State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
Nurse Anesthetist Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
Nurse Anesthetists earn a median of $236,590 per year ($113.75/hr) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Employment is projected to grow 8.6% through 2034, with about 2,700 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: Master's degree.
SOC 29-1151Healthcare Practitioners and TechnicalLast updated August 23, 2026
- Median pay
- $236,590
- Projected growth
- +8.6%
- Openings a year
- 2,700
- Typical education
- Master's
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), Nurse Anesthetist, Staff Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Staff CRNA), Staff Nurse Anesthetist.
How much do Nurse Anesthetists make?
10th percentile$155,250
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$206,730
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$236,590
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$294,350
Upper quartile
90th percentile$339,500
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $236,590 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $113.75/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $248,320 |
| People employed | 51,840 |
Versus all US occupations
At $236,590, Nurse Anesthetists earn 364% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $185,610 a year.
Versus healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
Inside the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical group, where the middle occupation pays $97,870, this is 142% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $339,500 or more while the bottom 10% earn $155,250, a gap of 2.2×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 97% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Alaska pays the most at $341,210, and still leads at $333,346 once local prices are taken into account.
Which states pay Nurse Anesthetists the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $341,210 | $333,346 | 90 |
| New York | $321,030 | $297,468 | 2,450 |
| Massachusetts | $295,550 | $279,461 | 500 |
| California | $292,410 | $264,099 | 2,230 |
| New Jersey | $291,350 | $267,773 | N/A |
| Illinois | $286,830 | $286,951 | 1,140 |
| Vermont | $283,060 | $288,961 | 40 |
| West Virginia | $278,530 | $311,217 | 740 |
| Montana | $277,380 | $293,074 | N/A |
| New Hampshire | $275,980 | $264,945 | 490 |
Is Nurse Anesthetist a growing career?
Nurse Anesthetists8.6%
All US occupations3.1%
+8.6% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Much faster than average
BLS projects employment of Nurse Anesthetists to change 8.6% over 2024–2034, roughly 2.8× the 3.1% projected for all occupations. That is 4,600 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 2,700 openings are projected each year, 5.0% of the 53,800 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Overall employment of nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners is projected to grow 35 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment growth will occur because of an increase in the demand for healthcare services. Several factors will contribute to this demand; the most important contributors include the aging population and growing prevalence of chronic disease.
Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) perform many of the same services as physicians. APRNs will increasingly be used in team-based models of care, particularly in hospitals, offices of physicians, clinics, and other ambulatory care settings, where they will be needed to provide preventive, primary, and acute care.
How to become a Nurse Anesthetist
Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, also referred to as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), must have at least a master’s degree in their specialty role. APRNs also must be licensed registered nurses in their state, pass a national certification exam, and have a state APRN license.
| Typical entry-level education | Master's degree |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Considerable preparation |
| Work experience in a related occupation | None |
| Typical on-the-job training | None |
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as nurse anesthetists.
- Doctoral Degree55.6%
- Master's Degree40.7%
- First Professional Degree3.7%
What does a Nurse Anesthetist do?
Administer anesthesia, monitor patient's vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia. May assist anesthesiologists, surgeons, other physicians, or dentists. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.
Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, also referred to as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), coordinate patient care and may provide primary and specialty healthcare. The scope of practice varies from state to state.
Day-to-day tasks
- Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation.
- Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques.
- Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques.
- Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary.
- Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics.
- Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response.
- Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks.
- Obtain informed consent from patients for anesthesia procedures.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Working conditions and hours
Most APRNs work full time. In physicians’ offices, APRNs typically work during normal business hours. In hospitals and other healthcare facilities, they may work in shifts, including nights, weekends, and holidays, to provide round-the-clock patient care. Some APRNs, especially those who work in critical care or those who deliver babies, also may need to be on call.
Where the work happens
- Indoors, in a climate-controlled space, every day
Working with people
- Constant contact with other people
- Face-to-face discussions every day
- Dealing with customers or the public is very important
Pressure and stakes
- Meeting strict deadlines at least weekly
- Handling conflict situations at least monthly
- Mistakes carry very serious consequences
Autonomy
- A lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first
Schedules: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition. Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey, showing only the signals people in the job report decisively one way or the other.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension4.1/5
- Critical Thinking4.1/5
- Active Listening4.0/5
- Speaking4.0/5
- Active Learning4.0/5
- Monitoring4.0/5
- Science3.9/5
- Writing3.4/5
Transferable skills
- Complex Problem Solving4.0/5
- Judgment and Decision Making4.0/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.9/5
- Service Orientation3.9/5
- Coordination3.4/5
- Time Management3.4/5
- Instructing3.3/5
- Operations Monitoring3.3/5
Tools and software
- Medical software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
What personality type suits a Nurse Anesthetist?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realisticprimary4.8
Investigativeprimary5.1
Artistic1.0
Socialprimary5.3
Enterprising2.0
Conventional4.2
Day to day this is work built around teaching, helping and working directly with other people, combined with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data.
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Nurse Anesthetist: frequently asked questions
How much do Nurse Anesthetists make?
Nurse Anesthetists earn a median of $236,590 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 364% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $113.75/hr. The middle half earn between $206,730 and $294,350. The top 10% earn $339,500 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Nurse Anesthetist?
Yes. BLS reports a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for Nurse Anesthetists, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as considerable preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 55.6% hold doctoral degree.
Is Nurse Anesthetist a growing career?
Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 8.6% over 2024–2034, more than double the 3.1% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 2,700 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Nurse Anesthetist do?
Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, also referred to as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), coordinate patient care and may provide primary and specialty healthcare. A core O*NET task: manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation. Employers most often ask for Medical software, Word processing software.
Which states pay Nurse Anesthetists the most?
The highest state medians for Nurse Anesthetists are Alaska ($341,210), New York ($321,030), Massachusetts ($295,550) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Nurse Anesthetist?
O*NET scores Nurse Anesthetists highest on the Social, Investigative and Realistic interest areas, so the work mixes teaching, helping and working directly with other people with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISFJ, ISTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.