Local Travel Nursing

Are you a travel nurse or healthcare provider who loves the freedom of the job but misses the comfort of home? Then, it's time to discover the world of local travel nursing. 

In this article, you can learn what a local travel nurse is, how much you can earn on local contracts, the 50-mile rule, tax regulations, how to become and find local contracts, and the pros and cons of being a local travel nurse.

What is a Local Travel Nurse?

A local travel nurse is a nurse who works short-term or per diem contracts at healthcare facilities close to home. Unlike traditional travel nurses who often take 13-week assignments in different parts of the country, you can take various types of contract nursing assignments within a commutable distance from home as a local travel nurse.

Local traveling allows you to enjoy the benefits of travel nursing, like higher pay rates and flexible schedules, while still being able to maintain a sense of stability.

Can I be a Travel Nurse in My Home State?

Yes, you can! The primary considerations when working in your home state are:

• How far away from your tax home are you working?
• Is temporary housing necessary due to a long commute?

These factors will determine if you will be considered a local travel nurse or a standard travel nurse that will receive stipends.

Can I be a Travel Nurse in My Hometown?

Yes, you can certainly be a travel nurse in your hometown! 

Since you aren't technically traveling, this is more commonly referred to as local contract nursing.

Local Travel Nurse Options

With local travel nursing, you don't necessarily have to work 13-week contracts. You may also be able to work as a contracted per-diem RN at local hospitals, provided there is demand for this in your area.

Working local contracts as a registered nurse means committing to a specific hospital or healthcare facility for a set period, usually 13 weeks. Whereas working as a contract per-diem RN means you are not committed to a particular facility for a fixed period. 

Instead, you work as needed, filling in for full-time registered nurses on vacation, out sick, or on leave. The difference between a traditional per-diem job and a contract per-diem job is that you work for the healthcare staffing agency instead of the hospital. 

As with any per-diem nursing job, there are still requirements on how often you need to work to remain onboarded with a hospital. 

In my experience working local contracts as a per-diem RN, I was required to work at least one shift every 30 days. 

Local Travel Pay

Local travel nursing pay is almost impossible to measure because of the different types of local contracts. Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) categorizes all registered nurses into one category, including travelers.

Local Travel Nurse Pay: 13-week Contracts

For local travel nurses working 13-week contracts, you are entitled to the same pay packages as traditional travel nurses, with the main difference being that local travelers can not receive tax-free stipend money because you are not incurring the expenses a traveler does. 

What many healthcare staffing agencies do not advertise is that they can lump the entire pay-package rate, stipends included, into the hourly rate so that you will be taxed on the full pay rather than just the hourly. As long as the total pay rate is taxed, local travel nurses are entitled to the same pay packages as traditional travel nurses and are not breaking any rules. 

It's crucial to evaluate travel nurse contract rates in your area and ensure that your local contract pay is equivalent to those rates. Keep in mind that you will receive less take-home pay due to the entirety of your income being subject to taxes.

Here is a rough example of the difference between a local contract and a travel contract pay break-down (not an exact estimate of how much you will be taxed).

Example:	Travel Nurse       Pay-Package	Local Contract         Pay Package
Taxable income:	$1588.00 / week	$ 2,988.00/ week
Non-Taxable income:	$1400.00 / week	$0.00
Total Weekly Pay :	$2,988.00/ week	$ 2,988.00/ week
Total Weekly Taxes:	$317.00	$597.00
Total Take Home:	$2,671.00	$2,391.00

Local Travel Nurse pay: Contracted Per-Diem Nurses

For contracted per-diem RNs, pay is typically higher than working as a staff per-diem nurse but lower than 13-week local contracts because you will receive an hourly wage instead of a pay-package rate. 

This is because as a contracted per-diem nurse, you are not guaranteed hours, rather you pick up as-needed shifts. Depending on the staffing needs in your area you can work varying hours as a per-diem RN, some nurses are able to obtain full-time hours this way while others find themselves being canceled often. Due to the varying hours each week, you do not receive a fixed rate as you would on a local contract, thus you are paid hourly. 

Throughout my time as a locally contracted per-diem RN I learned the key to obtaining adequate shifts was remaining very flexible with my schedule. 

The information in this section is based on my experience, as rates for contracted per-diem nurses will vary dependent on location, agency, and healthcare facility. Furthermore, these rates tend to be disclosed when you are actively working with a staffing agency for a per-diem position. When seeking a per-diem position with a staffing agency, it is wise to be aware of local hospital per-diem rates. 

50-Mile Rule

Although the 50-mile rule is a commonly used guideline for travel nurses working with healthcare staffing agencies, it is not a hard and fast rule. Most healthcare staffing agencies use the 50-mile rule to ensure that travel nurses are far enough away from their tax home to require temporary housing accommodations throughout their travel nurse assignment. 

The rule is based on the idea that if a nurse lives within a reasonable distance from their work assignment, they are not truly traveling and do not require reimbursement for travel expenses. 

