North Carolina became a meaningfully different locum tenens market on January 1, 2026. That is when the state joined the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, converting what had been a four-month standard licensure process into a 14-business-day target pathway for qualifying compact applicants. For locum physicians who previously passed over NC assignments because of the licensing…
Illinois is one of the most consequential locum tenens markets in the Midwest. Chicago anchors a dense academic and trauma network that generates consistent specialist demand, while downstate Illinois — from Peoria to rural southern counties — runs a persistent primary care and hospitalist shortage that locum coverage helps absorb. The state’s regulatory environment is…
Nevada is one of the most financially favorable states in the country for locum tenens physicians. No state income tax, a functioning IMLC compact pathway, and concentrated demand in a major metro — Las Vegas — alongside genuine rural frontier need make it worth understanding in detail before you accept or negotiate an assignment here….
Oregon is a high-demand locum market with a regulatory profile that has shifted significantly in the past year. Active IMLC membership, a sweeping non-compete ban for medical licensees effective June 2025, full NP and CRNA practice autonomy, and persistent rural shortages across a large and geographically diverse state create real locum opportunity — particularly outside…
Ohio is a large, accessible locum market with one of the most favorable income tax profiles in the Midwest. A top marginal rate of 3.75%, active IMLC membership, and a corporate practice of medicine doctrine that the Ohio State Medical Board has effectively abolished create a physician-friendly operating environment. The tradeoffs — physician non-competes remain…
Minnesota is a high-demand locum market with a distinctive profile. Long-standing IMLC membership, a non-compete ban that extends to independent contractors, full NP and CRNA practice autonomy, and a deep rural healthcare infrastructure — 77 critical access hospitals across a vast and medically underserved rural landscape — create consistent locum opportunity well beyond the Twin…
Michigan’s locum tenens market got meaningfully better in March 2026. Governor Whitmer signed HB 5455 on March 26, 2026 — Public Act 6 of 2026 — confirming Michigan’s continued participation in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact in a down-to-the-wire legislative move that preserved the IMLC pathway before a prior sunset-based withdrawal could take effect. Combined…
Colorado is one of the more physician-friendly locum markets in the Rocky Mountain West. Full IMLC membership with SPL eligibility, a near-total non-compete ban now in effect for physicians and APRNs — including a prohibition on liquidated damages and buyout fees — full NP and CRNA practice autonomy, and a flat 4.4% state income tax…
Washington state offers locum tenens physicians a compelling combination: no state income tax on 2026 earnings, full NP and CRNA practice autonomy, strong rural demand across a large and geographically diverse state, and a non-compete landscape heading toward a near-total ban by mid-2027. The tradeoffs are real — no IMLC membership means standard DOH licensing,…
Locum tenens physicians who work across multiple states in a single year face a tax filing obligation that most employed physicians never encounter — and that most generic tax guides do not adequately address. Every state where you physically perform clinical work creates a potential state income tax obligation, regardless of where you live, where…