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New Grad Nurse's Guide to Per Diem: Real Pay, Real Openings, and a First-Year Plan
Live per-diem pay and open-slot depth for newly licensed RNs, LPNs, and CNAs, plus a realistic plan for earning and building experience while the staff-job search runs its course.
Updated July 27, 2026 · live AllShifts shift data
The new-grad squeeze, said plainly
If you passed the NCLEX this year and the staff-job search feels harder than anyone warned you, you are not imagining it. Hiring for first staff roles is uneven: some metros graduate far more new nurses than their hospitals hire in a year, while other markets cannot fill the shifts they already have posted. The mistake most new grads make is treating the first kind of market as the whole world.
This page is the other half of the picture, measured rather than promised: what per-diem shifts actually pay a fresh license today, where the open slots really are, and how to use flexible shift work to keep earning and building a resume while the staff-job search runs its course.
What a new license actually earns per diem
These are live numbers from shifts posted in the AllShifts app today, not salary-survey estimates. The median column is the market minimum, so it is the conservative end of each range.
| License | Median market minimum | Posted range (all markets) | City markets | Open slots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RN | $48.30/hr | $39.33–$86.26/hr | 77 | 2,452 |
| LPN / LVN | $37.50/hr | $26.24–$48.74/hr | 127 | 4,491 |
| CNA / GNA / STNA | $23.18/hr | $15.18–$29.40/hr | 126 | 5,695 |
Per shift, the arithmetic is simple: a 12-hour RN shift at the median market minimum grosses $579.60; an 8-hour LPN/LVN shift grosses $300.00; an 8-hour CNA shift grosses $185.44. Full city-by-city tables live in our RN, LPN, and CNA pay guides, refreshed from the same live data as this page.
LVN is the Texas/California name for LPN. GNA is Maryland's geriatric nursing assistant credential and STNA is Ohio's state-tested nursing assistant; both are counted with CNA above.
Where demand is deepest right now
Open slots are not spread evenly. The deepest markets on AllShifts today, across all three license levels:
| City | License | Posted range | Open slots |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knoxville, TN | CNA | $18.24–$22.08/hr | 381 |
| Baltimore, MD | LPN | $34.50–$35.88/hr | 379 |
| Lancaster, PA | CNA | $20.70–$22.08/hr | 374 |
| Township Of Carneys Point, NJ | CNA | $19.50–$25.00/hr | 369 |
| Altoona, PA | CNA | $22.50/hr | 332 |
| Dayton, OH | RN | $48.30–$49.68/hr | 288 |
| Lancaster, PA | LPN | $34.50–$35.88/hr | 285 |
| Baltimore, MD | GNA | $20.70–$22.08/hr | 283 |
| New Orleans, LA | RN | $48.30–$49.68/hr | 263 |
| Glen Burnie, MD | LPN | $34.50–$35.88/hr | 258 |
A realistic first-year plan
- Keep the staff-job search running; earn while it runs. Per diem is not a detour from the resume, it is resume. Every verified shift is documented, recent, hands-on experience in your license, which is exactly what the "1-2 years preferred" postings are screening for.
- Look hard at post-acute and long-term care. New grads fixate on hospital units, but skilled-nursing and rehab settings post steady shift demand and have long been where many first licensed years actually happen. The clinical skills (assessments, med passes, wound care, families) are real and transfer.
- Start slow on purpose. Book one or two shifts a week at first, at one or two buildings, until the routines feel manageable. Per diem has no quota, so ramping up is your call, not a scheduler's. Our first 90 days guide walks through this in detail.
- Get the credential file perfect once. License, CPR card, TB results, physical: upload them once in the app and renewals are the only maintenance. A clean file is what stands between you and same-week booking.
- Protect the license you just earned. Take report seriously, ask questions early, do not float to assignments you are not competent to cover, and chart like the new grad you are. Flexibility is the perk; judgment is the job.
Why W-2 per diem fits a first year
- AllShifts is W-2, not 1099. Taxes are withheld, you are covered by workers' comp, and there is no quarterly-estimated-tax surprise in April of your first licensed year. The full comparison is in our W-2 vs 1099 guide.
- Instant pay, 7 days a week. AllShifts pays 100% of your net pay right after each verified shift, which matters when the graduation-year budget is tight.
- No minimum-shift commitment. Interview weeks, licensing paperwork, a residency orientation that finally lands: none of it conflicts with a schedule you build one shift at a time.
Common questions
Can a brand-new license book shifts on AllShifts?
Requirements vary by state, license level, and the individual shift. Download the app (iPhone / Android), upload your license and credentials, and the app shows you the shifts your file qualifies for; as your experience grows, so does the list.
Will per diem hurt my chances at a hospital residency?
Recent, verified, hands-on shift work in your license is evidence you can practice safely, and it reads far better than a gap. Keep applying to staff roles while you work; nothing about per diem locks you out.
I am a CNA thinking about nursing school. Is this still relevant?
Very. Per diem is the classic way to fund the next license without a fixed rotation colliding with classes. Our CNA-to-LPN bridge guide and LPN-to-RN bridge guide run the same-city pay math for each jump.
Does a compact (multistate) license help a new grad?
If you live in a Nurse Licensure Compact state and hold a multistate RN or LPN license, you can book shifts in other compact states without extra applications, which widens a thin local market. Details in our compact license guide.
What does it pay in my city?
The tables above show the deepest markets; the full city list covers every live market with its current posted range, updated daily.
Pay figures on this page come from shifts currently posted in the AllShifts app and change daily. AllShifts is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.