Colorado travel nurse pay 2026: $106,342, compact state
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
What travel nurses earn in Colorado
Travel RN contracts in Colorado post an average base of $106,342 annualised — 5% above the national travel average of $101,132, and 9th of 51 states and DC.
Posted base, not take-home: stipend calculator · pay calculator.
How Colorado compares for staff work
Staff RNs in Colorado average $86,900, 39th of 51 states and DC, against a $106,342 posted travel base — so the travel premium here is intact. Colorado salary guide.
Licensing for a Colorado assignment
Colorado is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. A multistate license from your primary state of residence starts a Colorado assignment with no separate application, which is why Colorado can take a contract beginning in two weeks. Without one, endorsement is the route. The Colorado Board of Nursing charges $43 and quotes 3–5 weeks.
Tax, stipends and your tax home
Colorado income tax: flat 4.4%, charged on wages earned in Colorado wherever your tax home is — so compare a Colorado contract on net, and check reciprocity if you are working near the Colorado state line.
Stipend rules are federal: tax home guide.
Where the contracts are
Colorado's travel markets are Denver, Colorado Springs. Regional price parity is 102.0 against a national 100, so Colorado costs run 2.0% above average, and its GSA-linked stipends move with it.
What drives Colorado demand
Colorado figures here are aggregator-sourced rather than BLS: the bureau excluded the state from its primary May 2024 OEWS release over data-quality problems in the state's unemployment insurance system, so read them as a market estimate rather than a federal count. Denver/Boulder cost of living and academic medical centers drive premium wages.
Ratio law: Colorado has no statutory nurse-to-patient ratios, so staffing levels are set by each hospital rather than by statute. For a traveller that cuts both ways: there is no legal floor on the assignment you can be given, so the ratio you are quoted at interview is worth getting in writing, and it is worth asking what the unit runs at on nights and weekends rather than what the daytime policy says.
Timing a Colorado contract
What moves Colorado rates: negotiation cycles at the systems in Denver, Colorado Springs, and any stretch where one is short in a specialty. Crisis work runs well above Colorado's $106,342 posted average. Seasonality is national: travel nursing guide.
Before you sign a Colorado contract
Get the Colorado license cost, guaranteed hours and cancellation terms in writing. Red flags.
Common questions
How much do travel nurses make in Colorado?
About $106,342 annualised posted base, 5% above the national $101,132 and 9th of 51.
Do I need a Colorado license to travel there?
No — a multistate compact license covers Colorado.
Are Colorado travel stipends tax-free?
Only with a real tax home you are away from. See the tax guide.
Travel nursing in states bordering Colorado
Related Colorado guides
Colorado RN salary · Colorado licensure · travel nursing quick start · agency comparison.