20 highest-paying specialties for NPs, PAs 

Physician assistants in cardiovascular surgery and nurse practitioners in emergency medicine earn the highest compensation in their respective specialties, according to SullivanCotter’s “2025 Advanced Practice Provider Compensation and Productivity Survey.”

The report includes data from more than 785 health systems, hospitals and physician groups, representing over 155,000 advanced practice providers, including certified anesthesiologist assistants, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives and certified registered nurse anesthetists.

Below are the highest-paying specialties for nurse practitioners and physician assistants, ranked by annual median total cash compensation (base salary plus annual incentives). Additional premium-based pay is not included.

Nurse practitioners

1. Emergency medicine: $155,556
2. Anesthesiology – perioperative medicine: $154,336
3. Anesthesiology – pain medicine:  $154,089
4. Psychiatry – general:  $153,284
5. Psychiatry – inpatient:  $151,386
6. Cardiovascular surgery: $151,332
7. Pediatrics – neonatal-perinatal medicine: $150,977
8. Thoracic surgery: $149,755
9. Cardiology – invasive – interventional: $149,269
10. Psychiatry – outpatient: $149,180
11. Cardiology – electrophysiology: $149,163
12. Pediatrics – critical care medicine: $148,265
13. Radiology – diagnostic: $148,103
14. Cardiothoracic surgery: $147,039
15. Medical critical care: $146,401
16. Pediatrics – hospitalist: $145,741
17. Neurological surgery: $145,074
18. Pediatrics – general surgery: $144,980
19. Occupational and environmental medicine: $144,778
20. Psychiatry – child and adolescent: $144,677 

Physician assistants

1. Cardiovascular surgery: $166,250
2. Cardiothoracic surgery: $164,035
3. Psychiatry – general: $161,464
4. Orthopedic surgery – medical: $158,952
5. Cardiology – electrophysiology: $158,792
6. Oncology – medical oncology: $155,056
7. Radiology – interventional: $154,904
8. Pediatrics – neonatal-perinatal medicine: $154,622
9. Urgent care: $154,355
10. Dermatology:  $154,304
11. OB-GYN: $152,705
12. Emergency medicine: $152,250
13. Anesthesiology – perioperative medicine: $151,769
14. Occupational and environmental medicine: $151,222
15. Pulmonology – critical care medicine:  $150,521
16. Thoracic surgery:  $150,410
17. Medical critical care: $150,377
18. Surgical oncology – general: $148,549
19. Anesthesiology – pain medicine: $148,426
20. Vascular surgery: $148,141