If you’re looking for accommodation for your next nursing assignment, then these best travel nurse housing sites are the perfect place to get started!
While some nurses depend on the travel nursing agencies to find housing for them, others prefer the flexibility of finding their own property to rent. Additionally, you may be losing out on more money via your non-taxable housing stipend if you decide to use agency housing.
Though it can be difficult to find the right place, the online resources we discuss in this article can help you rent an apartment that meets all your needs.
So, let’s explore the best travel nurse housing sites, their pros and cons, and the best way to begin searching for your new place.
Table of contents
- What Is The Best Travel Nurse Housing Site?
- 12 Best Travel Nurse Housing Sites
- Best Apps For Travel Nurses To Find Housing
- How To Choose The Best Travel Nurse Housing Site For You?
- When Is The Best Time To Book On Travel Nurse Housing Sites?
- Find The Perfect Rental On Top Travel Nurse Housing Sites Now
- Best Travel Nurse Housing Site FAQs
What Is The Best Travel Nurse Housing Site?
The best travel nurse housing site is Furnished Finder. This is because the platform caters specifically to travel nurses, listing affordable, flexible, and furnished short-term rentals.
However, just because this site is often the best place to start doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll find your dream apartment there right away. Instead, you may want to explore your options on several of the best travel nurse housing sites.
By comparing listings across multiple platforms, you’ll give yourself plenty of accommodation options to choose from. This way, you can find a place that mostly closely matches your desired location, budget, and amenities.
12 Best Travel Nurse Housing Sites
In order to determine the rankings for the best travel nurse housing sites, we took the time to explore listings on each website. This allowed us to get a feel for each one’s offerings, as well as features like search filtering capabilities.
We paid close attention to all of the following criteria:
- Prices and Number of Affordable Options
- Ease of Use
- Number of Locations/Location Flexibility
- Number of Flexible/Short-Term Lease Options
- Number of Furnished Options
- Additional Features
| Travel Nurse Housing Site | Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Lease | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| Furnished Finder | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 30 |
| AirBnB | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 29 |
| Kopa | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 25 |
| Apartments.com | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 24 |
| Homestay | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 23 |
| Extended Stay America | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 22 |
| Hello Landing | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 21 |
| Craigslist | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| VRBO/Homeaway | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
| HotPads | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| Zillow | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| Facebook Housing Groups | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
1. Furnished Finder
We determined that Furnished Finder is the best website for travel nurse housing because it caters specifically to the needs of travel nurses. In fact, it not only caters to nurses, but other traveling professionals as well.
This means almost all of the rentals are furnished and include utilities in the listing price. Depending on your preferences, you can filter the listings by price, pets welcome, and various amenities.
You can even choose to filter the results by “room only”, which tends to be cheaper, or “entire place”, which gives you more space and privacy.
Overall, we found that the listing prices on this travel nurse housing site were some of the most affordable. Better yet, the pricing is transparent and easier to gauge because there’s no additional premium added on for furnished and short-term leases.
The biggest downside to Furnished Finder is that most of the properties we looked at didn’t have any reviews. So, be sure to do your due diligence and ensure listings are legit by touring the property or taking other safety measures.
Most importantly, do not send anyone money until you’ve confirmed the legitimacy of the listing.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 30 |
2. AirBnB
AirBnB is probably the most popular platform for finding short-term rentals, making it a great travel nurse housing site. While this site doesn’t cater specifically to travel nurses, we have seen several properties marketing themselves as a great place for travel nurses to stay.
After all, nearly all rentals on AirBnB come furnished, and with utilities included in the listing price. You’ll always pay the price you see in the listing, with the only other additional cost being taxes.
It also has robust filtering tools. For example, you can choose to only see properties with specific amenities and under a certain budget.
Additionally, you can filter the results by “room only”, “entire place to yourself”, or both. If you’re looking to save extra money, booking a room instead of an entire place is significantly cheaper. However, many people like the extra privacy of an entire place for the extra money.
