California consistently pays the highest travel nurse wages, followed by New York, Massachusetts, Washington, and Hawaii. These states combine high cost of living, chronic nursing shortages, and — in California's case — state-mandated staffing ratios that drive sustained high demand for travelers.
Travel OR and surgical nurses earn among the highest weekly pay of any travel specialty — commonly in the range of $2,400–$3,400/week on active contracts, depending on sub-specialty (cardiac, neuro, ortho), scrub vs. circulate role, and facility acuity. Top markets like California and Massachusetts tend to lead the pay curve.