Travel Nurse Pay Transparency Report: Q3 2026
The FY2027 GSA Per Diem Edition
Published October 25, 2026 · 295 GSA localities, 218 tracked cities, 51 BLS wage areas
How the numbers here are checked
Tax figures are computed from published IRS and SSA sources and per diem from GSA, each carrying a citation and a retrieval date; our build fails if any loses one. Pay, rent and cost-of-living figures are our own editorial estimates. This page has not been reviewed by a licensed professional — see our methodology, and consult a CPA about your own situation.
Summary
On October 1, 2026, GSA's fiscal year 2027 per diem rates replaced the FY2026 rates. They set the federal lodging and meals (M&IE) ceilings that agencies use to cap tax-free travel nurse stipends. Comparing GSA's own monthly tables for both years across all 295 CONUS localities that exist in both:
- The 12-month average nightly lodging rate rose in 282 localities, held flat in 13 and fell in none. The median change was +$6.25 a night, or +$43.75 a week on the housing (lodging) ceiling.
- The peak-month rate is a different story: it rose in 259, held in 18 and fell in 18; 9 of those 18 replaced a seasonal schedule with one rate for the whole year.
- M&IE did not change in any matched locality (0 changes). The CONUS standard rate rose from $110 to $113 a night; standard M&IE stays $68.
282/295
Localities with a higher average lodging rate
+$43.75
Median change, weekly lodging ceiling
$110 → $113
CONUS standard lodging, per night
18
Localities whose peak-month rate fell
Two ceilings appear in this report. The weekly lodging ceiling is the nightly lodging rate × 7; a housing stipend is measured against this one. The weekly combined ceiling is (lodging + M&IE) × 7, which caps housing and meals stipends together. Each figure below says which it is.
The 10 Largest Lodging Increases, FY2026 to FY2027
Ranked by the change in the 12-month average of GSA's monthly lodging rates. GSA does not publish an average; it is our arithmetic on GSA's twelve published monthly figures, used so that a locality whose rates moved between months is not ranked on one month alone. The lowest and peak months are shown too.
| GSA locality | FY2026 low–peak | FY2027 low–peak | Change, avg / night | Change, weekly lodging ceiling (avg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque, NM | $144–$144 | $154–$208 | +$37.00 | +$259.00/wk |
| Tucson, AZ | $123–$171 | $154–$208 | +$32.50 | +$227.50/wk |
| Bakersfield / Ridgecrest, CA | $132–$132 | $164–$164 | +$32.00 | +$224.00/wk |
| South Lake Tahoe, CA | $141–$247 | $168–$262 | +$30.17 | +$211.17/wk |
| Sunnyvale / Palo Alto / San Jose, CA | $192–$192 | $218–$218 | +$26.00 | +$182.00/wk |
| Ocean Shores, WA | $110–$132 | $136–$155 | +$25.50 | +$178.50/wk |
| New London / Groton, CT | $124–$124 | $149–$149 | +$25.00 | +$175.00/wk |
| Stuart, FL | $129–$214 | $154–$238 | +$24.83 | +$173.83/wk |
| Louisville, KY | $120–$164 | $132–$185 | +$21.67 | +$151.67/wk |
| Sebring, FL | $126–$219 | $148–$236 | +$21.17 | +$148.17/wk |
A locality covers the counties GSA lists for it, not just the named city. See every locality on the per diem rates by state hub.
Where the Peak-Month Rate Fell
No locality’s average fell. In 18 localities, though, the highest month of FY2027 is lower than the highest month of FY2026. A nurse who negotiated a stipend against last year's peak in these places may want to re-check it: the part of a housing stipend above the lodging ceiling for the month worked is taxable wages. 9 of the 18 now have one rate all year instead of a seasonal peak.
| GSA locality | FY2026 low–peak | FY2027 low–peak | Change, peak weekly lodging ceiling | Change, avg / night |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville, TN | $217–$248 | $230–$230 | −$126/wk | +$7.83 |
| Lake Placid, NY | $144–$238 | $145–$225 | −$91/wk | +$0.67 |
| San Antonio, TX | $137–$161 | $149–$149 | −$84/wk | +$8.00 |
| Lafayette / West Lafayette, IN | $123–$143 | $132–$132 | −$77/wk | +$5.67 |
| Dallas, TX | $170–$191 | $184–$184 | −$49/wk | +$8.75 |
| Ann Arbor, MI | $125–$146 | $140–$140 | −$42/wk | +$6.25 |
| Falmouth, MA | $142–$253 | $138–$247 | −$42/wk | +$4.75 |
| Mill Valley / San Rafael / Novato, CA | $153–$175 | $169–$169 | −$42/wk | +$8.67 |
| Portsmouth, NH | $129–$192 | $129–$186 | −$42/wk | +$6.25 |
| Lewes, DE | $124–$221 | $126–$216 | −$35/wk | +$0.25 |
| Gulf Breeze, FL | $124–$214 | $131–$210 | −$28/wk | +$4.17 |
| Austin, TX | $173–$187 | $184–$184 | −$21/wk | +$7.50 |
| Douglas, CO | $111–$142 | $113–$139 | −$21/wk | +$0.75 |
| Fort Myers, FL | $139–$216 | $141–$213 | −$21/wk | +$6.75 |
| Gettysburg, PA | $110–$122 | $120–$120 | −$14/wk | +$3.00 |
| Pensacola, FL | $120–$190 | $127–$188 | −$14/wk | +$5.00 |
| Incline Village / Reno / Sparks, NV | $138–$184 | $156–$183 | −$7/wk | +$17.08 |
| Stowe, VT | $148–$185 | $184–$184 | −$7/wk | +$8.25 |
Dropped from GSA's list: Allentown / Easton / Bethlehem, PA (Lehigh / Northampton counties) was $115 a night in FY2026 and now falls back to the $113 CONUS standard rate . No new localities were added for FY2027.