Most listings on AirBnB also have lots of reviews, making it easy to gauge which properties are high-quality. The site even recently introduced a new filter called “Guest Favorites” which allows you to only view highly-rated rentals, usually those averaging above a 4.75 out of 5 star rating.
The biggest downside to this platform is that it’s becoming increasingly limited in certain cities. For example, New York effectively banned many AirBnB rentals after adopting Local Law 18. However, despite the stricter laws, there are still a ton of rentals available on the platform.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 29 |
3. Kopa
Kopa is another great travel nurse housing site because it only lists short-term, month-by-month rentals. You can also filter the results by “Fully Furnished”, “Partially Furnished”, and “Unfurnished”.
It’s easy to find a rental that aligns with your assignment, as you can search availability within a specific date range.
Additionally, there are search filters for various types of amenities, accessibility requirements, and rules (like pet allowance). You can also choose to only see “Entire Place” listings or “Individual Room” listings.
This platform also gives you all the key information you need once you click on a listing. The first things you’ll see are:
- Rental Type (ie, entire space vs individual room)
- Furnished, Partially Furnished, or Unfurnished
- Which utilities are included
- Other costs like security deposits and cleaning fees
The main drawback to this site is that there aren’t quite as many affordable options as the ones ranking above it. However, It’s worth noting the pricing and availability could fluctuate depending on several factors, like your location and the time of year.
Overall, it’s definitely worth checking out, because it’s possible to find a really nice place for a good deal.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 25 |
4. Apartments.com
Apartments.com is another good place to look when searching for housing for your next travel nursing assignment.
This site is useful because the listings often provide a comprehensive overview of the property. They detail all of the amenities, neighborhood information, and even various fees, like utilities and pet fees.
Additionally, many of the properties have at least a few reviews, which can help you avoid low-quality rentals.
To find listings suited to your preferences, you can filter the results by “short-term” lease “furnished available”. Then, you can set your maximum budget and desired number of bedrooms.
However, it’s worth noting that the listing prices on this travel nurse housing website often don’t accurately reflect the monthly cost of rent. This is because most properties charge a premium for short-term lease and furnished units.
Additionally, many of the leases don’t include utilities, which can add even more cost to your stay. While you can filter by “Utilities Included”, this often means only some of the utilities are included.
You may also need to consider upfront costs like the security deposit and first and last month’s rent.
So, overall it can be a little more difficult to gauge the final cost of accommodation when using this website. While it’s worth checking out the available short-term stays on Apartments.com, this site is typically better for long-term rentals.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 24 |
5. HomeStay
If you’re looking to stay with a host and live with a local, Homestay can make a great option for travel nurses. The site mostly lists individual rooms, not entire places, and this can often result in more affordable accommodation.
Another good thing about this site is that many of the listings have reviews. This makes it easier to gauge the legitimacy of the listing, and get a feel for travelers’ experiences with the host.
Also, there are various types of filtering criteria, like amenities, distance from city center, and even hobbies you may share with your host. You should also be sure to use the “Host Welcomes” filter, as different hosts place restrictions on who can stay.
For example, if you hope to travel with your family, it’s key to filter by “Host Welcomes Families”. Likewise, if you’re a male, be sure to use the “Host Welcomes Males” filter, as some hosts aren’t comfortable hosting men.
Another important thing to note about HomeStay is that the number of listings can vary a lot based on location. For example, in Philadelphia, we didn’t find many affordable results. On the other hand, we found quite a few relatively inexpensive rooms available in New York City and Boston.
So, if you’re not concerned with having an entire place to yourself and you want to find a cheap rental in a city with high rent prices, this could be right for you.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 23 |
6. Extended Stay America
Extended Stay America is a great site for travel nurses to find housing because it’s relatively affordable and consistent. This company offers nice hotel-style rooms, fit for stays anywhere from a few days to a few months.
You can rent a private studio apartment that includes a kitchen and utilities, as well as on-site laundry facilities and free wifi. If you have pets, they even offer pet-friendly accommodation.
The downside is that, while they do have a lot of locations, they may not always be in your desired location. For example, when we looked at available units in Philadelphia, all of the properties were located in the suburbs, with no options within the city itself.
