In the first part of 2025, I averaged $151 an hour and Monica averaged $158 an hour as nurses. I worked about 20 hours a week. Monica worked about 23. Here are the exact hours, our gross pay and why our hourly average is so much higher than our base rate.
These rates are from August 2025, when this was first written. Pay changes every year, so check current rates in Map My Pay.
In 2020, I worked 18 days straight. We were drowning in debt and scared of getting laid off. Now Monica and I work fewer hours than ever, and we make more than we thought nurses could.
Here is the part people forget when they chase big hourly rates. What you earn doesn’t mean much unless you also track the hours you worked.
What we made so far in 2025
| Name | Total hours worked | Gross pay (YTD) | Average weekly hours | Average hourly pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason | 522.48 | $78,921.10 | ~20.1 hrs/week | $151/hr |
| Monica | 606.29 | $96,259.74 | ~23.3 hrs/week | $158/hr |
Why my average is higher than my base pay
My base pay plus shift differential is $110 an hour. My average works out to $151 an hour because it also counts pay for hours I didn’t work.
- Vacation and sick leave. I still get paid when I’m off.
- Holiday pay. If I work a holiday, I get 2.5x my base rate. If I don’t work it, I still get 4 hours of straight pay because I’m 0.5 FTE.
That’s how my checks stay steady, even when I take time off.
How Monica makes it count as a per diem nurse
Monica is per diem. Her base rate is $142 an hour. She gets no PTO, some sick leave and no set hours. When she does work, she makes it count.
- Holiday shifts pay her 1.5x her rate for the whole shift. That’s $213 an hour.
- Double-time shifts pay even more, and she picked up a few of these. The first 8 hours pay $142 an hour, the next 4 hours pay $213 an hour and the last 4 hours pay $284 an hour.
Per diem nurses get few benefits, if any. Monica and our kids are on my health and dental insurance. She also builds up paid sick leave through the year and puts money into a 401k with a matching contribution.
As a per diem nurse, nothing is a sure thing. But when you know how the system works, you don’t need 40 hours a week to break six figures. If you want to learn more, read how a per diem nurse can still get benefits.
3 lessons from our numbers this year
1. Flexibility is worth more than PTO
I made a schedule where I work 5 days straight, then take 9 days off. Monica works nights because it fits our life. She makes more money doing it and doesn’t have to work every day to earn a great salary.
You can’t put a price tag on the freedom of only needing to work 20 to 23 hours a week.
2. Per diem is not “less than” travel nursing
Most people think per diem nurses are just extra help and earn less than travel nurses. If you know how shift pay works and pick the right shifts, you can earn more than travel nurses without all the strings.
3. Don’t just look at your base rate
Most nurses only look at the hourly rate in their offer. What hits your bank account depends on where you work, when you work and how you work the calendar.
Most nurses don’t know how much they could earn yet. You don’t need to work more hours. You need better information. To see how our numbers looked across a full year, read our nursing income for 2024 and how we plan to earn $274K working under 35 hours a week.
Your next move
See what you’d take home, then make the move
Map My Pay shows what nurses take home after taxes and rent at 465+ hospitals and in 21,000+ cities. It’s the app I co-founded so you can compare cities before you pack a single box.
The Nurses to Riches Accelerator is the plan Monica and I used to go from $37 an hour in New York to $143 an hour in California: license, city, hospital, and what to do with the money after.
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Written by Jason, RN. I went from $37 an hour in New York to $143 an hour in California and paid off $128K of debt in under a year. I share our numbers in the Nurses to Riches newsletter and on YouTube.