As of May 01, 2026, the average hourly rate for a Nurse Practitioner in the United States is $56, which translates to an annual salary of about $116,765.
However, the hourly wage can vary significantly based on several factors. Here’s a detailed look at the typical pay range per hour:
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A Nurse Practitioner's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.
Experience is a primary driver of a Nurse Practitioner's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:
| Levels | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry Level Nurse Practitioner | $114,226 |
| Intermediate Level Nurse Practitioner | $114,696 |
| Senior Level Nurse Practitioner | $116,985 |
| Specialist Level Nurse Practitioner | $120,066 |
| Expert Level Nurse Practitioner | $120,616 |
What Am I Worth?
Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Nurse Practitioners. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
Demanded Skills for the Role:
| Skills | Demand Percentage |
|---|---|
| Collaboration | 6.47% |
| CPR | 3.13% |
| Long Term Care | 2.1% |
| Skill | Salary | Salary % Increase |
|---|---|---|
|
Insight
|
$122,603 |
5%
|
|
Innovation
|
$121,436 |
4%
|
|
Commitment
|
$121,436 |
4%
|
|
Acute Care
|
$120,268 |
3%
|
|
Care Management
|
$120,268 |
3%
|
|
Clinical Care
|
$120,268 |
3%
|
Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Nurse Practitioners enter the field with a Master's Degree or MBA degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.
According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for a Nurse Practitioner with a Master's Degree or MBA is between $122,768 and $128,175).
Nurse Practitioner Salaries by Degree Level
| Degree Level | % of user with this level of education |
|---|---|
| No Diploma | 0.2% |
| High School | 0.8% |
| Associates | 0.9% |
| Bachelors | 3.2% |
| Masters | 91.2% |
| Doctorate | 3.7% |
Understanding how a Nurse Practitioner's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.
Last Updated on May 01, 2026Salaries for a Nurse Practitioner can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary decreased from $231,993 in 2023 to around $226,789 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Nurse Practitioner salary trends, .
| Year | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 2022 |
View More
|
| 2023 | $231,993 |
| 2024 | $237,504 |
| 2025 | $226,789 |
| 2026 |
View More
|
| 2027 |
View More
|
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Compensation PlanningHere are companies hiring for Nurse Practitioner and their salaries, click below for more details.
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Examines and treats patients independently and in autonomous collaboration with other health care professionals. Ensures proper illness and injury care and disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. May prescribe medications and order diagnostic tests. Advises patients about continuing care. Requires a master's degree. Typically reports to a manager or head of a unit/department. Requires RN. Requires Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) or Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP). Years of experience may be unspecified. Certification and/or licensing in the position's specialty is the main requirement.
Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
Collaboration: Works cooperatively and shares ideas with coworkers and managers to achieve common goals and objectives.
CPR: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) combines rescue breathing (mouth-to-mouth) and chest compressions to temporarily pump enough blood to the brain until specialized treatment is available.
Long Term Care: Long-term care (LTC) is a variety of services which help meet both the medical and non-medical needs of people with a chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for long periods. Long term care is focused on individualized and coordinated services that promote independence, maximize patients' quality of life, and meet patients' needs over a period of time. It is common for long-term care to provide custodial and non-skilled care, such as assisting with normal daily tasks like dressing, feeding, using the bathroom. Increasingly, long-term care involves providing a level of medical care that requires the expertise of skilled practitioners to address the multiple chronic conditions associated with older populations. Long-term care can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living facilities or in nursing homes. Long-term care may be needed by people of any age, although it is a more common need for senior citizens.
Salary.com salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third-party data sources. We also provide multiple percentiles of salary information for your reference, click here to know Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial to Getting Pay Equity Right. With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target.
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