Virginia Travel Nurse Pay Guide: Salaries, Top Hospitals & Licensing (2026)

Virginia is one of the more strategically positioned states for travel nurses on the East Coast. It is a full NLC compact member, it sits at the geographic center of the I-95 corridor, and it contains three distinct regional healthcare markets — Northern Virginia’s DC-adjacent suburban system, Richmond’s academic medical center cluster, and Hampton Roads’ coastal military and community hospital network — each with its own pay profile and facility ecosystem.

Pay in Virginia runs close to the national average across most specialties, with Northern Virginia pushing meaningfully above that line for nurses willing to navigate higher housing costs near the DC metro. For nurses who want compact access, geographic flexibility, and consistent assignment volume on the East Coast, Virginia belongs on the short list.

This guide covers Virginia travel nurse pay by specialty and region in 2026, the licensing picture, state income tax, top hospital systems, and the regional nuances that most salary sites miss entirely.

Virginia Travel Nurse Pay Overview: 2026

Virginia travel nurse pay centers around the national average, with wide variation by region and specialty. Northern Virginia contracts at Inova Fairfax and other DC-adjacent facilities command a premium driven by cost of living and proximity to one of the highest-wage labor markets in the country. Richmond and Hampton Roads run closer to mid-range national rates.

Virginia Travel Nurse Pay by Specialty (2026)

Interventional and cardiovascular specialties top the Virginia pay scale, consistent with statewide patterns at academic medical centers and large regional systems. The following ranges are drawn from AMN Healthcare active listings and Vivian data from January through March 2026.

Virginia’s Three Regional Markets: What Travel Nurses Need to Know

Virginia is a geographically and economically diverse state. Understanding its three primary travel nursing markets is essential to making smart contract decisions — both for pay and for quality of life.

Northern Virginia — The DC Corridor Premium

Northern Virginia — the counties and cities immediately adjacent to Washington, DC, including Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, and Loudoun — operates in a different economic tier than the rest of the state. Housing costs are among the highest in Virginia, but contract rates reflect it. Inova Health System is the dominant employer in this corridor and one of the most active travel nurse contract sources in the state. Nurses targeting Northern Virginia should run the cost-of-living math carefully: a $2,400/week contract in Fairfax County may net less discretionary income than a $2,100/week contract in Richmond once housing is factored in, depending on where you find accommodation.

The Northern Virginia market also benefits from proximity to major military installations — Fort Belvoir, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (technically in Maryland but accessible from NoVA) — which creates ancillary demand for civilian healthcare capacity in the region.

Richmond — The Academic Medical Hub

Richmond is Virginia’s academic medical center anchor. VCU Medical Center (Virginia Commonwealth University Health) is a Level I trauma center and one of the state’s most active travel nurse employers, with 22 open ICU travel positions on Vivian as of February 2026 alone. The broader Richmond market includes Bon Secours Health System (multiple campuses), HCA’s CJW Medical Center (Chippenham and Johnston-Willis campuses), and Henrico Doctors’ Hospital. Richmond contracts tend to offer mid-range rates with above-average clinical complexity — a solid combination for specialty nurses building their resume.

Cost of living in Richmond is well below Northern Virginia and meaningfully below the national average for a state capital, which extends the purchasing power of a standard Richmond contract considerably.

Hampton Roads — Military, Coastal, and Community

Hampton Roads encompasses Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Newport News — a metro area of nearly 1.8 million people anchored by the largest concentration of military bases in the world. Sentara Health is the dominant health system in the region, operating multiple hospitals including Sentara Norfolk General and Sentara Virginia Beach General. CHKD (Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters) in Norfolk is the region’s pediatric anchor and a consistent source of travel contracts for NICU, PICU, and pediatric specialty nurses.

Hampton Roads rates run slightly below Richmond and significantly below Northern Virginia, but the lifestyle draw — coastal access, military community, lower housing costs than either of Virginia’s other major markets — makes it attractive for nurses who value assignment experience alongside pay.

Virginia Travel Nurse Pay by City

Centra Lynchburg General is worth noting specifically — it ranked as the highest-volume travel nurse employer on Vivian in Virginia as of February 2026 with 165 active listings, more than any other individual Virginia facility. For nurses prioritizing contract availability over market prestige, Lynchburg offers consistent placement opportunity in a lower cost-of-living environment in central Virginia.

