Nurse Practitioner salary: $70.00/hr median.
Across 332 active postings · 13 titles with data · 21 states.
Browse Nurse Practitioner salary titles in Advanced Practice Provider, including posting volume, median pay, state coverage, and role-level comparisons.
How Nurse Practitioner pay is distributed across the market.
10% of postings pay under $55.00. The top 10% pay above $105.00.
How Nurse Practitioner pay has moved month over month.
Median pay moved from $80.78 in Apr 2026 to $67.20 in Oct 2026 (-16.8%). Bars show monthly posting volume; the line tracks the posting-weighted median.
Nurse Practitioner pay across every state with live data.
Showing all 21 states with live data. Bars scale to the highest-paying state.
CITY PAY DATA
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The most common job titles in Nurse Practitioner.
These are the individual job titles that make up the Nurse Practitioner track, ranked by active posting volume over the last 6 months.
| Role | Category · Track | Median /hr | P25–P75 | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family Practice Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $72.50 | $62.50–$85.00 | 198 |
| Pediatric Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $70.00 | $64.38–$78.50 | 32 |
| Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $62.00 | $60.00–$65.00 | 29 |
| Dermatology Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $50.00 | $50.00–$62.50 | 24 |
| Urgent Care Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $70.00 | $65.00–$82.50 | 16 |
| Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $70.00 | $61.50–$77.50 | 13 |
| Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $120.00 | $120.00–$120.00 | 9 |
| Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $77.50 | $77.50–$80.00 | 3 |
| Cardiology Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $75.17 | $71.33–$79.00 | 2 |
| Oncology Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $83.75 | $79.63–$87.88 | 2 |
Highest-paying job titles in the Nurse Practitioner track.
| Role | Category · Track | Median /hr | P25–P75 | Postings | Δ pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $120.00 | $120.00–$120.00 | 9 | — flat |
| Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $89.00 | $82.50–$95.50 | 2 | — flat |
| Oncology Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $83.75 | $79.63–$87.88 | 2 | — flat |
| Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $77.50 | $77.50–$80.00 | 3 | — flat |
| Cardiology Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $75.17 | $71.33–$79.00 | 2 | — flat |
| Pain Management NP | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $75.13 | $75.13–$75.13 | 1 | — flat |
| Family Practice Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $72.50 | $62.50–$85.00 | 198 | ▼ 6.6% |
| Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $70.00 | $61.50–$77.50 | 13 | ▼ 19.3% |
| Pediatric Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $70.00 | $64.38–$78.50 | 32 | ▼ 38.1% |
| Urgent Care Nurse Practitioner | Advanced Practice Provider · Nurse Practitioner | $70.00 | $65.00–$82.50 | 16 | ▲ 2.6% |
How to become a Nurse Practitioner.
Advanced Practice Providers — Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and Certified Nurse Midwives — diagnose, treat, prescribe, and coordinate care under their own license. APPs sit between RN-level bedside care and physician-level decision authority, with scope of practice that varies by state. The two dominant paths are the APRN route (NP / CNS / CRNA / CNM, built on an RN license) and the PA route (a separate medical-model master's program).
APRNs (NP, CNS, CRNA, CNM) start with a BSN and RN license, complete a graduate program in their chosen population focus, and pass the national certification exam (e.g. AANP/ANCC for NPs). PAs come through a separate medical-model master's program with no nursing prerequisite, then pass the PANCE. Both routes require state APP licensure / authorization to practice; collaboration and supervision rules vary widely by state.
| Degree | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Master of Science in Nursing (MSN-NP)MSN | 2-3 years post-BSN | Standard entry to Nurse Practitioner practice. Tracks include FNP, AGNP (primary or acute), PMHNP, PNP, NNP, and Women's Health NP. |
| Doctor of Nursing PracticeDNP | 3-4 years post-BSN | Terminal practice degree for APRNs. Increasingly the entry-level requirement for some specialties (CRNA programs are doctoral-only as of 2025). |
| Physician Assistant Master'sMPAS / MMS / MSPAS | 27 months full-time | Medical-model program covering didactic plus 2,000+ supervised clinical hours across core rotations (IM, surgery, EM, peds, OB, behavioral health, family medicine). |
| Post-master's certificateCert | 1-2 years | Adds a new APRN specialty (e.g. PMHNP) on top of an existing master's. Common for FNPs who want to add an acute-care or psych population focus. |
Required for NPs, CNSes, CRNAs, and CNMs. Built on top of the underlying RN license. Some states grant full practice authority; others require physician collaboration.
Required for PAs in every state. Eligibility requires PANCE certification and graduation from an ARC-PA accredited program.
Required to prescribe controlled substances. Almost universally required in practice for full-scope outpatient roles.
Required for nearly all APP roles; PALS is required for pediatric specialties.
| Credential | Issued by | Pay impact |
|---|---|---|
| AANP / ANCC NP certification National NP board certification (population-focused) Population-focused certification (FNP, AGNP, PMHNP, PNP, etc.) is the bridge from graduation to state APRN licensure. Not optional. | AANP or ANCC | Entry requirement |
| PANCE / PANRE Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam PANCE is the post-graduation entry exam; PANRE recertifies every 10 years. Standard requirement for PA state licensure. | NCCPA | Entry requirement |
| Specialty CAQ / sub-specialty Certificate of Added Qualifications (PAs) or specialty certification (NPs) Surgical, EM, cardiology, hospital medicine, psychiatry — both PAs and NPs can add formal specialty credentials. Often required for procedure-heavy roles. | NCCPA / specialty boards | +5-15% |
- 0-1 yearsNew-grad APP / Fellowship
Newly licensed NP or PA. Many systems run formal post-graduate fellowships (EM, hospitalist, surgery, primary care) for structured onboarding.
- 1-4 yearsStaff APP
Independent clinical caseload within specialty. Builds procedural skill and patient panel.
- 4-8 yearsSenior / specialty APP
Holds specialty CAQ or sub-specialty certification. Often a clinical preceptor for new-grad APPs and physician residents.
- 8+ yearsLead APP
Oversees APP scheduling, hiring, and protocols for a service line. Partners with the medical director on quality and throughput metrics.
- 12+ yearsDirector of APPs / Chief APP
System-level leadership over the APP workforce. Owns scope-of-practice strategy, credentialing, and APP-physician collaboration models. Often holds a doctorate (DNP or DMS).
Schedule. Outpatient APPs run business hours with limited call. Hospital and ER APPs typically work 12-hour shifts including nights, weekends, and holidays. Surgical APPs may take significant first-assist call.
Physical demands. Largely moderate — clinic-based roles involve frequent standing and EHR work; procedure-heavy specialties (surgery, EM, cardiology) add patient positioning, suturing, and longer stretches on your feet.
Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants are projected to be among the fastest-growing US occupations of the decade. Demand is driven by physician shortages (especially in primary care and rural areas), expanding scope-of-practice laws, and the shift of routine specialty care from physicians to APPs.