NP Hiring

BLS May 2025 Wage Data

Nurse Practitioner Salary Guide

National median $132,300 per year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Written and maintained by the NP Hiring editorial team · How we produce our content

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Estimated Annual Salary

$126,000

Range: $113,000 to $138,000

Base (National)$132,000
Setting$-7,000
Hourly equivalent~$61/hr

* Base: BLS OEWS national median wage (May 2025 release). Too few disclosed-salary postings were available to use board data. Experience, setting, and specialty multipliers are NP Hiring's editorial estimates, not survey data. Figures are rounded to the nearest $1,000; actual salaries vary by employer.

Key Numbers

$132KNational Median
$102KLowest 10% earn under
$174KTop 10% earn over
41%Job Growth

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Sources: BLS OEWS, BLS Employment Projections, AANP, HRSA, and live NP Hiring postings

Quick Answer: How Much Do Nurse Practitioners Make?

The median nurse practitioner salary is $132,300 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for May 2025. Half of NPs earn more and half earn less. The lowest paid 10% earn less than $101,340, and the highest paid 10% earn more than $174,420.

For the pay employers are posting now, see the posted-pay medians by state below and The State of NP Hiring 2026, which covers advertised pay on NP Hiring. Our pay transparency report shows how many of those postings disclose a pay range.

The BLS median and percentiles, and the posted-pay medians in the state table, are measured figures. Every other salary range and percentage premium on this page is NP Hiring's own editorial estimate, compiled from the roles posted here. Treat them as a starting point for negotiation, not as survey data.

Sources: BLS OEWS, Nurse Practitioners (29-1171), median annual wage, May 2025; BLS OEWS, Nurse Practitioners (29-1171), 10th percentile annual wage, May 2025; BLS OEWS, Nurse Practitioners (29-1171), 90th percentile annual wage, May 2025. Based on 224 active postings with disclosed salary on NP Hiring, updated daily. Figures last reviewed October 6, 2026.

$132,300
National Median (BLS)
$174,420
Top 10% earn over (BLS)
41%
Job Growth by 2035
224
Live Postings Analyzed

Salary by Location

NP Salary by State

Note: Each figure is the median of that state's active NP-eligible postings with disclosed, non-estimated salary (screened by job title), recomputed daily. A state appears with a figure only when it has at least 5 such postings from 3+ employers, with no single employer contributing more than 40% of them. States that miss either condition are listed separately without a figure. Each state name links to a detailed page with pay by setting and top employers.

Based on 224 active postings with disclosed salary on NP Hiring, updated daily.

StateMedianP25 to P75SampleActions
$175k$155k to $229k15 · 4 emp.Jobs
$166k$150k to $166k13 · 7 emp.Jobs
$160k$127k to $165k16 · 6 emp.Jobs
$140k$138k to $234k14 · 7 emp.Jobs
$139k$126k to $140k6 · 4 emp.Jobs
$126k$105k to $140k5 · 4 emp.Jobs

States with too few postings for a reliable figure

Fewer than 5 qualifying postings (or fewer than 3 employers), so the sample is too small to publish a salary figure. Browse the live listings instead:

States where one employer posts more than 40% of the pay data

Each of these states has at least 5 qualifying postings from 3+ employers, but a single employer accounts for more than 40% of them, so a median would lean heavily on that one employer's pay scale. No figure is published until the mix broadens:

Salary Breakdown

What Impacts Your Earnings

The BLS median and percentiles, and the posted-pay medians in the state table, are measured figures. Every other salary range and percentage premium on this page is NP Hiring's own editorial estimate, compiled from the roles posted here. Treat them as a starting point for negotiation, not as survey data.

By Experience Level

ExperienceSalary RangeTypical Roles
New Grad (0-1 yr)$95,000 to $115,000Staff NP, Outpatient Clinic
Early Career (1-3 yrs)$110,000 to $130,000Staff NP, Telehealth Provider
Mid-Career (3-7 yrs)$125,000 to $150,000Senior NP, Team Lead
Experienced (7-15 yrs)$150,000 to $180,000Clinical Director, Supervisor
Expert (15+ yrs)$180,000 to $250,000+Director, Consultant, Private Practice

By Setting

Private Practice (Owner)
Highest earning potential, requires business skills
$180,000 to $300,000+
Travel / Locum Tenens
Includes housing, travel, higher hourly rates
$150,000 to $250,000
Telehealth / Remote
Growing rapidly, flexible schedules
$130,000 to $180,000
Outpatient Clinic
Most common setting, steady patient load
$120,000 to $160,000
Hospital / Inpatient
Often includes shift differentials, benefits
$115,000 to $150,000
Community Health (FQHC)
May qualify for loan forgiveness programs
$100,000 to $130,000

Specialty Premiums

Acute Care / Hospitalist+10-20%
Psychiatric-Mental Health+10-20%
Emergency / Urgent Care+10-20%
Dermatology / Aesthetics+10-25%
Gerontology / Palliative+5-10%
Private Practice (Owner)+20-40%
Rural / Underserved+10-15%

Full Practice Authority

27 states + DC grant FPA (AANP State Practice Environment). Practice authority is a legal classification, not a pay scale. It decides which ways of earning are open to you in that state.