One more thing to note is that Extended Stay America is considered a hotel, and they feature hotel-style rooms. While these rooms look pretty large, even featuring a queen bed (or two) and a kitchen, those looking for a different style may want to look elsewhere.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 22 |
7. Hello Landing
Hello Landing has a network of 20,000 available apartments across over 375 cities. The rentals are all short-term, flexible leases, and tend to be more high-end.
Their platform also offers a “Standby” option, which allows you to live in any one of their available Standby rentals for a flat fee. The catch is if someone else decides to pay the non-Standby price to rent the apartment, you are given a minimum of three days to move into a different unit.
You should also keep in mind that the Standby option does not include all the available listings. You need to create an account to view Standby rentals.
This option could work out for those who are traveling from city to city and want a consistent marketplace and consistent price point. However, given the busy schedules of travel nurses, the possibility of having to switch rentals on short notice may be difficult.
If you’re not a Standby member, the prices of rentals on Hello Landing were some of the most expensive we saw, with few inexpensive options. Additionally, some of the listings had additional fees for utilities.
However, if you have a high budget and want to live in really nice accommodation, this could be a good choice.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 21 |
8. Craigslist
Craigslist can also be a great place to find travel nurse housing rentals. While the “apts/housing” section usually features more traditional, long-term property listings, the “sublets/temporary” section often has listings for short-term rentals.
Additionally, you can filter the available properties by price, as well as “furnished”. However, you’ll need to check each individual listing to determine if the length of the lease matches your needs.
This can be one of the most affordable travel nurse housing sites, because property owners are often trying to find a tenant quickly. This way, they’re not wasting money on a place they don’t live in anymore.
The biggest downside to Craigslist sublets and temporary rentals is that you’re often working renting from individuals instead of established property management businesses.
Additionally, since anyone can place an ad on the site, you should be especially cautious and ensure the listing is legitimate. If possible, try to tour the place before you commit, and don’t send money to anyone until you feel it’s safe to do so.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
9. VRBO/Homeaway
VRBO, which also acquired Homeaway, is a rental marketplace geared more towards vacation rentals. This means a lot of listings on this site tend to be a little fancier, and they all come furnished.
You can filter by particular amenities as well as maximum price, and you can view the cost as a nightly or total price. So, if you plan on staying for a few months, you may need to break out your calculator to determine the monthly rent.
A lot of Homeaway and VRBO travel nurse housing listings also have reviews, which can help you decide if the rental is right for you.
The main drawback to VRBO is that the listings tend to be pretty expensive. However, if you’re looking for a more luxury stay, you may be able to find a good rental on this travel nurse housing site.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
10. HotPads
Overall, HotPads is very similar to Apartments.com when it comes to travel nurse housing. The biggest difference is that Apartments.com has better filtering features, like filtering by short-term leases.
To see if short-term leases are available on HotPads, you’ll need to check the individual listings. You should keep in mind that your rent may be higher than the listing prices, because many properties charge a premium for short-term leases and furnished units.
One good reason to search for rentals on this platform is their commute calculator tool. This can help you determine how long it will take to get to your travel nursing job from each rental.
Overall, HotPads can be a good place to find short-term rentals and easily find a location with a short commute. However, checking each individual listing to see if they offer short-term leases could be time-consuming.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
11. Zillow
Like Hotpads, Zillow is better for finding long-term leases, but there are still travel nursing housing options on this site. However, you won’t be able to filter by “short-term lease” or furnished units.
With Zillow, the only way to filter out unfurnished and longer-term leases is to use their keyword search tool. Unfortunately, this often loads results that don’t actually come furnished and don’t last less than a year.
However, if you take the time to look at the listings, you may be able to find a short-term, furnished rental. Just be wary of the fact that short-term, furnished properties typically charge a premium on top of the listing price.
Overall, since the Zillow platform is used by people to both rent and purchase property, it lacks some of the features that are crucial for travel nurse renters.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
12. Facebook Housing Groups
One more option to find a travel nurse is to join groups on Facebook. For example, a quick search for “travel nurse housing” on Facebook brought up several groups boasting over 100,000 members with over 10 new posts a day.
