How much do nurse practitioners make?

Nurse Practitioner salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Nurse Practitioners (SOC 29-1171) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Nurse practitioners in the US earned a median of $132,300 a year ($63.61 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $117,990 to $156,700.

Median annual pay: $132,300; Mean $137,300
Median hourly pay: $63.61; Mean $66.01
Typical range (10th–90th): $101K–$174K; $101,340 to $174,420
US jobs: 323,040; +41.0% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a nurse practitioner: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: California

Nurse Practitioner pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$101,340
25th percentile$117,990
Median$132,300
75th percentile$156,700
90th percentile$174,420

Half of all nurse practitioners earned more than $132,300 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $101,340; the top 10% made over $174,420. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $117,990 to $156,700.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$101,340	$48.72	$8,445
25th	$117,990	$56.73	$9,833
Median (50th)	$132,300	$63.61	$11,025
75th	$156,700	$75.34	$13,058
90th	$174,420	$83.86	$14,535
Mean (average)	$137,300	$66.01	$11,442

Nurse Practitioner salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for nurse practitioners by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. California $168,520
2. New Jersey $159,310
3. Washington $156,100
4. Oregon $155,680
5. Alaska $155,170

Lowest-paying states

51. Alabama $105,750
50. Tennessee $117,590
49. Kentucky $122,870
48. South Carolina $123,290
47. Mississippi $124,730

Best after cost of living: California. Its median of $168,520 is worth about $152,204 at national-average prices.


Alabama	$105,750	51	$119,057	51	$50.84	5,640	2.67
Alaska	$155,170	5	$151,594	3	$74.60	710	2.17
Arizona	$134,420	17	$133,516	36	$64.63	7,220	2.23
Arkansas	$125,660	44	$144,541	13	$60.41	3,970	3.04
California	$168,520	1	$152,204	1	$81.02	25,120	1.38
Colorado	$132,930	20	$128,993	44	$63.91	4,270	1.49
Connecticut	$138,470	9	$133,645	35	$66.57	3,750	2.21
Delaware	$131,040	28	$131,292	42	$63.00	1,430	2.95
District of Columbia	$135,880	14	$123,639	49	$65.33	680	0.97
Florida	$129,510	36	$125,234	47	$62.26	21,790	2.19
Georgia	$129,430	37	$134,413	33	$62.22	10,460	2.14
Hawaii	$135,570	15	$123,300	50	$65.18	550	0.88
Idaho	$132,540	21	$138,794	23	$63.72	1,750	2.04
Illinois	$130,680	30	$130,735	43	$62.83	9,270	1.52
Indiana	$128,830	40	$138,039	24	$61.94	7,450	2.33
Iowa	$130,160	32	$148,310	6	$62.58	3,240	2.08
Kansas	$126,650	43	$140,616	21	$60.89	3,780	2.63
Kentucky	$122,870	49	$136,281	28	$59.07	4,770	2.38
Louisiana	$125,600	45	$142,392	17	$60.38	5,380	2.78
Maine	$130,260	31	$134,219	34	$62.62	1,650	2.58
Maryland	$131,110	27	$124,915	48	$63.03	6,710	2.43
Massachusetts	$142,440	7	$134,686	31	$68.48	8,070	2.22
Michigan	$131,450	26	$136,618	27	$63.20	8,290	1.88
Minnesota	$133,260	19	$135,123	30	$64.07	7,780	2.64
Mississippi	$124,730	47	$143,445	14	$59.96	4,690	4.04
Missouri	$129,930	35	$143,068	15	$62.47	7,710	2.63
Montana	$137,210	12	$144,973	12	$65.97	1,260	2.46
Nebraska	$132,130	23	$146,643	7	$63.52	2,340	2.29
Nevada	$140,670	8	$140,700	20	$67.63	1,930	1.24
New Hampshire	$137,550	10	$132,050	40	$66.13	1,770	2.58
New Jersey	$159,310	2	$146,418	8	$76.59	9,950	2.32
New Mexico	$137,520	11	$149,135	5	$66.11	1,770	2.04
New York	$153,510	6	$142,243	19	$73.80	22,890	2.36
North Carolina	$128,990	38	$136,749	26	$62.01	9,800	1.98
North Dakota	$130,070	34	$146,213	9	$62.53	1,290	3.00
Ohio	$124,870	46	$134,596	32	$60.03	15,400	2.77
Oklahoma	$133,390	18	$151,850	2	$64.13	3,620	2.12
Oregon	$155,680	4	$150,618	4	$74.85	2,820	1.43
Pennsylvania	$130,140	33	$133,378	37	$62.57	10,670	1.76
Rhode Island	$135,970	13	$132,939	38	$65.37	1,180	2.34
South Carolina	$123,290	48	$131,511	41	$59.28	5,670	2.46
South Dakota	$128,840	39	$145,441	11	$61.94	1,020	2.22
Tennessee	$117,590	50	$127,996	45	$56.54	12,150	3.71
Texas	$131,670	25	$135,663	29	$63.31	25,970	1.85
Utah	$130,920	29	$132,424	39	$62.94	2,740	1.58
Vermont	$134,740	16	$137,549	25	$64.78	700	2.30
Virginia	$127,810	41	$126,414	46	$61.45	7,110	1.73
Washington	$156,100	3	$145,870	10	$75.05	6,700	1.89
West Virginia	$127,320	42	$142,262	18	$61.21	2,550	3.63
Wisconsin	$131,980	24	$140,263	22	$63.45	5,160	1.75
Wyoming	$132,200	22	$142,624	16	$63.56	440	1.57

