Nurse Practitioners play an essential role in healthcare today. With primary care provider shortages and widespread provider burnout, Nurse Practitioners are answering the call to provide vital health care.
Recently, U.S. News and World Report ranked the Nurse Practitioner role first on its 2023 Best Health Care Jobs list and second on its 2023 100 Best Jobs list based on annual rankings considering the most important aspects of a job—including opportunities for growth, work-life balance, and salary.
By 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the NP role will have grown by 36%. This statistic highlights the tremendous job security of Nurse Practitioners, but equally important is the fact that it can also be a financially rewarding career. There are more than 258,000 employed Nurse Practitioners in the United States, with a mean wage of $124,680.
California, up from second place last year, currently employs the most Nurse Practitioners with a total of 19,130—the other states rounding out the top five include Texas with 18,820, Florida with 18,530, New York with 17,670, and Tennessee with 13,060.
NURSE PRACTITIONER SALARIES BY STATE
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its annual Occupational Employment and Wages study. The map below illustrates the 2022 mean wages of Nurse Practitioners throughout the United States.
California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Nevada are the top-paying states for Nurse Practitioners. However, Tennessee, Alabama, West Virginia, and Arkansas all have the lowest mean annual wage.
NP SALARY IMPLICATIONS TO CONSIDER
Geographic location and cost of living often dictate the parameters of individual compensation. Utilizing a cost of living calculator can provide you with a better method of comparing locations when considering relocation. Other factors, aside from location, such as degree, background, and specialty, can also impact how much a Nurse Practitioner makes. For example, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner salaries are among the highest-paid specialties.
Salaries are also impacted whether you are a W-2 employee or 1099 independent contractor (self-employed NP), including Nurse Practitioner contract jobs and locum tenens Nurse Practitioner jobs.
1099 independent contractors made slightly more than the average NPs employed by a medical group or hospital. Locum Nurse Practitioner rates vary based on most of the same criteria as W-2 employed Nurse Practitioners. The biggest difference when working as a locum tenens Nurse Practitioner is your housing and transportation costs are covered by the physician recruiting firm or the facility, so the cost of living doesn’t play as big of a factor in the decision-making process.. Locum Nurse Practitioner rates vary based on most of the same criteria as W-2 employed Nurse Practitioners. The biggest difference when working as a locum tenens Nurse Practitioner is your housing and transportation costs are covered by the physician recruiting firm or the facility, so the cost of living doesn’t play as big of a factor in the decision-making process.
YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARISONS
Overall, in 2022 Nurse Practitioner wages increased in every state throughout the country, from .02% in Arkansas and over 11.8% Idaho.
| State | 2022 Annual mean wage (2) | 2021 Annual Mean Wage |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $106,610 | $102,410 |
| Alaska | $116,390 | $113,820 |
| Arizona | $121,410 | $119,910 |
| Arkansas | $107,110 | $107,080 |
| California | $158,130 | $151,830 |
| Colorado | $116,440 | $112,580 |
| Connecticut | $131,490 | $120,450 |
| Delaware | $120,570 | $116,230 |
| District of Columbia | $131,270 | $125,290 |
| Florida | $110,310 | $104,830 |
| Georgia | $115,440 | $109,560 |
| Hawaii | $128,310 | $127,490 |
| Idaho | $117,720 | $105,290 |
| Illinois | $122,310 | $120,470 |
| Indiana | $121,730 | $113,490 |
| Iowa | $128,180 | $121,370 |
| Kansas | $111,670 | $108,710 |
| Kentucky | $109,290 | $106,080 |
| Louisiana | $118,210 | $112,650 |
| Maine | $118,300 | $116,370 |
| Maryland | $119,650 | $115,700 |
| Massachusetts | $138,700 | $129,540 |
| Michigan | $113,780 | $108,770 |
| Minnesota | $128,160 | $127,010 |
| Mississippi | $117,260 | $111,750 |
| Missouri | $113,180 | $103,490 |
| Montana | $119,960 | $115,710 |
| Nebraska | $118,970 | $112,670 |
| Nevada | $136,230 | $123,680 |
| New Hampshire | $125,780 | $120,730 |
| New Jersey | $143,250 | $137,010 |
| New Mexico | $129,560 | $118,480 |
| New York | – | $133,940 |
| North Carolina | $114,450 | $112,730 |
| North Dakota | $113,940 | $112,720 |
| Ohio | $117,440 | $112,490 |
| Oklahoma | $121,740 | $116,650 |
| Oregon | $136,250 | $128,190 |
| Pennsylvania | $120,550 | $117,260 |
| Puerto Rico | – | $21,610 |
| Rhode Island | $125,250 | $126,760 |
| South Carolina | $109,130 | $102,850 |
| South Dakota | $115,610 | $112,320 |
| Tennessee | $99,330 | $95,120 |
| Texas | $124,660 | $117,891 |
| Utah | $115,610 | $112,920 |
| Vermont | $116,610 | $112,540 |
| Virginia | $116,980 | $112,320 |
| Washington | $135,590 | $130,840 |
| West Virginia | $106,790 | $104,750 |
| Wisconsin | $121,210 | $116,990 |
| Wyoming | $115,230 | $114,530 |
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the corresponding hourly wage by 2,080 hours.