Tennessee travel nurse pay 2026: $91,789, compact state
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
What travel nurses earn in Tennessee
Travel RN contracts in Tennessee post an average base of $91,789 annualised — 9% below the national travel average of $101,132, and 42nd of 51 states and DC.
Posted base, not take-home: stipend calculator · pay calculator.
How Tennessee compares for staff work
Staff RNs in Tennessee average $85,390, 42nd of 51 states and DC, against a $91,789 posted travel base — so the travel premium here is intact. Tennessee salary guide.
Licensing for a Tennessee assignment
Tennessee is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. A multistate license from your primary state of residence starts a Tennessee assignment with no separate application, which is why Tennessee can take a contract beginning in two weeks. Without one, endorsement is the route. The Tennessee Board of Nursing charges $115 and quotes 3–5 weeks.
Tax, stipends and your tax home
Tennessee has no state income tax, so the taxed half of a Tennessee package loses only federal tax and FICA and a Tennessee contract nets more than a nominally identical one across the state line.
Stipend rules are federal: tax home guide.
Where the contracts are
Tennessee's travel markets are Nashville, Memphis. Regional price parity is 91.4 against a national 100, so Tennessee costs run 8.6% below average, and its GSA-linked stipends move with it.
What drives Tennessee demand
HCA Healthcare's home base; right-to-work, no state income tax, restrictive NP scope of practice produces lowest NP wages in country.
Ratio law: Tennessee 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 Tennessee contract
What moves Tennessee rates: negotiation cycles at the systems in Nashville, Memphis, and any stretch where one is short in a specialty. Crisis work runs well above Tennessee's $91,789 posted average. Seasonality is national: travel nursing guide.
Before you sign a Tennessee contract
Get the Tennessee license cost, guaranteed hours and cancellation terms in writing. Red flags.
Common questions
How much do travel nurses make in Tennessee?
About $91,789 annualised posted base, 9% below the national $101,132 and 42nd of 51.
Do I need a Tennessee license to travel there?
No — a multistate compact license covers Tennessee.
Are Tennessee travel stipends tax-free?
Only with a real tax home you are away from. See the tax guide.
Travel nursing in states bordering Tennessee
Kentucky · Virginia · North Carolina · Georgia · Alabama · Mississippi.
Related Tennessee guides
Tennessee RN salary · Tennessee licensure · travel nursing quick start · agency comparison.