Georgia travel nurse pay 2026: $85,394, compact state
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
What travel nurses earn in Georgia
Travel RN contracts in Georgia post an average base of $85,394 annualised — 16% below the national travel average of $101,132, and 4th-lowest in the country.
Posted base, not take-home: stipend calculator · pay calculator.
How Georgia compares for staff work
Staff RNs in Georgia average $95,080, 21st of 51 states and DC, against a $85,394 posted travel base — so Georgia staff work out-earns the posted travel base, and a staff contract with benefits can win outright. Georgia salary guide.
Licensing for a Georgia assignment
Georgia is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. A multistate license from your primary state of residence starts a Georgia assignment with no separate application, which is why Georgia can take a contract beginning in two weeks. Without one, endorsement is the route. The Georgia Board of Nursing charges $75 and quotes 3–4 weeks.
Tax, stipends and your tax home
Georgia income tax: flat 5.39%, charged on wages earned in Georgia wherever your tax home is — so compare a Georgia contract on net, and check reciprocity if you are working near the Georgia state line.
Stipend rules are federal: tax home guide.
Where the contracts are
Georgia's travel markets are Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah. Regional price parity is 91.6 against a national 100, so Georgia costs run 8.4% below average, and its GSA-linked stipends move with it.
What drives Georgia demand
Right-to-work state with rapid Atlanta metro growth; projected meaningful RN shortage by 2030; restrictive NP scope-of-practice rules.
Ratio law: Georgia 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 Georgia contract
What moves Georgia rates: negotiation cycles at the systems in Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah, and any stretch where one is short in a specialty. Crisis work runs well above Georgia's $85,394 posted average. Seasonality is national: travel nursing guide.
Before you sign a Georgia contract
Get the Georgia license cost, guaranteed hours and cancellation terms in writing. Red flags.
Common questions
How much do travel nurses make in Georgia?
About $85,394 annualised posted base, 16% below the national $101,132 and 48th of 51.
Do I need a Georgia license to travel there?
No — a multistate compact license covers Georgia.
Are Georgia travel stipends tax-free?
Only with a real tax home you are away from. See the tax guide.
Travel nursing in states bordering Georgia
Florida · Alabama · Tennessee · North Carolina · South Carolina.
Related Georgia guides
Georgia RN salary · Georgia licensure · travel nursing quick start · agency comparison.