Hourly Wage for Nurse Practitioner Salary in the United States

How much does a Nurse Practitioner make hourly?

As of August 01, 2026, the average hourly rate for a Nurse Practitioner in the United States is $56, which translates to an annual salary of about $116,754.

However, the hourly wage can vary significantly based on several factors. Here’s a detailed look at the typical pay range per hour:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $63 per hour
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $53 to $60 per hour
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $50 per hour

Key Factors That Influence Nurse Practitioner Salaries

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.

How Experience Level Affects Nurse Practitioner Salaries?

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:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $114,220
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $114,689
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $116,974
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $120,055
  • Expert (over 8 years): $120,605
Levels Salary
Entry Level Nurse Practitioner$114,220
Intermediate Level Nurse Practitioner$114,689
Senior Level Nurse Practitioner$116,974
Specialist Level Nurse Practitioner$120,055
Expert Level Nurse Practitioner$120,605

Top Paying Cities for Nurse Practitioner

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $147,262
  • San Francisco: $145,649
  • Oakland: $142,580

What Skills Can Increase a Nurse Practitioner's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Collaboration (Mentioned in 6.47% Job Postings): Works cooperatively and shares ideas with coworkers and managers to achieve common goals and objectives.
  • CPR (Mentioned in 3.13% Job Postings): 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 (Mentioned in 2.1% Job Postings): 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.
Skills Demand Percentage
Collaboration 6.47%
CPR 3.13%
Long Term Care 2.1%

What skills can make your compensation higher?

Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Nurse Practitioner's salary.

  • Insight: Can increase your salary by up to 5%.
  • Innovation: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
  • Commitment: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Insight $122,592
5%
Innovation $121,424
4%
Commitment $121,424
4%

Nurse Practitioner Salary by Company Size: Startups vs. Enterprise

Nurse Practitioner salary potential scales significantly with company size. Data shows that Enterprise companies (5,000+ employees) pay the highest average salary at around $123,843. While startup companies pay approximate $105,532.

Nurse Practitioner Salary by Company Size

Company Size Employees Average Salary
Startup 1~50 $105,532
Growth Stage 51~500 $111,403
Established 501~5000 $119,794
Enterprise 5000+ $123,843

Nurse Practitioner Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Nurse Practitioner roles, the industry you choose can impact your earning potential by as much as 40% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the highest-paying industry, Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit, offers compensation 20% above the average. Conversely, Nurse Practitioner positions in Healthcare typically offer lower base pay, as this sector often view Nurse Practitioner as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industry for a Nurse Practitioner

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit$140,105$67.020%

How Education impacts an Nurse Practitioner's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Nurse Practitioner enter the field with a Bachelor's Degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for an Nurse Practitioner with a Bachelor's Degree is between $0 and $0.

Nurse Practitioner Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Nurse Practitioner
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%

Nurse Practitioner Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

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 August 01, 2026
$110,466
Average $116,754/year
$124,126
$9,206
Average $9,730/month
$10,344
$2,124
Average $2,245/week
$2,387
$53
Average $56/hour
$60
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $124,126 $10,344 $2,387 $60
Average $116,754 $9,730 $2,245 $56
25th Percentile $110,466 $9,206 $2,124 $53

Most common benefits for Nurse Practitioner

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Nurse Practitioner

Here are companies hiring for Nurse Practitioner and their salaries, click below for more details.

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FAQ about Nurse Practitioner

1. What are the responsibilities of Nurse Practitioner?

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.

2. What are the skills of Nurse Practitioner

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.

1.)

Collaboration: Works cooperatively and shares ideas with coworkers and managers to achieve common goals and objectives.

2.)

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.

3.)

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.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

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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