For instance, some popular housing groups dedicated specifically to travel nurse accommodation include:
- Travel Nurse Housing – Furnished Finder (group is moderated by Furnished Finder but acts independently from the site and app)
- Travel Nurse Housing – The Gypsy Nurse
- Travel Nursing: Places/Rooms For Rent
You might also consider searching for more general housing groups in your desired location. For example, if you want to work in Chicago, search for “Chicago housing”.
While this strategy can be hit or miss, you can find really good deals listed in these groups.
However, even though most groups are moderated, you should be wary of spam and scams. Moderators may not be able to weed out all the illegitimate listings, so do your due diligence before committing or sending the landlord a deposit.
| Price | Ease of Use | Locations | Flexible Leases | Furnished Options | Additional Features | Score (Out of 30) |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
Best Apps For Travel Nurses To Find Housing
Most of the best travel nurse housing sites listed above also offer an app for a better user experience on mobile devices.
So, while you can browse rental listings on a desktop or in your phone or tablet browser, you might have a better experience by downloading these free apps for travel nurse housing:
- Furnished Finder App (Apple and Android)
- AirBnB (Apple and Android)
- Apartments.com (Apple and Android)
- Craigslist App (Apple and Android)
- Extended Stay America (Apple and Android)
- Hello Landing (Apple and Android)
- VRBO App (Apple and Android)
- HotPads (Apple and Android)
- Zillow App (Apple and Android)
- Facebook App (Apple and Android)
The only platforms from our rankings that don’t have apps are Kopa and HomeStay. To use these websites, you’ll need to use your preferred web browser.
How To Choose The Best Travel Nurse Housing Site For You?
When choosing which travel nurse housing sites to explore, there are a few key things you should keep in mind.
The following considerations will help you determine which sites might have relevant property listings for you to explore.
Budget
One of the most important things to consider when choosing which travel nurse housing sites to use is your budget. While some sites offer affordable rentals, others focus on more expensive, high-end listings.
For example, Furnished Finder and AirBnB tend to offer the best deals on short-term furnished rentals, while also providing plenty of luxury listings.
Meanwhile, you can find some good deals on more traditional property rental sites like Apartments.com. However, you’ll likely incur extra costs on top of the listing price, because there’s usually a premium on short-term and furnished units.
Finally, you’ll likely only want to check out sites like Hello Landing if you plan on budgeting a lot of money towards a luxury apartment. While they do offer the “Standby” option for an affordable rate, it often requires more flexibility than many travel nurses are comfortable with.
Time Investment For Finding Rental
Another key thing to consider when selecting the right travel nurse housing sites is how much time you’re willing to invest in finding a rental.
For instance, it’s really easy to filter by your preferred lease length, amenities, and more on sites like Furnished Finder and AirBnB. Better yet, nearly all the properties you find on these websites are furnished and include utilities, which means you spend less time on irrelevant listings.
Apartments.com is also a good option for saving time looking for listings, as you can filter the properties by “short-term lease available” and “furnished available. Just keep in mind that short-term, furnished units on this site often charge a premium, and many don’t include utilities in the listing price.
Meanwhile, you can find short-term, furnished units on sites like Zillow and Hotpads, but there’s no way to filter by short-term leases. This means you’d need to spend time checking every listing to see if it’s an option.
Type of Accomodation
You should also think about the key things you’re looking for in your accommodation.
For example, if you’re looking for a private apartment that only you have access to, many of the best travel nurse housing sites allow you to filter by that feature.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for cheaper housing or simply want to live around others, you can also usually filter by “Room Only”. Sites like HomeStay specifically cater to those who want to live with a host.
Meanwhile, other sites, like Hello Landing, only offer private accommodation.
Additionally, different travel nurse housing sites feature different filters for amenities. Most sites provide filters for those looking for perks like a washer/dryer or an on-site gym, but some sites allow you to do more advanced filtering than others.
So, if you’re looking for any specific amenities, be sure to check out the available filters on each site.