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for nurse practitioners

383 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$231,560	$209,703	1,580
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$219,080	$189,494	3,110
Vallejo, CA	$182,370	$168,115	180
Napa, CA	$176,270	$156,609	60
Modesto, CA	$173,380	$166,539	380
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$172,010	$161,254	1,170
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$169,920	$159,636	1,710
Hanford-Corcoran, CA	$168,540	$165,866	70
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$167,190	$152,135	190
Chico, CA	$167,080	$165,104	140

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	21,680	$163,340	$145,110
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	10,060	$161,470	$142,182
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	7,310	$130,980	$127,054
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	6,590	$135,700	$132,321
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	6,530	$131,740	$127,168
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	5,990	$147,480	$136,220
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	5,970	$134,560	$136,430
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	5,950	$132,500	$132,423
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	5,810	$131,340	$115,054
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	5,450	$136,270	$131,896

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves nurse practitioner pay: employers and settings

Work setting is one clear driver of NP pay. Outpatient care centers, which include urgent care and specialty clinics, have the highest median among the main employers at $139,320. General hospitals pay $136,230. Physicians' offices, where nearly half of NPs work, pay $129,190 and home health pays $129,460. State and local government jobs are close to the private-sector median, at $135,170 and $134,190.

Location matters more. California has the highest state median, $168,520, and it still comes out ahead after adjusting for living costs, at $152,204. New Jersey ($159,310, in second place) and Washington ($156,100, in third) follow. Alabama is at the bottom at $105,750.

Across all NPs, pay runs from $101,340, the 10th percentile, to $174,420, the 90th. Those percentiles show how pay is spread across all NPs, not what an NP earns at a given number of years. BLS does not publish NP pay by specialty, so setting and state are the official signals.

Where nurse practitioners work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Offices of Physicians	46%	$129,190
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	22.8%	$136,230
Outpatient Care Centers	9.8%	$139,320
Offices of Other Health Practitioners	4.7%	$129,490
Home Health Care Services	3.6%	$129,460
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	2.3%	$134,820

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	300,110	$132,140
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	10,730	$135,170
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	12,190	$134,190

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Nurse Practitioner pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$132K $98.2K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $98,190 in 2015 to $132,300 in 2025, up 35% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $132,733 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay was about flat over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What nurse practitioners do

A nurse practitioner (NP) is a registered nurse with graduate training who examines patients, makes diagnoses, orders and reads tests, and prescribes medication. Many NPs work as a patient's main primary care clinician. Others work alongside physicians in hospital units, emergency departments and specialty clinics such as cardiology, dermatology or psychiatry.

Each NP is certified in a population focus. Family nurse practitioners (FNPs) see patients of every age, while others specialize in adult-gerontology, pediatrics, women's health, psychiatric-mental health or acute care. In our data, 46% of NPs work in physicians' offices and 22.8% in general hospitals. Others work in outpatient centers such as urgent care and community clinics, in home health, and at universities.

A typical clinic day is a full schedule of short visits: sick visits, chronic disease follow-ups for diabetes or high blood pressure, physicals and medication checks, followed by charting, prescription refills and test results. Hospital NPs round on admitted patients, write orders and coordinate discharges, sometimes on long shifts that include nights and weekends.

