Primary factors influencing nurse practitioner pay are experience, where you work, degree level, and the state in which you practice. Your specialty, and the demand for those services in your area, can also potentially impact how much you can make.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the highest paid nurse practitioners work in Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services industry, indicating nurse practitioners working in emergency care may demand the highest salaries on average. However, specialty is just one of many factors influencing pay, and it’s still possible to make a competitive salary in primary care, acute care, family practice, mental health or any other NP focus.
The highest degree you've earned can also make an impact. Earning a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) may increase your salary potential as a nurse practitioner. Medscape’s 2021 APRN Compensation Report states nurse practitioners with a doctorate make about 5% more than those with a master’s degree.1
The BLS reports nurse practitioners across all specialties earn an average annual salary of $118,040 per year ($56.75 per hour).* No matter the specialty, nurse practitioner represents a potentially lucrative career path with an average salary well above the national average across all occupations.
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1. Hurt, A. (2021, December 3). Average income for advanced practice nurses continued to increase during pandemic: Survey. Medscape. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/964081
* Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook 2021. BLS estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.