In seven specialties, nurse practitioners now average at least $150,000 a year, with the average annual salary for NPs surpassing $137,000.
Here are 10 stats on the compensation landscape for nurse practitioners in 2026:
- The average annual salary for nurse practitioners is $137,300, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- The annual median salary for the profession is $132,300.
- California pays the highest average salary for NPs, with an average salary of $176,760 for the profession.
- The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., metropolitan area has the highest annual salary for NPs.
- With a low cost of living, NPs in Oklahoma earned an average adjusted $75.02 per hour, the highest of any state.
- Nurse practitioners in Hawaii earned an average adjusted $37.14 per hour, the lowest of any state.
- 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.”
- Anesthesiology and psychiatry are the other top-paying specialties for nurse practitioners.
- There are seven specialties where nurse practitioners earn at least $150,000.
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, business support services is the highest-paying industry for nurse practitioners.
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