Nurse Practitioner salary
A nurse practitioner earns about $132,050 a year — roughly $63.49/hour, with most earning between $112,030 and $140,870. This is a verified national figure from official public wage data.
Nurse Practitioner — U.S. national
Verified public wage dataMedian annual pay
$132,050
Hourly
$63.49/hr
- Typical range
- $112,030–$140,870
- What most nurses earn
- High end
- $169,030
- Top earners
- Entry level
- $94,530
- Newer nurses
What affects this pay
- State scope-of-practice and labor market
- Specialty (acute care, psych, FNP)
- Setting (hospital vs outpatient)
- Experience and patient panel
- Call and productivity incentives
About Nurse Practitioners
What they do
Nurse Practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses who diagnose conditions, order and interpret tests, manage treatment, and prescribe. In full-practice states they can run a panel of patients independently.
How to become a Nurse Practitioner
NPs are first RNs, then earn a graduate degree — a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) — and pass national certification in a population focus such as family (FNP), acute care, or psychiatric-mental health.
What drives the pay
NPs are tracked directly in public wage data and earn well above staff RNs because of the graduate degree and prescriptive authority. State scope-of-practice laws and specialty (psych and acute care run high) are major pay drivers.
Nurse Practitioner pay by state
Where this role tends to pay the most.
| State | Annual pay | vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| California | $182,230 | +38% vs national |
| Hawaii | $158,460 | +20% vs national |
| Alaska | $155,820 | +18% vs national |
| Oregon | $155,820 | +18% vs national |
| Washington | $155,820 | +18% vs national |
| Massachusetts | $151,860 | +15% vs national |
| New York | $149,220 | +13% vs national |
| District of Columbia | $147,900 | +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 29-1171 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