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 Practitioner Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
Nurse Practitioners earn a median of $132,300 per year ($63.61/hr) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Employment is projected to grow 40.1% through 2034, with about 29,500 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: Master's degree.
SOC 29-1171Healthcare Practitioners and TechnicalLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $132,300
- Projected growth
- +40.1%
- Openings a year
- 29,500
- Typical education
- Master's
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: 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.
How much do Nurse Practitioners make?
10th percentile$101,340
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$117,990
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$132,300
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$156,700
Upper quartile
90th percentile$174,420
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $132,300 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $63.61/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $137,300 |
| People employed | 323,040 |
Versus all US occupations
At $132,300, Nurse Practitioners earn 160% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $81,320 a year.
Versus healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
Inside the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical group, where the middle occupation pays $97,870, this is 35% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $174,420 or more while the bottom 10% earn $101,340, a gap of 1.7×. That is a narrow spread, so experience and employer move pay less than in most occupations.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 92% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
California pays the most at $168,520, and still leads at $152,204 once local prices are taken into account.
Which states pay Nurse Practitioners the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $168,520 | $152,204 | 25,120 |
| New Jersey | $159,310 | $146,418 | 9,950 |
| Washington | $156,100 | $145,870 | 6,700 |
| Oregon | $155,680 | $150,618 | 2,820 |
| Alaska | $155,170 | $151,594 | 710 |
| New York | $153,510 | $142,243 | 22,890 |
| Massachusetts | $142,440 | $134,686 | 8,070 |
| Nevada | $140,670 | $140,700 | 1,930 |
| Connecticut | $138,470 | $133,645 | 3,750 |
| New Hampshire | $137,550 | $132,050 | 1,770 |
Is Nurse Practitioner a growing career?
Nurse Practitioners40.1%
All US occupations3.1%
+40.1% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Much faster than average
BLS projects employment of Nurse Practitioners to change 40.1% over 2024–2034, roughly 12.9× the 3.1% projected for all occupations. That is 128,400 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 29,500 openings are projected each year, 9.2% of the 320,400 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 Practitioner
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 practitioners.
- Master's Degree65.2%
- Doctoral Degree26.1%
- Bachelor's Degree4.4%
- Post-Doctoral Training4.4%
What does a Nurse Practitioner do?
Diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part of a healthcare team. May focus on health promotion and disease prevention. May order, perform, or interpret diagnostic tests such as lab work and x rays. May prescribe medication. 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
- Maintain complete and detailed records of patients' health care plans and prognoses.
- Develop treatment plans, based on scientific rationale, standards of care, and professional practice guidelines.
- Provide patients with information needed to promote health, reduce risk factors, or prevent disease or disability.
- Analyze and interpret patients' histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.
- Diagnose or treat complex, unstable, comorbid, episodic, or emergency conditions in collaboration with other health care providers as necessary.
- Prescribe medication dosages, routes, and frequencies, based on such patient characteristics as age and gender.
- Diagnose or treat chronic health care problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
- Prescribe medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost as legally authorized.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension4.1/5
- Active Listening4.1/5
- Critical Thinking4.1/5
- Writing4.0/5
- Speaking4.0/5
- Active Learning4.0/5
- Monitoring4.0/5
- Science3.8/5
Transferable skills
- Complex Problem Solving4.1/5
- Social Perceptiveness4.0/5
- Judgment and Decision Making4.0/5
- Service Orientation3.9/5
- Coordination3.8/5
- Time Management3.4/5
- Persuasion3.3/5
- Instructing3.1/5
Tools and software
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Medical software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Internet browser software
“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 Practitioner?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realistic3.6
Investigativeprimary5.5
Artistic1.4
Socialprimary5.5
Enterprising2.1
Conventionalprimary4.1
Day to day this is work built around investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data, combined with teaching, helping and working directly with other people.
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 Practitioner: frequently asked questions
How much do Nurse Practitioners make?
Nurse Practitioners earn a median of $132,300 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 160% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $63.61/hr. The middle half earn between $117,990 and $156,700. The top 10% earn $174,420 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Nurse Practitioner?
Yes. BLS reports a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for Nurse Practitioners, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as considerable preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 65.2% hold master's degree.
Is Nurse Practitioner a growing career?
Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 40.1% over 2024–2034, more than double the 3.1% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 29,500 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Nurse Practitioner 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: maintain complete and detailed records of patients' health care plans and prognoses. Employers most often ask for Data base user interface and query software, Document management software, Electronic mail software.
Which states pay Nurse Practitioners the most?
The highest state medians for Nurse Practitioners are California ($168,520), New Jersey ($159,310), Washington ($156,100) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Nurse Practitioner?
O*NET scores Nurse Practitioners highest on the Investigative, Social and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data with teaching, helping and working directly with other people. 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.