✓ Full Practice Authority

  • • Own and bill under your own practice
  • • Independent 1099 and telehealth work
  • • Several states first require a transition period

Restricted / Reduced

  • • Most require an agreement, supervision or delegation first
  • • That agreement is usually a paid one
  • • Several offer a route out after a set amount of experience

Market Intelligence

Why NP Demand Is High

  • • 100 million+ Americans live in primary-care shortage areas (HRSA)
  • • 41% projected NP job growth through 2035 (BLS)

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Factors Affecting NP Salary

Geographic Location

Geographic Location

States with higher cost of living and greater demand (CA, NY, MA) typically offer 20-40% higher salaries than rural areas.

Experience Level

Experience Level

Entry-level NPs start around $95-115k. With 5+ years experience, salaries can reach $150-180k or more.

Practice Setting

Practice Setting

Private practice and telehealth positions often pay more than hospital or community health settings.

Employment Type

Employment Type

1099 contractors and travel NPs often earn 20-50% more than W2 employees, though without traditional benefits.

Specialization

Specialization

Subspecialties like acute care, emergency, psychiatric-mental health, or dermatology can command premium pay (+10-25%).

Negotiation

Negotiation

NPs who negotiate can often secure 5-15% higher starting salaries plus signing bonuses ($5,000-$30,000).

How each factor shows up in a real offer: What moves NP pay

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do nurse practitioners make?
Nurse Practitioners earned a median of $132,300 a year in May 2025, according to federal wage data (BLS OEWS, Nurse Practitioners (29-1171), median annual wage, May 2025). The lowest paid 10% earned less than $101,340 and the highest paid 10% earned more than $174,420. The experience ranges on this page, about $95,000 to $115,000 for new graduates and $150,000 to $180,000 or more for experienced NPs, are NP Hiring's own editorial estimates from the roles posted here rather than survey results, and individual offers move well outside them with setting, specialty, and location.
Which state pays NPs the most?
NP pay is consistently highest in West Coast and Northeast markets; California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and New Jersey rank near the top in federal wage data. When adjusted for cost of living, several Midwest and Southern states offer stronger real purchasing power.
Do telehealth NPs make less than in-person?
Broadly comparable. Telehealth pay is not systematically lower, and in-person roles vary more by setting and acuity than telehealth does. The $120,000 to $170,000 range we see for telehealth roles, and the $180,000+ some national platforms pay experienced NPs with multi-state licenses, are NP Hiring's own estimates from the roles posted here rather than survey figures. Telehealth also trades differently on flexibility, licensure cost across states, and patient volume expectations, so compare specific offers rather than the ranges.
How can I increase my NP salary?
Top strategies include specializing in high-demand areas such as acute care, emergency, or psychiatric-mental health; practicing where the rules of your state open independent contract, telehealth, and practice-ownership work to you (a Full Practice classification alone does not settle it, because several of those states first require a transition period); modelling private practice against your own visit volume and overhead rather than a headline range; working in rural or underserved areas for loan repayment incentives; and always negotiating total compensation. The specialty premiums shown on this page are our own estimates from posted roles, so treat them as a hypothesis to test against real offers rather than a number to expect.
How much do travel NPs make?
Travel and locum tenens work is quoted as an hourly or weekly rate plus stipends rather than a salary, so it is not directly comparable to a permanent offer: the rate has to cover the health coverage, malpractice, retirement, and unpaid downtime a permanent job absorbs. The $150,000 to $250,000 figure in the setting table on this page is NP Hiring's own estimate from posted travel and locum roles, not a survey figure. To see what a contract rate actually has to clear to match a salaried package, work through the 1099 vs W2 comparison, which computes the break-even instead of assuming one.

📋 Cite This Page

NP Hiring. "Nurse Practitioner Salary Guide." NP Hiring, last reviewed October 6, 2026, nphiring.com/salary-guide.

For media inquiries or custom data requests, contact press@nphiring.com

Data Sources & Methodology: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS OEWS, May 2025), BLS Employment Projections, HRSA, AANP, and analysis of 224 active NP job postings with disclosed salary on this board. Job posting data updates daily. Page last reviewed October 6, 2026.

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