Provido. Book a call
Services
Paid Recruitment Advertising Candidate Engagement Candidate Nurture Employer Brand Creative Patient Acquisition
Company
Clinician recruitment Patient acquisition Pricing Book a 30-minute call
Free tool

What does a nurse hire really cost?

Use it nowBook a 30-minute call

Agency fees are the visible cost. Vacancy is the hidden one. This calculator puts both on the same page and compares them to a funnel you own.

Defaults are typical, not yours. Change any number.

Compare what a nurse hire costs through a staffing agency, through job boards, and through a recruitment funnel you own. Every input is editable; the defaults are typical, not yours.

What the calculator is really showing

Two things hide inside "cost per hire." The first is the agency fee, which is visible and painful: 20 to 30 percent of first-year salary per placement, with nothing left behind. The second is vacancy cost, which almost nobody puts on the same spreadsheet: every week a nursing role stays open, the unit pays for it in agency coverage, overtime, closed beds, or lost capacity. Shortening time to fill is usually worth more than cutting the fee, and time to fill is mostly a reply-speed problem.

A recruitment funnel you own changes both. Campaigns reach the working nurses job boards miss, a 60-second reply books interviews before competitors call, and the candidate database makes each subsequent hire cheaper. See nurse recruitment marketing and the comparison with agencies and job boards.

Common questions

Straight answers

What is the average cost per hire for a nurse?
Industry estimates for a registered nurse hire commonly land in the thousands of dollars through in-house channels and $18,000 to $27,000 through a staffing agency at 20 to 30 percent of a $90,000 salary. The larger, less-counted cost is vacancy: every week a role stays open costs the unit in coverage, overtime, or capacity.
How much do nurse staffing agencies charge?
Permanent placement fees typically run 20 to 30 percent of first-year salary. Travel and contract nurses are billed hourly at rates that include the agency margin, often well above the equivalent employed rate.
What is the cost of an unfilled nursing position?
Estimates vary widely by unit and market. Common inputs are agency or travel coverage, overtime for existing staff, closed beds or reduced capacity, and turnover pressure on the remaining team. Many organizations use a figure of several thousand dollars per week per open role; enter your own in the calculator.
How does recruitment marketing lower cost per hire?
By reaching working nurses that job boards do not, replying within 60 seconds so interviews are booked before competitors call, and building a candidate database that makes each subsequent hire cheaper. It replaces a share of agency placements and shortens time to fill, which cuts vacancy cost.
Related

Go deeper: nurse recruitment marketing, recruitment marketing vs staffing agencies vs job boards, the speed to lead grader.

Free first step

Want the real number instead of an estimate?

Send us one open role. We apply like a real clinician would, time what happens, and send a written report in two business days. Free.

Book your 30-minute call