarterly analysis of travel nurse pay, housing stipends, and market economics. Journalists, researchers, and nursing publications may cite our tax and per diem analysis free of charge — we ask only for attribution with a link. Please read the note below on which figures are sourced and which are our own estimates before quoting a number.
Data reviewed July 3, 2026 · 50 states, 221 cities, FY2026 GSA rates
How to read these numbers
Pay, rent and cost-of-living figures on this site are our own editorial estimates, last reviewed July 31, 2026. They are not survey results, agency-reported rates, or government wage data, and they should not be cited as a data source. Use them to orient yourself, then check any specific offer against the actual contract. Our methodology page explains exactly how each figure is produced and which ones come from a published source.
Ready-to-Cite Statistics
$1,868/week
National average travel nurse pay, 2026 (≈$47/hr blended)
99% of cities
have a housing stipend surplus — the GSA lodging allowance exceeds average local 1BR rent (219 of 221 tracked cities)
$2,320/week
Hawaii leads state pay averages
$5,200/week
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) is the highest-paying specialty
50 / 221 / 14
states, cities, and specialties in our continuously reviewed dataset
All figures computed from the live dataset at publication and re-verified quarterly. Full methodology in each report.
Quarterly Reports & Analyses
LATEST — JULY 2026
Q2 2026 Pay Transparency Report
Stipend surplus/deficit rankings across 221 cities, no-tax state analysis, GSA FY2027 outlook.
INTERACTIVE DATASET
Housing Stipends by State Matrix
All 50 states: GSA allowances vs housing costs, color-coded surplus/deficit.
ARCHIVE
All Reports
Quarterly transparency reports, overrated cities, CRNA pay, rural opportunities, stipends vs inflation.
INTERACTIVE DATASET
GSA Rate Explorer
Sortable per diem rates and stipend margins for 221 cities.
How to Cite Us
- •Our tax and per diem analysis may be republished with attribution and a link to the source page. These figures are computed from published IRS, SSA and GSA sources, listed on our methodology page.
- •Please do not cite our pay, rent or cost-of-living figures as statistics. Those are internal editorial estimates, not survey or wage data. If you need a defensible pay number we will tell you so and point you to a primary source instead.
- •Custom data pulls (specific states, cities, specialties, or time comparisons) are available free for editorial use — contact us with your angle and deadline.
- •Expert commentary on travel nurse pay, stipend economics, and market trends is available for interviews and quotes.
- •Embeddable calculator: publications may embed our pay calculator on their own pages — see the embed tool.
Methodology at a Glance
Our tax figures are computed from published sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 for federal brackets and the standard deduction, SSA and IRS Topic 751 for FICA, IRS Topic 554 for self-employment tax. Those carry a citation and a retrieval date, and our build fails if any loses one. Our pay, rent and cost-of-living figures are internal editorial estimates — they are not aggregated from job postings, wage surveys or BEA indices, and we ask that they not be quoted as statistics. The dataset covers 50 states, 221 cities, and 14 specialties and is reviewed quarterly.
Our full methodology, including exactly which figures are sourced and which are ours, is published at /methodology/. We flag estimates as estimates — when a journalist needs a defensible number, we'd rather say we don't have one than hand over a figure that won't survive scrutiny.