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
- Emergency medicine: $155,556
- Anesthesiology – perioperative medicine: $154,336
- Anesthesiology – pain medicine: $154,089
- Psychiatry – general: $153,284
- Psychiatry – inpatient: $151,386
- Cardiovascular surgery: $151,332
- Pediatrics – neonatal-perinatal medicine: $150,977
- Thoracic surgery: $149,755
- Cardiology – invasive – interventional: $149,269
- Psychiatry – outpatient: $149,180
- Cardiology – electrophysiology: $149,163
- Pediatrics – critical care medicine: $148,265
- Radiology – diagnostic: $148,103
- Cardiothoracic surgery: $147,039
- Medical critical care: $146,401
- Pediatrics – hospitalist: $145,741
- Neurological surgery: $145,074
- Pediatrics – general surgery: $144,980
- Occupational and environmental medicine: $144,778
- Psychiatry – child and adolescent: $144,677
Physician assistants
- Cardiovascular surgery: $166,250
- Cardiothoracic surgery: $164,035
- Psychiatry – general: $161,464
- Orthopedic surgery – medical: $158,952
- Cardiology – electrophysiology: $158,792
- Oncology – medical oncology: $155,056
- Radiology – interventional: $154,904
- Pediatrics – neonatal-perinatal medicine: $154,622
- Urgent care: $154,355
- Dermatology: $154,304
- OB-GYN: $152,705
- Emergency medicine: $152,250
- Anesthesiology – perioperative medicine: $151,769
- Occupational and environmental medicine: $151,222
- Pulmonology – critical care medicine: $150,521
- Thoracic surgery: $150,410
- Medical critical care: $150,377
- Surgical oncology – general: $148,549
- Anesthesiology – pain medicine: $148,426
- Vascular surgery: $148,141
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