Telemetry nurses earn a national median of $97,771 per year ($47/hour) according to Salary.com’s September 2026 data, which sits within a few hundred dollars of the $97,550 median that BLS reports for all registered nurses in its May 2025 OEWS estimates [1]. Telemetry pay tracks the broader RN market closely; the earnings upside in this specialty comes from differentials, certification premiums, and travel contracts rather than from a large base-salary premium. On Salary.com’s state figures, DC, California, Massachusetts, and Washington sit above $106,000, while Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arkansas sit below $89,000. Travel telemetry RNs earn more per week: a national average of $2,172/week (about $112,900 if worked all 52 weeks) based on Vivian Health’s September 2026 data, with the top-paying state averages running $2,400–$2,650/week.
At a glance:
- National median (Salary.com, September 2026): $97,771/year ($47/hr)
- Vivian Health staff average: $47.45/hour (~$98,700/year at 40 hours a week; September 2026)
- ZipRecruiter national average: $87,048/year ($41.85/hr; July 2026)
- Travel telemetry RN average: $2,172/week (Vivian Health, September 2026)
- Top-paying states: DC ($108,252) and California ($107,841) per Salary.com; California also leads Vivian’s posted staff rates at $82/hr
- Lowest-paying states: Mississippi ($87,192), West Virginia ($88,043), Arkansas ($88,326)
- Night shift differential: commonly $4–$7/hr additional (employer policies vary widely)
- PCCN premium: varies by employer; commonly $1–$3/hr or 3–5% base salary
Why telemetry nurse salary figures vary across sources
Before reading any telemetry salary figure, understand what each source is measuring. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes annual wage data under SOC code 29-1141 (Registered Nurses) – but this code covers all RNs regardless of specialty. BLS does not break out telemetry nurses as a separate category, so there is no official government figure for telemetry nursing specifically.
Every telemetry nurse salary figure from Salary.com, Vivian Health, ZipRecruiter, or Glassdoor comes from employer-submitted compensation data, job postings, or self-reported surveys – not a federal occupational survey. The methodologies differ:
- Salary.com derives figures primarily from employer compensation databases. Figures tend to reflect base salary without differentials or call pay.
- Vivian Health aggregates from actual posted job offers and direct employer submissions. Figures reflect posted hourly rates for open positions.
- ZipRecruiter aggregates job postings and may blend base salary with total compensation depending on how posting data is structured.
- Glassdoor uses self-reported figures from employees; more variable, often higher than employer-reported figures.
For this guide, every figure is labeled with its source and collection methodology. Use Salary.com for conservative base salary benchmarking; use Vivian Health for job-posting benchmarking; use ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor as secondary reference points.
BLS context: in the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released in May 2026, the national median annual wage for all registered nurses (SOC 29-1141) was $97,550, with a mean of $101,420 [1]. This is the closest official benchmark, representing the full RN workforce rather than telemetry nurses specifically. Pay attention to which statistic a source quotes – median and mean differ by nearly $4,000 for RNs, because a relatively small number of very high earners pull the mean upward.
National average telemetry nurse salary
| Source | Figure | Methodology | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary.com | $97,771/yr ($47/hr) | Employer-sourced; median | September 2026 |
| Vivian Health | $47.45/hr (~$98,700/yr at 40 hrs/wk) | Posted job offers; average hourly | September 2026 |
| ZipRecruiter | $87,048/yr ($41.85/hr) | Job posting aggregation | July 2026 |
| Glassdoor | $103,220/yr (~$50/hr) | Self-reported; total pay | 2026 |
| BLS (all RNs, SOC 29-1141) | $97,550/yr median; $101,420 mean | Federal occupational survey | May 2025 |
The Salary.com figure ($97,771) best represents base salary at established hospitals. Glassdoor’s headline figure ($103,220) is self-reported total pay, so it can fold in differentials, overtime, and bonuses, which is one reason it runs above the base-pay sources. The ZipRecruiter figure is lower, possibly reflecting a sample weighted toward community hospitals or entry-level postings.
For salary negotiation, use Salary.com’s $97,771 as a base reference point and Vivian Health’s $47.45/hr for posted-rate context.
Salary by experience level
Experience produces modest incremental increases in telemetry nursing base pay. Geography and facility type drive more variation than years of service – on Salary.com’s figures, the California-Mississippi gap (about $20,600) is more than three times the entry-to-expert gap. That said, experience matters for overtime access, shift differential negotiation, charge nurse premium eligibility, and employer-specific longevity pay.
