There were just over 200,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) employed in the U.S. as of May 2019 according to published data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Nurse practitioners are employed in multiple healthcare settings, ranging from physician offices and hospitals, to outpatient care centers, educational institutions and the offices on other types of healthcare practitioners. Like many other health practitioners with advanced skills and training, NPs usually earn higher salaries than workers in most other occupations. As of May 2019, the BLS estimates that the national mean wage for NPs was $111,840 per year, in comparison to the $53,490 annual salary for the average worker in all occupations in the United States. While NPs realize better than average pay, there is considerable variation from region-to-region in how much nurse practitioners earn. As of May 2019, BLS data reveals the following about nurse practitioner pay in the top 20 metropolitan markets in the United States:
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City | 13,910 | $128,720 | ||
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | 4,090 | $138,340 | ||
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 4,780 | $106,800 | ||
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 4,210 | $115,190 | ||
| 5 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land | 3,190 | $124,960 | ||
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | 2,900 | $113,920 | ||
| 7 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | 3,540 | $103,960 | ||
| 8 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | 4,590 | $107,250 | ||
| 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta | 4,290 | $106,360 | ||
| 10 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | 3,020 | $108,610 | ||
| 11 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | 5,070 | $123,690 | ||
| 12 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | 1,930 | $157,150 | ||
| 13 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 1,540 | $140,600 | ||
| 14 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 2,020 | $111,580 | ||
| 15 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | 2,530 | $124,730 | ||
| 16 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | 2,540 | $120,280 | ||
| 17 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 1,540 | $125,550 | ||
| 18 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 1,800 | $99,420 | ||
| 19 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood | 1,420 | $108,150 | ||
| 20 | St. Louis | 2,420 | $103,150 | ||
| National | 200,600 | $111,840 | |||
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on December 5, 2020