Travel Therapy Housing Guide
A travel therapist either takes the agency's housing stipend and finds a place to live, or lets the agency arrange the housing and gives up that stipend. The IRS lets a stipend stay out of your taxable wages only while you work away from your tax home, so confirm that first, then compare the stipend with real rents for your contract dates.
Housing Strategies
Take the Stipend
Why? If you find housing for less than your stipend amount, you keep the difference; the worksheet shows whether a listing does.
Where to Search
Furnished Finder — built specifically for traveling healthcare workers. Landlords understand 13-week leases.
Airbnb — negotiate monthly rates with hosts. Mention you're a healthcare professional. Ask for the monthly total and compare it with the nightly rate.
Facebook Groups — search "[city] travel nurse housing" or "[city] furnished rentals." Often has listings not found elsewhere.
Craigslist/Local Listings — sublets, rooms for rent, and month-to-month furnished options.
Ask Coworkers — facilities that use travelers regularly have institutional knowledge about where previous travelers stayed.
Compare your options: see our Furnished Finder vs Airbnb vs extended-stay comparison for how to price each over a 13-week contract.
Agency-Provided Housing
Your agency can arrange housing for you — convenient but it comes out of your pay package. Ask what it would cost against the stipend you would otherwise take, and compare that with furnished listings for the same dates. Best for: first-time travelers who want to reduce stress, or assignments in remote areas where self-finding is difficult.
🏙 City Guides
Neighborhoods, prices, and strategies for 20 popular travel therapy cities.
Denver, Colorado
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,831 (1-bed) · $2,169 (2-bed)
Phoenix, Arizona
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,493 (1-bed) · $1,734 (2-bed)
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: Dallas $1,536 (1-bed), $1,807 (2-bed) · Fort Worth $1,481 (1-bed), $1,745 (2-bed)
San Diego, California
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $2,335 (1-bed) · $2,823 (2-bed)
Nashville, Tennessee
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,650 (1-bed) · $1,798 (2-bed)
Portland, Oregon
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,633 (1-bed) · $1,878 (2-bed)
Charlotte, North Carolina
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,640 (1-bed) · $1,785 (2-bed)
Seattle, Washington
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $2,180 (1-bed) · $2,549 (2-bed)
Austin, Texas
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,530 (1-bed) · $1,817 (2-bed)
Boston, Massachusetts
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $2,518 (1-bed) · $3,008 (2-bed)
Chicago, Illinois
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,780 (1-bed) · $2,011 (2-bed)
Atlanta, Georgia
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,619 (1-bed) · $1,762 (2-bed)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,427 (1-bed) · $1,734 (2-bed)
Orlando, Florida
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,726 (1-bed) · $1,959 (2-bed)
Las Vegas, Nevada
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,435 (1-bed) · $1,686 (2-bed)
Salt Lake City, Utah
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,349 (1-bed) · $1,615 (2-bed)
Raleigh, North Carolina
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,552 (1-bed) · $1,689 (2-bed)
San Antonio, Texas
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,196 (1-bed) · $1,441 (2-bed)
Houston, Texas
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,261 (1-bed) · $1,497 (2-bed)
Tampa, Florida
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027: $1,648 (1-bed) · $1,917 (2-bed)
Stipend Pocket Strategy
Your housing stipend is based on GSA per diem rates for your assignment location, and you can estimate the tax-free take-home on a specific package with a travel pay calculator. The key insight: you keep whatever you don't spend.
Strategies that maximize your pocket: share housing with another traveler (split a 2BR), find a room in a house instead of a full apartment, compare rents in adjacent neighborhoods and suburbs, negotiate monthly rates on Airbnb or with private landlords. When you're ready to put a stipend to work on your next assignment, tell a recruiter where you'd like to go: Find my next contract.
Housing Timeline
4 weeks before start: Begin searching Furnished Finder and Airbnb. Set price alerts.
3 weeks before: Reach out to top 3-5 options. Ask about 13-week availability and pricing.
2 weeks before: Book your housing. Or book just the first 1-2 weeks (Airbnb/hotel) and plan to scout in person.
1 week before: Confirm move-in details. Plan your route/travel.
Arrival: Arrive 1-2 days early to settle in before your first day.
Housing Tips from Experienced Travelers
Don't sign a 13-week lease before confirming your contract is solid. Start month-to-month or with a 30-day out clause in case of cancellation.
Take photos of everything at move-in. Document the condition to protect your security deposit.
Bring your own bedding. Furnished rentals often have mediocre sheets and pillows. Your own bedding makes anywhere feel more like home.
Check for washer/dryer access. In-unit is ideal; on-site is fine; off-site laundromat gets old fast on a 13-week stay.
Prioritize proximity to work. A 10-minute commute vs. 35 minutes is 4+ hours per week of your life. The slightly more expensive apartment near work is often worth it.
Frequently Asked Questions
A housing stipend stays out of your taxable wages only when you meet the rules in IRS Publication 463. The first is travel away from your tax home on an assignment realistically expected to last, and that does last, a year or less. If your assignment is indefinite, Publication 463 says the living-expense allowances you receive go into your income.
IRS Publication 463 says: “If your allowance is less than or equal to the federal rate, the allowance won’t be included in box 1 of your Form W-2.” GSA publishes the lodging part of that rate as a nightly maximum for each location. That makes it a ceiling on a stipend paid that way, not a promise of what any agency will offer.
Look up the county the facility is in on GSA’s per diem rates page, or find it on the stipend site’s GSA rates by state. Rates are set by location and in some areas change by month, so check every month your contract covers.
HUD defines its Fair Market Rents as “estimates of 40th percentile gross rents for standard quality units within a metropolitan area or nonmetropolitan county,” with tenant-paid utilities included. That describes an ordinary unfurnished lease, not a furnished or short-term price, so treat it as a reference point rather than a quote.
State law sets the deadline for the landlord to return the deposit or explain what it kept. That deadline differs from state to state, as the statutes of Texas, California, Washington and Florida show. Leave a written forwarding address when you move out, and see getting your deposit back for each of those states’ rules and what a landlord may deduct.
No: GSA’s rates cover the continental United States, and in GSA’s words, “Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions are set by the Department of Defense.” The stipend site’s Alaska and Hawaii stipends page explains what that means for a housing stipend there.
Ready for Your Next Assignment?
Talk to a ProTherapy recruiter about your next contract.