Note: “entry-level” telemetry typically means 1–2 years of prior RN experience followed by a telemetry position. New graduates hired directly into residency programs start below these figures during their training period.
| Experience level | Annual base salary | Hourly equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level (under 1 year in telemetry) | $93,571 | ~$44.99/hr |
| Early career (1–2 years) | $94,385 | ~$45.38/hr |
| Mid-level (2–4 years) | $95,524 | ~$45.93/hr |
| Senior (5–8 years) | $97,399 | ~$46.83/hr |
| Expert (more than 8 years) | $99,880 | ~$48.02/hr |
Source: Salary.com, September 2026; hourly equivalents divide by 2,080 hours. Figures represent base salary; do not include differentials or overtime.
The relatively flat experience curve – under $7,000 from entry to expert – reflects the structure of hospital nursing pay, where geographic and facility-tier differences dominate salary outcomes. The largest salary jumps in telemetry nursing come from moving markets (community hospital to academic center), shifting to travel contracts, or advancing to a higher-acuity role (progressive care, ICU) rather than accumulating years in the same position.
Salary by setting
Where you work matters as much as where you live. Academic medical centers and specialty heart hospitals typically pay more than community hospitals for the same role, and travel contracts pay substantially more than either.
Salary.com, Vivian, and BLS do not publish telemetry pay by setting, so the ranges below are editorial estimates built from the national and state figures above and from posted job ranges. Use them for orientation, and rely on the posted range for any specific role.
| Setting | Estimated annual salary (editorial estimate) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Community hospital (general telemetry) | $82,000–$98,000 | Varies widely by state; lower end in Southeast |
| Academic medical center | $95,000–$115,000 | Higher base, better differential structure |
| Specialty heart hospital | $98,000–$118,000 | Focused cardiac programs often carry pay premiums |
| Magnet-designated hospital | $95,000–$112,000 | Often larger systems with stronger BSN preference; pay varies by market |
| Travel telemetry RN | $95,000–$160,000+ annualized | See travel section below; varies sharply by assignment market |
| Progressive care / PCU | $98,000–$118,000 | Slightly higher than standard telemetry due to acuity level |
Telemetry nurse salary by state
The table below lists Salary.com’s state averages for telemetry nurses (as of 1 September 2026) beside Vivian Health’s average posted staff hourly rate for the same state (as of 25 September 2026), where Vivian had enough listings to report one. States are sorted by the Salary.com figure. The two columns measure different things and do not always agree: Salary.com models base pay from employer compensation data, while Vivian averages whatever telemetry positions happen to be posted that week, so a state with few listings (Washington and DC here) can show a posted rate well below its Salary.com figure.
| State | Salary.com average (annual) | Vivian posted staff rate (hourly) |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $108,252 | $46/hr |
| California | $107,841 | $82/hr |
| Massachusetts | $106,404 | $75/hr |
| Washington | $106,013 | $41/hr |
| New Jersey | $105,974 | $58/hr |
| Alaska | $105,837 | $57/hr |
| Connecticut | $104,488 | – |
| New York | $103,940 | $59/hr |
| Hawaii | $102,190 | – |
| Rhode Island | $101,369 | – |
| Maryland | $100,812 | $55/hr |
| Minnesota | $100,049 | $59/hr |
| Colorado | $99,756 | $55/hr |
| Illinois | $99,658 | $49/hr |
| Oregon | $99,286 | – |
| Delaware | $99,013 | $49/hr |
| New Hampshire | $98,841 | $50/hr |
| Virginia | $98,455 | $52/hr |
| Pennsylvania | $97,331 | $51/hr |
| Nevada | $96,764 | $42/hr |
| North Dakota | $96,578 | $57/hr |
| Michigan | $96,285 | $44/hr |
| Wisconsin | $96,177 | $60/hr |
| Vermont | $95,962 | $41/hr |
| Texas | $95,366 | $50/hr |
| Maine | $95,327 | $47/hr |
| Arizona | $95,268 | $47/hr |
| Ohio | $95,200 | $46/hr |
| Georgia | $94,300 | $47/hr |
| Indiana | $93,850 | – |
| Wyoming | $93,762 | – |
| Utah | $93,625 | $42/hr |
| Iowa | $93,567 | $46/hr |
| Kansas | $93,097 | $51/hr |
| Louisiana | $92,961 | $42/hr |
| North Carolina | $92,912 | $48/hr |
| Missouri | $92,892 | $48/hr |
| Florida | $92,511 | $39/hr |
| Montana | $92,306 | $33/hr |
| Nebraska | $92,110 | $48/hr |
| Kentucky | $92,002 | $44/hr |
| South Carolina | $91,611 | $39/hr |
| Tennessee | $91,367 | $39/hr |
| Idaho | $91,269 | – |
| New Mexico | $90,555 | $56/hr |
| Oklahoma | $90,399 | $45/hr |
| Alabama | $89,822 | – |
| South Dakota | $88,854 | – |
| Arkansas | $88,326 | $40/hr |
| West Virginia | $88,043 | $41/hr |
| Mississippi | $87,192 | – |
The California-Mississippi gap runs to about $20,600 in Salary.com’s average base pay, and Vivian’s posted staff rates show a wider spread still ($82/hr in California against $39–$41/hr across much of the Southeast).