Available Locations
Finally, the travel nurse housing sites you use can also depend heavily on the location you want to rent in.
For example, if you don’t see any listings close to your workplace, you may want to explore listings closer by on another website. If you search on a site like HotPads, you can use their commute time estimator tool to determine how long your commute would take from each rental.
Additionally, you should consider whether the site you use offers accommodation in your selected location. For instance, Hello Landing’s Standby option is not available in New York and California. So, if you hope to complete assignments in these states, this won’t be a good option for you.
Overall, the popularity of each site can differ from location to location. So, we recommend you start exploring with travel nurse housing websites like Furnished Finder and AirBnB.
If you don’t see many good listings, broaden your search to sites like Apartments.com and other sites on the list above.
When Is The Best Time To Book On Travel Nurse Housing Sites?
The best time to book your travel nursing accommodation depends on a myriad of factors. While a report from NerdWallet suggested one month in advance is the best time to book on sites like AirBnB, the cost of rentals simply depends on supply and demand.
For example, if you’re looking to complete an assignment in a city during their high tourist season, you can expect to pay more for the rental. On the other hand, if you’re in a tourism-driven city during the off-season, you may be able to snatch up last-minute bookings at a discount.
So, while there are situations where booking last minute may be advantageous in a buyer’s market, sometimes it’s more beneficial and safer to book in advance.
So, we recommend you book as early as you can. This will save you the stress of having to worry about accommodation in the lead-up to your assignment.
Additionally, since you’re likely looking for a stay of a few months, earlier booking can prevent other renters from booking a place during the time you’re hoping to stay for. For example, many users on AirBnB often only book a few nights, which can make it more difficult to find long-term stays.
Finally, keep in mind that hosts on sites like AirBnB sometimes offer full or partial refunds if you cancel before a particular date.
Find The Perfect Rental On Top Travel Nurse Housing Sites Now
If you’re ready to start exploring rentals near your next travel nursing assignment, you can find great places to stay on any of the sites we listed in this article. The ones that work best for you will depend on your own desires and circumstances, like budget, location, and other important amenities.
However, we generally recommend that travel nurses begin their accommodation search with Furnished Finder. As we mentioned earlier, this travel nurse housing site caters specifically to travel nurses, and it’s the easiest platform to find furnished, temporary rentals.
Then, if none of the options on Furnished Finder pique your interest, or you simply want to explore more listings, you can work your way down the list of sites in this article.
By using multiple platforms, you can create a shortlist of properties to compare and contrast. This can also help you stay prepared in the event that your preferred rental gets snatched up before you’re able to book it.
Ultimately, the sooner you can book your accommodation, the more options you’re likely to have. So, get started by searching for a rental now!
Best Travel Nurse Housing Site FAQs
What Is The App That Helps Travel Nurses Find Housing?
The best app for helping travel nurses find housing is the Furnished Finder App. The platform caters specifically to traveling nurses and professionals.
However, there are plenty of other apps you can explore too, like AirBnB, Apartments.com, and lots more we listed earlier in this article.
How Much Should You Spend On Housing As A Travel Nurse?
There are two popular methods for determining how much you should spend on housing as a travel nurse.
The first is to spend a maximum of 25% of your monthly income. This allows you to put the other 75% towards other living expenses, savings, and more.
For example, if you make $2,000 a week, or $8,000 a month, you can budget up to $2,000 towards monthly rent.
The second method of travel nurse rent budgeting is to multiply your weekly housing stipend by four to determine your monthly housing stipend. Whatever number you get is the maximum amount you should put towards rent.
Of course, these are both general guidelines. The amount you should spend on rent also depends on a number of other factors, like existing debt, long-term savings goals, and what kind of amenities you feel you need.
Nurse Luke is a CRNA who specializes in Nursing content and still enjoys a very busy career with Locum, Per Diem and Travel nursing in the greater midwest. He has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare field and received his CRNA masters degree from the Mayo Clinic School of Healthcare. He is passionate about helping nurses explore the options of becoming a travel nurse as well as spending time with his Family.