According to one recruiter I spoke with, some hospitals will not hire local registered nurses to work a travel contract. She reported that certain healthcare facilities set a 50-mile radius rule that a registered nurse must live away for them to work as a contracted travel nurse because the facilities do not feel they should pay such high rates for a local nurse. 

IRS Rules: Tax-Free Stipend 

Knowing that the 50-mile rule is not set in stone can make it confusing to understand when you are eligible to receive meal and housing stipends as a local travel nurse. 

According to the IRS Publication 463, you are eligible for tax-free reimbursements or stipends when traveling away from home if:

• Your duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home (defined later) substantially longer than an ordinary day's work, and
• You need to sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away from home.

As you can see from these two statements, there is no defined mileage or 50-mile rule per the IRS. 

In summary, the IRS is saying that if you do not require additional housing accommodations, in addition to your routine accommodation, you are not eligible to receive a tax-free meal or housing stipend. 

You could be driving over a hundred miles between shifts, but if you are not incurring expenses for additional housing, you do not qualify for the tax-free stipend. 

I worked with a registered nurse who traveled 3-4 hours, approximately 200 miles every day she worked. Every night she chose to drive home, she was therefore not eligible for the tax-free stipend because she did not need to obtain temporary housing accommodations.  

If you are interested in reading more about travel nursing tax implications, check out Travel Nursing Verses the IRS: IRS Publication 463. For specific tax advice, we recommend speaking to a professional accountant.

How Do You Find Local Travel Nursing Jobs?

There are a few ways to approach finding local travel nursing jobs. One way is to work with a healthcare staffing agency that offers local travel nursing contracts. 

A few healthcare staffing agencies that openly offer local or per-diem contracts are the following (not exhaustive):

• Aya Healthcare
• Cross Country Medical Staffing Network
• Clipboard Health
• PRN Healthcare

Aside from agencies that offer local contracts, here's some other ways you may be able to secure a local travel job:

• Negotiate with a healthcare staffing agency recruiter that does not advertise local travel nursing contracts. In my experience, I've worked with multiple healthcare workers that negotiated a local contract by presenting the pay package to their recruiter and telling them they wanted that contract but locally. The recruiter then transfers the pay package into a lump sum for the week that breaks down into hourly, so you are taxed on the entire pay package.
• Search job boards like Indeed or Zip-recruiter. 
• Network with travel nurses or recruiters on facebook Travel Nurse Jobs or other groups that share contract nursing job opportunities. 
• Negotiate local contracts or per-diem contracts directly with a hospital or healthcare system. Cutting out the middle person does require additional business savviness, potential legal assistance, and just more knowledge about travel nursing. There is upside, but it's not recommended for any new travel nurses. Personally, this was never appealing to me, as the credentialing process was more than enough to deal with every assignment.  

Pros and Cons of Local Travel Nursing

As with anything in life, there are pros and cons when it comes to local travel nursing. 

Pros

• Work and stay home close to your established social support network.
• No need to find temporary housing every 13 weeks.
• No more credentialing or obtaining a new nursing license every 13 weeks.
• Maintain work life balance & take time off when you need it most.
• Higher pay than working as a staff nurse.
• Build a strong professional network close to home.
• Opportunity to work at all or most of your local hospitals.

Cons

• You will have to travel and see the country on your own time.
• Obtaining insurance between local contracts if you take more than 14 days off.
• Local contracts and per-diem shifts may not always be available.
• You may need to commute farther than you would prefer.
• Local travel nursing jobs may have lower pay than other areas of the country.
• Limited opportunities for professional development.
• Potential for limited exposure to new healthcare technologies or procedures.

How to Become a Local Travel Nurse

Becoming a local travel nurse is the same as becoming a travel nurse. Once you have your nursing license and a couple of years of registered nursing experience, you are ready to start your travel nurse journey. 

If you would like more assistance on becoming a local travel nurse, check out our Beginners Guide to Travel Nursing and  Want to Be a Travel Nurse for a step-by-step guide. 

Conclusion

As a local travel nurse, I worked throughout an entire healthcare system rather than one hospital. I opted for a per-diem contract that allowed me to sign up for shifts ahead of time, but both the facility and I could cancel within 2 hours of the shift starting, which made it difficult to have a consistent schedule. I could have chosen a different contract that would not have allowed cancellations, but it wasn't ideal because two of the seven facilities were as far as two hours away. 

Despite the challenges, I enjoyed working in various ICUs throughout the city and learned a lot throughout that time of my career. Not to mention all the fantastic registered nurses I met and worked with.  

Local travel nursing offers nurses and other healthcare professionals the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of travel nursing, including higher pay rates and flexible schedules, while still being able to maintain a sense of stability and work-life balance. With options for both 13-week and per-diem contracts, local travel nursing can be an excellent option for nurses who want to work within their local area.

Resources

Bureau of Labor Statistics
IRS Publication 463