Shift differentials and additional pay
Base salary is only the starting point. For full-time telemetry nurses, shift differentials and overtime can add several thousand dollars a year, and well over $10,000 for nurses who work nights and pick up extra shifts.
Night shift differential
Night shift telemetry nurses (7 p.m.–7 a.m.) earn a shift differential on top of base hourly pay. No federal law requires a night differential and no government body publishes a national nursing differential rate, so the figures below are drawn from employer pay policies and job postings rather than an official survey. Verify the specific structure with any employer before accepting an offer, since differential terms vary widely between union and non-union facilities:
- National range: $2–$10/hr additional
- National average: approximately $4–$7/hr additional
- As a percentage: 10–20% above base rate is the typical range
- For a nurse earning $47/hr base: a 15% night differential adds ~$7/hr, which is roughly $13,200 a year for a nurse working three 12-hour night shifts a week (1,872 hours)
Large academic medical centers and union hospitals tend to have structured, higher differential rates ($6–$10/hr). Smaller community hospitals may offer lower differentials ($2–$4/hr).
Weekend differential
Weekend differential pay is common but less standardized than night differential:
- Typical range: $2–$5/hr additional for weekend shifts
- Some hospitals structure weekend pay as a percentage premium (5–15% above base)
- Night + weekend stacking: nurses working weekend nights can earn both differentials simultaneously
A nurse working weekend nights at a hospital with $6/hr night + $3/hr weekend differential earns $9/hr above base on those shifts. Few nurses work only weekends, but even at that extreme the premium is about $16,800 a year across 1,872 hours.
Sign-on bonuses
Sign-on bonuses for telemetry RNs are common but vary widely by market and employer, and no national survey tracks them for this specialty. Ranges seen in job postings:
- Community hospital: $5,000–$10,000
- Academic medical center or specialty heart hospital: $10,000–$20,000
- High-demand markets: $20,000+ (California, Washington, New York)
Sign-on bonuses typically include clawback provisions requiring 12–24 months of employment at the hiring facility.
Overtime
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees – which includes most hourly staff nurses – must receive at least 1.5x their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek [5]. Hospitals may instead use the FLSA’s “8 and 80” system, paying overtime for hours over 8 in a day and 80 in a 14-day period, if the employee agrees in advance (29 U.S.C. § 207(j)). Some states set additional daily overtime thresholds beyond the federal rule, so check your state labor department for local requirements. Some nurses deliberately pick up extra shifts, particularly during incentive pay periods when hospitals offer 2x or 2.5x base rate for coverage gaps. A telemetry nurse earning $47/hr base rate earns $70.50/hr for overtime hours – which can translate to $10,000–$20,000+ in additional annual income for nurses who work significant overtime.
PCCN certification premium
The PCCN (Progressive Care Certified Nurse) credential, issued by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, is the primary specialty certification for telemetry and progressive care nurses [4]. Eligibility runs through clinical practice hours rather than a fixed years-of-service rule: the direct care pathway requires either 1,750 hours caring for acutely ill adult patients in the previous two years, with 875 of those in the most recent year, or 2,000 hours in the previous five years with 144 in the most recent year [4]. Many hospitals offer a pay differential for certified nurses:
- Common structure: $1–$3/hr additional, or 3–5% base salary bump
- At $97,771 base with a 4% differential: approximately $3,911/year additional
- Some hospitals pay a flat annual bonus ($1,500–$3,000) upon certification rather than a per-hour differential
- PCCN also strengthens positioning for senior staff, charge nurse, and educator roles that carry additional pay
The PCCN exam costs $375, or $260 for AACN members, and the credential is valid for 3 years before renewal [4]. Renewal can be completed either by continuing education – 432 practice hours plus 100 Synergy CERPs – or by retaking the exam [4]. Many employers reimburse the exam fee for employed nurses. At a $1–$3/hr differential and 36 hours a week, the $375 fee is recovered in roughly 1–3 months, though the differential itself is set by each employer, is not standardized nationally, and at some hospitals does not exist.
