Pay by state · 52 areas

Nurse Practitioner Salary by State (2026)

Name: Nurse Practitioner annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Nurse Practitioners earn the most in California at $168,520 a year and the least in Alabama at $105,750 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $132,300. The table below covers all 50 states, DC and Guam, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $168,520California
National median: $132,300BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median: $105,750Alabama
Areas reporting: 52of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for nurse practitioners

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

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

Lowest median pay

1Alabama$105,750
2Tennessee$117,590
3Kentucky$122,870
4South Carolina$123,290
5Mississippi$124,730

All states

Nurse Practitioner salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of nurse practitioners OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1	CACalifornia	$168,520	$145,980	$209,350	25,120	$152,204
2	NJNew Jersey	$159,310	$136,740	$170,530	9,950	$146,418
3	WAWashington	$156,100	$129,670	$169,500	6,700	$145,870
4	OROregon	$155,680	$134,840	$168,700	2,820	$150,618
5	AKAlaska	$155,170	$126,080	$172,000	710	$151,594
6	NYNew York	$153,510	$132,490	$170,290	22,890	$142,243
7	MAMassachusetts	$142,440	$132,460	$168,100	8,070	$134,686
8	NVNevada	$140,670	$110,160	$161,760	1,930	$140,700
9	CTConnecticut	$138,470	$124,870	$160,700	3,750	$133,645
10	NHNew Hampshire	$137,550	$125,030	$155,620	1,770	$132,050
11	NMNew Mexico	$137,520	$124,740	$160,950	1,770	$149,135
12	MTMontana	$137,210	$123,260	$151,860	1,260	$144,973
13	RIRhode Island	$135,970	$131,310	$163,450	1,180	$132,939
14	DCDistrict of Columbia	$135,880	$125,490	$160,950	680	$123,639
15	HIHawaii	$135,570	$124,530	$165,810	550	$123,300
16	VTVermont	$134,740	$127,340	$157,000	700	$137,549
17	AZArizona	$134,420	$126,880	$159,780	7,220	$133,516
18	OKOklahoma	$133,390	$122,530	$152,330	3,620	$151,850
19	MNMinnesota	$133,260	$111,750	$155,260	7,780	$135,123
20	COColorado	$132,930	$118,410	$150,990	4,270	$128,993
21	IDIdaho	$132,540	$123,920	$151,600	1,750	$138,794
22	WYWyoming	$132,200	$116,430	$143,420	440	$142,624
23	NENebraska	$132,130	$118,440	$140,900	2,340	$146,643
24	WIWisconsin	$131,980	$123,410	$147,970	5,160	$140,263
25	TXTexas	$131,670	$113,840	$147,660	25,970	$135,663
26	MIMichigan	$131,450	$117,990	$140,850	8,290	$136,618
27	MDMaryland	$131,110	$119,660	$147,140	6,710	$124,915
28	DEDelaware	$131,040	$112,020	$153,050	1,430	$131,292
29	UTUtah	$130,920	$120,740	$150,940	2,740	$132,424
30	ILIllinois	$130,680	$113,320	$142,000	9,270	$130,735
31	MEMaine	$130,260	$120,830	$141,440	1,650	$134,219
32	IAIowa	$130,160	$122,720	$141,940	3,240	$148,310
33	PAPennsylvania	$130,140	$110,960	$142,720	10,670	$133,378
34	NDNorth Dakota	$130,070	$107,290	$135,620	1,290	$146,213
35	MOMissouri	$129,930	$119,910	$144,640	7,710	$143,068
36	FLFlorida	$129,510	$112,380	$137,610	21,790	$125,234
37	GAGeorgia	$129,430	$110,360	$141,240	10,460	$134,413
38	NCNorth Carolina	$128,990	$114,260	$142,180	9,800	$136,749
39	SDSouth Dakota	$128,840	$108,190	$136,180	1,020	$145,441
40	INIndiana	$128,830	$111,310	$135,990	7,450	$138,039
41	VAVirginia	$127,810	$109,180	$139,500	7,110	$126,414
42	WVWest Virginia	$127,320	$108,520	$133,220	2,550	$142,262
43	KSKansas	$126,650	$108,460	$133,940	3,780	$140,616
44	ARArkansas	$125,660	$105,450	$137,550	3,970	$144,541
45	LALouisiana	$125,600	$109,850	$135,610	5,380	$142,392
46	OHOhio	$124,870	$106,670	$134,750	15,400	$134,596
47	MSMississippi	$124,730	$106,660	$134,020	4,690	$143,445
48	SCSouth Carolina	$123,290	$107,930	$132,220	5,670	$131,511
49	KYKentucky	$122,870	$106,240	$132,720	4,770	$136,281
50	GUGuam	$118,670	$93,880	$146,020	90	N/A
51	TNTennessee	$117,590	$102,640	$130,330	12,150	$127,996
52	ALAlabama	$105,750	$97,960	$123,970	5,640	$119,057

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For nurse practitioners, the adjustment does not change the leader: California is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $152,204.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Nurse Practitioner pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays nurse practitioners the most?

California reports the highest median wage for nurse practitioners at $168,520 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by New Jersey ($159,310) and Washington ($156,100).

Which state pays nurse practitioners the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Alabama reports the lowest median for nurse practitioners at $105,750 a year, $62,770 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Guam reports $118,670.

In which states do nurse practitioners earn over $100,000?

All 50 states and DC: even the lowest, Alabama, has a median of $105,750 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Is the highest-paying state the best for nurse practitioners after cost of living?

Yes. California stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $152,204 in national-average dollars from a raw $168,520. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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