Virginia Nursing License: What Travel Nurses Need to Know

Virginia is a full NLC compact member, which is a significant advantage for travel nurses. If your primary state of residence is any of the 40+ current NLC member states and you hold a multistate license, you are authorized to practice in Virginia without a separate endorsement. Simply verify your multistate license status is active at Nursys.com before your first shift.

If Your Home State Is NOT an NLC Member

Nurses living in non-compact states — currently including Michigan, Minnesota, California, New York, and Illinois among others — must apply for a Virginia RN license by endorsement through the Virginia Board of Nursing. Key details:

• Application fee: $190
• Renewal cycle: Every two years
• Submit verification of your home state license through Nursys.com
• Processing times vary — plan for 4-6 weeks and apply well before your start date

Virginia APRN Licensing

Virginia’s NLC compact privileges apply to RN licenses only. Advanced practice registered nurses — NPs, CRNAs, CNSs, and CNMs — still require a separate Virginia APRN license regardless of compact status. Apply through the Virginia Department of Health Professions well in advance of your assignment start date if you are an APRN seeking a Virginia contract.

Virginia State Income Tax for Travel Nurses

Virginia uses a progressive income tax structure with rates ranging from 2% to 5.75%, depending on taxable income. For most travel nurses whose taxable base wages fall in a typical contract range, the effective rate lands near the top bracket — approximately 5.75% on income above $17,000. Tax-free housing and meal stipends are not subject to Virginia income tax if you maintain a valid tax home in another state.

At 5.75% on the majority of a travel nurse’s taxable wages, Virginia’s state income tax is moderate — higher than Ohio (3.99%) and Pennsylvania (3.07%), but well below California (up to 13.3%) or New York (up to 10.9%). For a nurse earning $800/week in taxable base wages on a Virginia contract, the state tax impact is roughly $46/week — manageable and not typically a deciding factor in contract evaluation.

The more important tax consideration for Virginia contracts is the Northern Virginia housing cost. Nurses working Inova assignments in Fairfax County will find housing stipends stretched thin relative to what the same stipend covers in Richmond or Hampton Roads. For a full breakdown of how stipends and tax homes interact, see our guide on Travel Nurse Tax Home Rules.

Top Virginia Hospital Systems for Travel Nurses

Inova Health System (Northern Virginia)

Inova is the dominant health system in Northern Virginia and one of the most recognized names in East Coast travel nursing. Inova Fairfax Hospital is the flagship campus — a 925-bed Level I trauma center and major teaching hospital — with additional campuses in Alexandria, Loudoun, and Prince William. Inova contracts tend to command above-average rates for Virginia, reflecting the DC-area cost of living and the system’s patient acuity. Specialty nurses in cardiac, neuro, and oncology will find strong placement opportunities here.

VCU Health — Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center (Richmond)

VCU Medical Center is Virginia’s primary academic medical center and a Level I trauma center serving the Richmond region and much of central and southern Virginia. The facility consistently ranks as one of the most active travel nurse employers in the state on both AMN and Vivian. The VCU Medical Center is also home to the Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and offers transplant, burn, and complex surgical programs that create specialty contract demand beyond the standard ICU and med-surg volume.

Sentara Health (Hampton Roads)

Sentara is the largest health system in Hampton Roads, operating Sentara Norfolk General Hospital (a Level I trauma center), Sentara Virginia Beach General, and multiple community campuses across the region. Sentara contracts appear frequently in travel nurse placement data for the Hampton Roads area and offer consistent volume across ICU, ER, telemetry, and surgical specialties. HealthTrust Workforce Solutions — which manages staffing for HCA-affiliated facilities — is the single largest source of Virginia travel contracts on Vivian, reflecting HCA’s presence across multiple Virginia markets.

UVA Health (Charlottesville)

The University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville is Virginia’s second major academic medical center after VCU. UVA Health offers strong specialty placement for nurses in oncology, transplant, and cardiac care, and the Charlottesville market provides a distinctive college-town lifestyle that many travel nurses find appealing. Rates here are competitive with Richmond, and the facility’s national ranking adds resume value.

Bon Secours Health (Richmond and Statewide)

Bon Secours operates multiple Richmond-area hospitals including St. Mary’s Hospital and Memorial Regional Medical Center, as well as facilities in Hampton Roads. The system is a consistent source of mid-range contract volume, particularly for L&D, med-surg, and telemetry nurses.

Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters — CHKD (Norfolk)

CHKD is the only freestanding children’s hospital in Virginia and the primary pediatric specialty center for Hampton Roads and much of the surrounding region. Travel contracts for NICU, PICU, and pediatric OR are consistently available here. Pediatric specialty experience and PALS certification are typically required.

Why Virginia Works Well for Travel Nurses

Full NLC compact access eliminates the licensing barrier. For the majority of travel nurses holding multistate compact licenses, Virginia assignments are immediately accessible with no endorsement wait time. This makes Virginia one of the most frictionless East Coast markets to enter quickly.

Three distinct regional experiences in one state. Virginia is unusually diverse for its size — a nurse can take a high-acuity academic assignment at VCU in Richmond, transition to a Northern Virginia Inova contract with DC-adjacent urban amenities, and then rotate to a coastal Hampton Roads assignment at Sentara, all within the same state license. That variety within compact access is genuinely rare.

Geographic positioning for East Coast travelers. Virginia sits at the midpoint of the Eastern Seaboard, placing it within reasonable driving distance of the Northeast and Southeast markets. Nurses who also hold compact licenses from neighboring states — North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky — can build a multi-state East Coast rotation from a Virginia base without acquiring additional single-state licenses.

Richmond is an underrated value market. Among East Coast cities with genuine academic medical centers, Richmond’s cost of living is notably low. A VCU Medical Center ICU contract at $2,000/week goes significantly further in Richmond than a comparable Boston or Philadelphia contract would in those markets.

Practical Notes Before Accepting a Virginia Assignment

• Northern Virginia traffic is severe. The I-495 beltway, I-66, and Route 1 corridors in Northern Virginia experience some of the worst congestion on the East Coast. Factor commute time carefully when selecting housing near Inova assignments — a facility that looks close on a map may add 45-90 minutes round trip during peak hours.
• Military presence affects housing availability in Hampton Roads. Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Chesapeake have large military tenant populations, which can tighten the short-term rental market. Start your housing search earlier than usual for Hampton Roads assignments.
• Virginia has no coastline-to-mountain divide in licensing. You can float between a Sentara assignment in Virginia Beach and a Carilion assignment in Roanoke without any licensing changes — your compact or Virginia license covers the entire state.
• Compact access from neighboring states is worth noting. North Carolina joined the NLC in 2015. Maryland joined in 2015. West Virginia joined in 2018. Nurses holding compact licenses from any of these states have immediate Virginia access — and vice versa — creating a natural multi-state East Coast rotation opportunity.

Make sure you understand every component of your pay package before committing to a Virginia contract. For a full ground-up breakdown of travel nurse pay structure, see our guide on What Is a Travel Nurse Pay Package? And for help evaluating what to watch for before signing, see our Travel Nurse Contract Red Flags guide.

Agencies with Strong Virginia Placement

Virginia’s top-volume agencies on Vivian as of February 2026 include HealthTrust Workforce Solutions HCA (290 active jobs), Malone Healthcare (112 jobs), and TNAA/TotalMed (110 jobs). The major national agencies also maintain strong Virginia presence:

• Aya Healthcare — broad Virginia coverage across all major specialties and regions (read our Aya Healthcare review)
• AMN Healthcare — strong academic medical center relationships including VCU and Inova (read our AMN Healthcare review)
• Cross Country Nurses — consistent East Coast placement with Virginia volume (read our Cross Country Nurses review)
• Health Carousel — active Virginia placement particularly in Richmond and Hampton Roads (read our Health Carousel review)
• Vivian Health — aggregator platform for comparing all Virginia contracts across agencies simultaneously (read our Vivian Health review)

References

Salary Data

• Vivian Health, “Travel Nursing Jobs in Virginia” and specialty salary pages, February 2026
• AMN Healthcare, “Travel Nursing Jobs in Virginia” and specialty/city-specific listings, January-March 2026
• Advantis Medical, “Travel Nursing Jobs in Virginia,” April 2026
• TravelNurseCalc.com, blended rate data for Virginia, 2026

Licensing

• Virginia Department of Health Professions, Board of Nursing, accessed April 2026
• NCSBN / NURSECOMPACT.com, NLC state map and status, accessed April 2026

Last updated: April 2026