For full PCCN eligibility requirements, see the how-to-become-a-telemetry-nurse guide.
Travel telemetry nurse salary
Travel telemetry nursing is one of the clearest paths to higher gross weekly pay within the specialty. Based on Vivian Health data from 25 September 2026 (37,106 active telemetry travel listings in the prior 7 days):
National average: $2,172/week
This represents approximately $112,944 annualized for a nurse working 52 weeks – though most travel nurses work 36–48 weeks per year after accounting for gaps between contracts, which adjusts effective annual income accordingly.
Travel rates are substantially higher than staff positions because:
- Travel nurses fill urgent coverage gaps
- Hospitals absorb agency markup costs rather than paying nurse directly
- A portion of travel nurse pay is structured as non-taxable housing/meals stipend, increasing net pay
Top-paying travel markets (September 2026)
| State | Weekly average | Weekly maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | $2,644/week | $3,271/week |
| Utah | $2,606/week | $3,163/week |
| Alaska | $2,605/week | $3,804/week |
| Massachusetts | $2,511/week | $4,112/week |
| California | $2,441/week | $9,100/week |
Source: Vivian Health, 25 September 2026. California’s maximum reflects a single outlier listing (often a short crisis or strike contract) and says little about typical pay.
Requirements for travel telemetry positions
Travel agencies typically require:
- 1–2 years of recent telemetry RN experience (some agencies accept as little as 1 year)
- Current BLS and ACLS
- PCCN or equivalent cardiac certification (preferred, not always required)
- Compact state license or willingness to obtain assignment-state license
Against Vivian’s staff average of $47.45/hr (about $1,710 for a 36-hour week), the $2,172 travel average is roughly 27% more in gross weekly pay, and part of the travel package is usually a non-taxable stipend. Travel contracts also carry costs the staff figure does not: no paid time off, your own housing arrangements, gaps between assignments, and contracts that can end at short notice if census drops. See the travel nurse salary guide for a full breakdown of travel nursing economics.
Career ceiling: advanced practice and the CRNA pathway
The earnings ceiling for bedside telemetry nursing is approximately $130,000–$150,000 in high-cost markets with substantial overtime and differentials. Breaking through that ceiling means either moving to travel contracts or advancing to an advanced practice role.
Cardiology NP / AGACNP
Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioners (AGACNP) working in cardiology manage inpatient telemetry patients, interpret rhythms, and adjust cardiac medications with prescriptive authority. Former telemetry nurses are well positioned for this path because of their existing cardiac pharmacology and rhythm interpretation foundation.
BLS does not break out cardiology NPs separately, but it reports a median annual wage of $132,300 for all nurse practitioners (SOC 29-1171) in the May 2025 OEWS estimates, with the 10th percentile at $101,340 and the 90th at $174,420 [3]. Cardiology NP roles generally fall in the middle-to-upper part of that distribution, roughly $120,000–$160,000 depending on market and employer, though that specific range comes from job-posting data rather than a federal survey.
CRNA pathway
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) represent the highest-earning nursing specialty. In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, BLS reports a median annual wage of $236,590 for nurse anesthetists (SOC 29-1151), with a mean of $248,320 [2]. Locum and independent-contract CRNAs can earn above those figures, though BLS does not publish a separate locum series, so treat any specific locum number you see quoted elsewhere as an agency estimate rather than a federal statistic.
The CRNA path from telemetry: telemetry → ICU (the COA requires at least one year of full-time critical care experience, and many successful applicants bring more) → doctoral CRNA program (36 months or longer, the COA accreditation minimum being 36) → NBCRNA certification and CRNA practice. The ICU step is essential: CRNA programs count critical care experience, and telemetry or progressive care time generally does not meet that requirement.
See the cardiac cath lab nurse guide for the procedural specialty advancement route.
