Certified Nurse Midwife salary
A certified nurse midwife earns about $131,570 a year — roughly $63.25/hour, with most earning between $105,050 and $145,760. This is a verified national figure from official public wage data.
Certified Nurse Midwife — U.S. national
Verified public wage dataMedian annual pay
$131,570
Hourly
$63.25/hr
- Typical range
- $105,050–$145,760
- What most nurses earn
- High end
- $165,700
- Top earners
- Entry level
- $89,610
- Newer nurses
What affects this pay
- State and metro labor market
- Hospital vs birth-center setting
- Call coverage
- Experience and patient volume
About Certified Nurse Midwifes
What they do
Certified Nurse Midwives provide prenatal care, attend births, and deliver gynecologic and primary care for women across the lifespan, in hospitals, birth centers, and homes.
How to become a Certified Nurse Midwife
CNMs are RNs who earn a graduate degree in midwifery (MSN or DNP) accredited by ACME and pass the AMCB national certification exam, giving them advanced-practice and prescriptive authority.
What drives the pay
Nurse midwives are tracked directly in public wage data. Pay reflects advanced-practice credentials and unpredictable on-call delivery schedules; hospital roles typically pay more than freestanding birth centers.
Certified Nurse Midwife pay by state
Where this role tends to pay the most.
| State | Annual pay | vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| California | $181,570 | +38% vs national |
| Hawaii | $157,880 | +20% vs national |
| Alaska | $155,250 | +18% vs national |
| Oregon | $155,250 | +18% vs national |
| Washington | $155,250 | +18% vs national |
| Massachusetts | $151,310 | +15% vs national |
| New York | $148,670 | +13% vs national |
| District of Columbia | $147,360 | +12% vs national |
Compare next
Roles nurses weigh against this one.
Source & confidence— A verified figure from official U.S. public wage data.
BLS OEWS (May 2024, national)
National wage figures for SOC 29-1161 are seeded from published BLS OEWS May 2024 national data. Run `npm run import:oews` to replace seed values with figures parsed directly from official OEWS files.
Source year 2024. Last reviewed June 1, 2025. Full methodology