The CONUS Standard Rate: $110 to $113
Any place in the contiguous U.S. that GSA does not list as its own locality uses the standard rate. That is most rural and small-town assignments, which makes this the single rate that applies to the most counties.
Nightly lodging
$110 → $113
+$3 a night
Weekly lodging ceiling (lodging × 7)
$770 → $791
The cap a housing stipend is measured against
Weekly combined ceiling ((lodging + M&IE) × 7)
$1,246 → $1,267
M&IE unchanged at $68/day
Stipend Ceiling vs Rent: The 10 Tightest Cities
For the 218 cities we track that GSA covers in both years, this compares the monthly lodging ceiling in the lowest-rate month of FY2027 (nightly rate × 30.4) with our estimate of one-bedroom rent. Using the lowest month means a seasonal city is not flattered by its peak. In every one of the 218 cities the low-month ceiling is above our rent estimate; the tightest is 1.92× rent. The lowest-month rate rose in 206 cities and fell in 5.
The one-bedroom rents in this section are our own editorial estimates, reviewed July 31, 2026 — not survey or government wage data. How we produce these numbers.
| City | Lowest-month lodging, FY2026 → FY2027 | Monthly lodging ceiling (low month) | 1BR rent (our estimate) | Ceiling ÷ rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | $179 → $189 | $5,746 | $3,000 | 1.81× → 1.92× |
| Oakland, CA | $145 → $152 | $4,621 | $2,400 | 1.84× → 1.93× |
| Scottsdale, AZ | $113 → $122 | $3,709 | $1,700 | 2.02× → 2.18× |
| San Francisco, CA | $259 → $232 | $7,053 | $3,200 | 2.46× → 2.20× |
| Los Angeles, CA | $191 → $199 | $6,050 | $2,450 | 2.37× → 2.47× |
| San Jose, CA | $192 → $218 | $6,627 | $2,600 | 2.24× → 2.55× |
| Hialeah, FL | $145 → $151 | $4,590 | $1,800 | 2.45× → 2.55× |
| Miami, FL | $145 → $151 | $4,590 | $1,800 | 2.45× → 2.55× |
| Portsmouth, NH | $129 → $129 | $3,922 | $1,500 | 2.61× → 2.61× |
| Jacksonville, FL | $110 → $113 | $3,435 | $1,300 | 2.57× → 2.64× |
Cities whose lowest-month rate fell: San Francisco, CA ($259 → $232), Bozeman, MT ($176 → $169), Las Vegas, NV ($126 → $120), Bend, OR ($125 → $123), Allentown, PA ($115 → $113; now the standard rate).
A lodging ceiling is not money to keep. A tax-free housing stipend reimburses real lodging costs for a traveler who keeps a qualifying tax home; the part above the ceiling is taxable, and without a tax home all of it is. Check a specific offer with the housing stipend calculator or the GSA Rate Explorer.
Staff RN Pay by State: BLS May 2025
The government benchmark for what a staff registered nurse earns where you are going. BLS's Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics put the national RN median at $97,550 ($46.90/hr); the gap between the highest and lowest state medians is $63,190. These are annual estimates, published once a year, so there is no quarter-on-quarter change to report.
Highest median annual wage
| 1 | California | $140,270 |
| 2 | Hawaii | $136,320 |
| 3 | Oregon | $129,010 |
| 4 | Washington | $124,200 |
| 5 | Alaska | $109,480 |
| 6 | New York | $109,440 |
| 7 | New Jersey | $106,500 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $104,550 |
| 9 | Nevada | $103,670 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $102,740 |
Lowest median annual wage
| 51 | Alabama | $77,080 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $77,090 |
| 49 | South Dakota | $78,060 |
| 48 | Iowa | $78,630 |
| 47 | Arkansas | $78,940 |
Rank among 51 areas (50 states and D.C.). Every state is on the registered nurse salary by state hub.
Weighing a travel contract against a staff job? The staff vs travel nurse calculator runs both through the same federal tax engine.
What This Means for a Contract Signed This Quarter
Use the FY2027 month you will work
Rates run October to September and many vary by month. Check the ceiling for the months on your contract, not the year's peak.
Re-check stipends set before October 1
In the 18 localities above where the peak fell, a stipend sized to last year's peak may now sit over the ceiling.
Not in a listed locality? $113
Counties GSA does not list use the standard rate: $791 a week for lodging, $1,267 with M&IE.
Methodology & Data Sources
Every number on this page is computed when the site is built, from the data files listed below. Full source notes are on our methodology page.
- • GSA per diem (government publication): GSA's FY2026 and FY2027 state rate tables for every CONUS non-standard area, monthly lodging and M&IE, from gsa.gov (FY2027 read October 15, 2026; effective October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027). Localities are matched across years by name, a known GSA rename, or a unique county. Alaska and Hawaii are set by the DoD, not GSA, and are not included.
- • Averages are ours: the "12-month average" is the mean of GSA's twelve monthly lodging rates. It is arithmetic on GSA figures, not a rate GSA publishes.
- • Staff RN wages (government publication): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, retrieved October 22, 2026 from bls.gov.
- • One-bedroom rents (our estimate): TravelNurseCalc internal editorial estimates, not HUD Fair Market Rents or another external dataset. Do not cite them as statistics.
- • No pay trend claims: our travel nurse pay figures are editorial estimates and did not change this quarter, so this report makes no quarter-over-quarter pay claim.
This report is for informational purposes only and is not tax advice. Whether a stipend is tax-free depends on your tax home and actual expenses.
Previous edition: Q2 2026 Pay Transparency Report. Journalists: citation terms are on our Press & Data page.
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