Broader RN salary context
Telemetry nurses earn close to the general RN median. For comparison, BLS May 2025 OEWS data puts the median wage for all registered nurses (SOC 29-1141) at $97,550/year and the mean at $101,420 [1]. The Salary.com telemetry median of $97,771 sits within a few hundred dollars of the BLS all-RN median, which suggests telemetry pay tracks the general RN market closely rather than carrying a large specialty premium. For full context on RN earnings across all specialties and settings, see the registered nurse salary guide.
FAQ
What is the starting salary for a telemetry nurse? Entry-level telemetry nurses (under 1 year of telemetry experience, typically with 1–2 years of prior med-surg RN experience) earn approximately $93,500–$94,500/year nationally based on Salary.com’s September 2026 employer data. New graduates in telemetry residency programs typically earn a lower training-period rate for the first 3–6 months before converting to full RN pay.
Do telemetry nurses make more than med-surg nurses? No federal survey separates the two, and where a premium exists it is modest – an editorial estimate of roughly $2,000–$5,000 per year at the same facility, often none at all. The larger earnings advantage comes from hospital type (cardiac-focused hospitals often pay more overall) and from shift differentials that are structured more generously at facilities with high telemetry volume.
Is telemetry a good specialty for travel nursing? Telemetry is among the most consistently in-demand travel nursing specialties, particularly in markets with nursing shortages. Cardiac monitoring skills are portable and immediately applicable in any hospital. Most travel agencies list telemetry as a high-fill priority. The national average of $2,172/week represents a meaningful earnings jump over staff positions for nurses with at least 1 year of solid telemetry experience.
How much does PCCN certification increase salary? Where employers pay a PCCN differential, it is commonly $1–$3/hr or 3–5% of base salary – roughly $2,000–$6,000 per year for a full-time nurse. Some hospitals pay a flat annual certification bonus instead. The exam costs $375 (or $260 for AACN members) and many hospitals reimburse the fee. At a $2/hr differential working full time, the exam cost is recovered in under 3 months.
How does telemetry nurse pay compare to ICU nurse pay? ICU nurses often earn more than telemetry nurses at the same facility (an editorial estimate of about 5–15%), reflecting higher acuity and the CCRN certification expectation. The gap widens in high-acuity cardiac ICUs (CVICU) where specialization commands additional premiums. BLS reports a single wage series for all registered nurses and does not separate telemetry from critical care, so this comparison reflects employer pay-scale data rather than a federal statistic [1].
References
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025: 29-1141 Registered Nurses.” Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, released May 2026. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291141.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025: 29-1151 Nurse Anesthetists.” Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, released May 2026. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291151.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025: 29-1171 Nurse Practitioners.” Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, released May 2026. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291171.htm
- American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. “PCCN (Adult) certification: eligibility, exam fees, and renewal requirements.” AACN, accessed August 2026. https://www.aacn.org/certification/get-certified/pccn-adult
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. “Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)” and overtime pay requirements, 29 U.S.C. § 207. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/overtime
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Registered Nurses: Occupational Outlook Handbook.” BLS Employment Projections 2025–2035 (released 27 August 2026, superseding the 2024–2034 round): 6% growth, 3,465,400 jobs in 2025, approximately 180,800 openings per year. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm
- Salary.com. “Telemetry Nurse salary in the United States” and state pages. Employer-reported compensation database, data as of 1 September 2026. https://www.salary.com/research/salary/recruiting/telemetry-nurse-salary
- Vivian Health. “Average Telemetry Nurse Salary by State & Nationally” (staff) and “Average Travel Telemetry Nurse Salary by State & Nationally” (travel). Job-posting data, updated 25 September 2026. https://www.vivian.com/nursing/telemetry-nurse/salary/ and https://www.vivian.com/nursing/telemetry-nurse/travel/salary/
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing. “Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC): Implementation status and participating states.” NCSBN, accessed August 2026 – relevant to compact licensure for travel telemetry assignments. https://www.nursecompact.com/
- ZipRecruiter. “Telemetry Nurse Salary.” Job-posting aggregation, as of 17 July 2026. https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Telemetry-Nurse-Salary
- Glassdoor. “Telemetry Nurse: Average Salary & Pay Trends 2026.” Self-reported pay. https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/telemetry-nurse-salary-SRCH_KO0,15.htm
- Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. Standards for Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs – Practice Doctorate, admission requirements (minimum one year full-time critical care experience) and 36-month minimum program length.