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The differential is a raise hiding in plain sight.
Nursing pay is never just the base rate: night differentials, weekend premiums, and overtime stack into a number the job posting never mentions. This calculator stacks them properly — day hours at base, night hours with the differential, OT at time-and-a-half — and annualizes the result, so you can compare offers, units, and schedules on real money.
Nurses use it when comparing facilities or deciding whether to pick up the night shift: base rate is marketing, the differential stack is money. Travel nurses use it to convert blended rates back into an honest hourly.
A 12% differential on a $38 base adds $4.56 per night hour — 12 night hours a week is $2,845 a year over working straight days. Weekend and charge-nurse differentials stack on top at most facilities. When comparing offers, always compare rate × your actual shift mix, not the posted base.
Federal law (FLSA) requires 1.5× your regular rate past 40 hours in a week; some states (like California) also require OT past 8 or 12 hours in a day. The "regular rate" includes shift differentials in the OT base — this calculator applies the differential first, then OT on top, which matches how payroll computes it.
Run it both ways. An extra 4 OT hours a week at $38 base adds $228/week or about $11,856/year gross — but only the $76/week OT premium is the "extra" over picking up straight-time hours. Check your true hourly on the extra shifts and weigh it against burnout; the annualized figure is the honest one.