A typical day

Take a history and examine patients who come in sick, injured or for a checkup
Diagnose conditions such as infections, asthma, diabetes and depression, and explain the plan to the patient
Order and interpret blood work, imaging and other tests
Prescribe medications, adjust doses and watch for side effects and drug interactions
Manage long-term conditions with follow-up visits and changes to treatment
Refer patients to specialists and consult with physicians on complex cases
Document each visit in the electronic health record and answer patient messages and refill requests

Also called: family nurse practitioner, acnp (acute care nurse practitioner), adult nurse practitioner, advanced practice registered nurse (aprn), arnp specialist (advanced registered nurse practitioner specialist), family nurse practitioner (fnp), family practice certified advanced registered nurse practitioner, gastroenterology nurse practitioner.

How to become a nurse practitioner

Full guide

To become a nurse practitioner, you earn a BSN, pass the NCLEX-RN, work as a registered nurse, then complete an accredited master's (MSN) or doctoral (DNP) nurse practitioner program. After that you pass a national NP certification exam and get an APRN license from your state. The whole path typically takes 6 to 8 years.

Typical time: 6 to 8 years; Fastest: About 6 years
Minimum education: Master's degree (MSN) from an accredited nurse practitioner program, plus an active RN license
License: Required in all 50 states and DC (RN license plus state APRN/NP license or recognition)
Typical training cost: $45.5K–$74.6K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a nurse practitioner: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 6 to 8 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $45.5K–$74.6K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $132,300; $81,320 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 34–56%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($81,320 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year after training ends (6 to 8 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for nurse practitioners

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +41.0%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 336,300; 474,100 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 29,400; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 1.6%; Not in the pay figures above

Nurse practitioners are one of the fastest-growing occupations BLS tracks. Employment is projected to rise from 336,300 in 2025 to 474,100 in 2035, a 41% increase, compared with 3.5% for all occupations. About 29,400 openings are expected each year.

BLS points to two forces. Health systems are building teams in which NPs take on work that physicians used to do, especially in primary care, clinics and hospitals. And more states are widening the scope of what NPs can do without physician oversight. An aging population with more chronic disease adds to demand.

Related careers and their pay

Registered Nurse$97,550
Nurse Midwife$134,040
Physician Assistant$135,880
OB-GYN$292,910
Pediatrician$210,040
Paramedic$60,600
Cardiologist$496,010
Anesthesiologist$391,490

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Nurse Practitioner salary FAQ

How much do nurse practitioners make an hour?

The median hourly wage for nurse practitioners was $63.61 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $48.72 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $83.86. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays nurse practitioners the most?

California has the highest median pay for nurse practitioners, $168,520 a year, followed by New Jersey ($159,310) and Washington ($156,100). After adjusting for each state's price level, California comes out ahead at about $152,204 in national-average dollars.

Do nurse practitioners make $200,000 a year?

Few do: based on the BLS percentiles, fewer than 10% of nurse practitioners earn more than $200,000 a year. The median is $132,300, and the top 10% earn more than $174,420. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What is the difference between a nurse practitioner and a physician assistant?

Both diagnose, treat and prescribe, and they often work in the same clinics. NPs are registered nurses who complete a graduate nursing program in a specific patient population, such as family or pediatrics, and are licensed by the board of nursing. A physician assistant trains in a general medical-model master's program and practices under state rules that usually require some form of physician collaboration.

Which nurse practitioner specialties pay the most?

BLS does not publish NP pay by specialty, so there is no official figure. What our data show is pay by setting: outpatient care centers have a median of $139,320 and hospitals $136,230. Physicians' offices pay a median of $129,190. Location matters as well: California's median, $168,520, is the highest of any state.

Can nurse practitioners work without a doctor?

In more than half of states and in DC, yes, according to AANP. Those states give NPs full practice authority, letting them evaluate, diagnose, order tests, start treatment and prescribe under the board of nursing alone. Other states require a collaborative agreement with a physician or ongoing supervision for at least part of an NP's career. Check AANP's state practice map and your state's board of nursing.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 29-1171
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (29-1171.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Registered Nurses: How to Become One, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Nurse Practitioners (29-1171.00), O*NET OnLine · checked October 28, 2026
Choose Your Exam: Certification Fees, Nurse Practitioner Certification Board (NPCB) · checked October 28, 2026
Family Nurse Practitioner Certification (FNP-BC), American Nurses Credentialing Center · checked October 28, 2026
Issues at a Glance: Full Practice Authority, American Association of Nurse Practitioners · checked October 28, 2026
The State of Doctor of Nursing Practice Education in 2022, American Association of Colleges of Nursing · checked October 28, 2026
Your Guide to Graduate Nursing Programs, American Association of Colleges of Nursing · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026
NCLEX Fees & Payment, National Council of State Boards of Nursing · checked October 28, 2026
NP Certification Exam Overview, Nurse Practitioner Certification Board (NPCB) · checked October 28, 2026

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