5 Best Travel Nursing Agencies

Pros/Perks: 

Matching 401(k), Day one insurance benefits (and 30 days between jobs), student loan reimbursement, assistance with pet-friendly housing

About:

Host Healthcare has earned our #1 spot for best travel nursing agencies! Host operates independently under the parent company Medical Solutions and is known as a trustworthy and reputable travel nursing agency if you’re looking for your next contract. They’re well known for a reason. Host Healthcare is especially helpful for graduate nurses who are looking to gain some travel experience, and they can even help nurses with tuition reimbursement in some placements. (The company does note that the more experience a nurse has before traveling, the better their chances of acquiring a travel placement.)

Nurses who have worked with Host Healthcare report they have "great communication" with the company's recruiters and explain that the agency is often able to reimburse for some things other agencies do not. 

Host Healthcare is also known for having excellent insurance options, including day one vision, dental, and medical benefits, as well as 30-day coverage in between full-time assignments. Those are perks you don’t find just anywhere.

Pros/Perks:

Liability and short-term disability; higher pay due to the model of no nurse recruiters

About:

Trusted Health is a unique travel nursing agency because it has moved away from the traditional nurse recruiter model. Traditionally, nurse recruiters working for a travel nurse agency would receive a cut of any travel contracts where they placed nurses. But by moving away from this percentage-based structure, Trusted Health can offer the travel nurses themselves a higher piece of the contract – which is why a lot of nurses want to travel in the first place. 

The downside to that, of course, is that nurses don't have an individual recruiter assigned to help them. Instead, travel nurses work with a team of Nurse Advocates," who are real nurses who work on their behalf to navigate the sign-on process and help with questions as they arise. 

According to nurses who have worked with Trusted Health, as a result of the no-recruiter model, the agency tends to pay higher than other companies (reminder that you can check a travel agency's pay structure—some allow recruiters to set the margin, while others have a set amount). The company is also known for its high level of transparency—nurses can see a full pay breakdown before signing a contract, so they know exactly what they're signing up for. 

Pros/Perks:

Tuition reimbursement in some cases; 24/7 employee assistance support; paid sick leave; matching 401(k)

About:

Bigger isn’t always better, but in this case – it is! Coming in at #3 is Aya Healthcare, the country's largest privately-owned travel nursing agency. This can be both a pro and a con. As its own entity, the agency can offer a lot of perks, including paid sick leave, employee assistance for emotional and mental health support, insurance options from day one, and free continuing education classes.

The agency is one of the only travel agencies to offer its own paid sick leave, which, for a nurse traveling to a new area, can be a major plus. That being said, some nurses in other agencies have reported getting their wages heavily garnished for calling in for sick days. As a company, Aya appears to be very focused on travel nurse satisfaction, with seemingly "little" things like a free birthday pizza, employee appreciation events, and even exclusive discounts for gym memberships and restaurants. 

Overall, all the insight we found on Aya is that it has a high reputation for working well with travel nurses, with plenty of positive perks and benefits. However, because it is such a big agency, a nurse's experience may vary based on the specific recruiter, so be sure to find one you work well with.

Pros/Perks:

Weekly pay; non-public job board opportunities; free telehealth app; pet insurance

About:

Another highly ranked agency is NuWest, known for its excellent reimbursement policies. They will  even reimburse travel nurses for things like scrubs and equipment in some situations. Nurses report that the nurse recruiters throughout the company are kind and helpful, and that they like the weekly direct deposit pay structure.  The agency is also known to pay well and was an especially high-performing company during the pandemic—if you like last-minute or crisis assignments, this is a great agency to consider. 

Pros/Perks:

Paid sick leave; mental health resources, $1,000 travel reimbursement

About:

Rounding out our top 5 ranking is Travel Nurse Across America, or better known as TNAA. One nice perk of working with TNAA is that the agency covers all your prep costs—you know, the exams, immunizations, and other check-ups you might need? Yup, those are covered, which makes getting started a lot easier. Like NuWest, they're also focused on individual employee wellness and support, with an Employee Assistance Program, tuition reimbursement, free continuing education, and a matching 401(k). Hello, perks!

Nurses who have worked with TNAA say they're a good agency to start with, as they have dedicated team members nurses can talk to through each step of the process. For instance, you get a nurse recruiter, a payroll specialist, and a clinical liaison, so specific questions are routed to each "specialist." Nurses who are familiar with the process may not need the full staff and prefer to work with just one person.