How Much Does A Nurse Practitioner Make?

Nurse practitioners work with patients as primary and specialty health care professionals, providing a unique blend of nursing and primary care services.

Nurse practitioners are typically professionally trained for diagnosing patients’ medical conditions, as well as treating chronic illnesses, injuries, and infections. Nurse practitioners may also be involved in performing wellness physical checkups, ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests, and prescribing medications for treatment.

Salary
How much do nurse practitioners make? According to the May 2012 records from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual nurse practitioner salary in the United States is $91,450, which translates to a mean hourly wage of $43.97. The bottom ten percent in the profession earns $64,100, while the top ten percent make a sizeable six-figure salary of $120,500 every year.

Nurse practitioners that are employed within physician offices earn the average of $91,020, while those employed in home health care services make significantly less than the mean salary at $82,300. The top-paying industry for this occupation is in specialty hospitals, excluding psychiatric and substance abuse, at an annual average salary of $104,550. Nurse practitioners in Alaska earn the most out of any state, with an average salary of $112,090.

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State	Hourly Wage	Average Salary	Number of Jobs
Alabama	$42.03	$87,430	1,650
Alaska	$53.89	$112,090	280
Arizona	$46.65	$97,030	1,900
Arkansas	$41.30	$85,890	780
California	$47.58	$98,970	9,720
Colorado	$43.36	$90,190	1,840
Connecticut	$45.53	$94,700	2,090
Delaware	$44.07	$91,670	470
Florida	$41.75	$86,840	5,930
Georgia	$40.83	$84,930	3,130
Hawaii	$50.33	$104,690	240
Idaho	$47.18	$98,140	510
Illinois	$38.73	$80,550	2,610
Indiana	$41.15	$85,590	2,650
Iowa	$41.11	$85,500	1,320
Kansas	$38.81	$80,720	1,040
Kentucky	$40.82	$84,910	1,820
Louisiana	$45.02	$93,640	970
Maine	$41.85	$87,060	870
Maryland	$43.83	$91,160	1,860
Massachusetts	$49.20	$102,340	4,370
Michigan	$41.78	$86,910	2,260
Minnesota	$45.35	$94,330	2,710
Mississippi	$44.20	$91,940	1,680
Missouri	$41.67	$86,680	2,970
Montana	$42.25	$87,880	350
Nebraska	$39.71	$82,600	770
Nevada	$46.65	$97,040	430
New Hampshire	$45.42	$94,470	790
New Jersey	$48.57	$101,030	2,580
New Mexico	$45.45	$94,530	550
New York	$46.98	$97,730	8,990
North Carolina	$43.15	$89,760	3,290
North Dakota	$41.09	$85,480	500
Ohio	$42.30	$87,990	3,890
Oklahoma	$40.32	$83,870	750
Oregon	$49.66	$103,280	1,190
Pennsylvania	$39.77	$82,720	3,460
Rhode Island	$48.55	$100,990	370
South Carolina	$42.20	$87,780	1,250
South Dakota	$42.49	$88,380	350
Tennessee	$42.65	$88,720	3,940
Texas	$46.97	$97,710	5,720
Utah	$40.33	$83,880	1,670
Vermont	$41.52	$86,370	390
Virginia	$41.78	$86,900	2,610
Washington	$45.80	$95,260	2,530
West Virginia	$37.79	$78,590	760
Wisconsin	$41.46	$86,240	2,050
Wyoming	$41.58	$86,480	180
Data courtesy of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Work Environment
There are 105,780 nurse practitioner positions nationwide in a wide variety of health care settings. The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners released data that 39 percent of nurse practitioners are employed in private, state, or local hospitals, while 20 percent work in rural physician offices as primary care providers. They can also find employment within home health care services, nursing homes, residential care facilities, and correctional facilities. Nurse practitioners typically work full-time, while many work more irregular hours on nights, weekends, and holidays to accommodate patients’ schedules or provide round the clock care.

Nurse practitioners continue to be in high demand, especially in underserved populations such as rural or inner-city urban communities. Employment in this profession and other nursing careers is expected to grow faster than average at 22 percent between 2010 and 2020. Since nurse practitioners can provide the majority of the same duties as physicians, the predicted job growth is expected from an aging population, medical advancements, and need to provide more cost-effective care.