Nurse Practitioners Career, Salary and Skills
Nurse Practitioners have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $132,300 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 323,040. Wage data is published for 435 locations.
Occupation description
Diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part of a healthcare team. May focus on health promotion and disease prevention. May order, perform, or interpret diagnostic tests such as lab work and x rays. May prescribe medication. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.
O*NET code
29-1171.00
Job zone
5
Typical education
Master's Degree
Experience
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$132,300
Hourly median
$63.61
Employment
323,040
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.12 | 4.88 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 4.12 | 4.12 |
| Active Listening | 4.12 | 4.88 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.12 | 4.12 |
| Speaking | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Writing | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.00 | 4.62 |
| Active Learning | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Monitoring | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 4.00 | 4.12 |
Typical tasks
- Maintain complete and detailed records of patients' health care plans and prognoses.
- Develop treatment plans, based on scientific rationale, standards of care, and professional practice guidelines.
- Provide patients with information needed to promote health, reduce risk factors, or prevent disease or disability.
- Analyze and interpret patients' histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.
- Diagnose or treat complex, unstable, comorbid, episodic, or emergency conditions in collaboration with other health care providers as necessary.
- Prescribe medication dosages, routes, and frequencies, based on such patient characteristics as age and gender.
- Diagnose or treat chronic health care problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
- Supervise or coordinate patient care or support staff activities.
Technology
- Allscripts Professional EHR
- Amkai AmkaiCharts
- Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
- Cerner Millennium
- e-MDs software
- eClinicalWorks EHR software
- Epic Systems
- GE Healthcare Centricity EMR
- Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
- Medical condition coding software
- Medical procedure coding software
- MEDITECH software
- Medscribbler Enterprise
- MicroFour PracticeStudio.NET EMR
Nurse Practitioners salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in TXMedian $131,670 · Employment 25,970
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in CAMedian $168,520 · Employment 25,120
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in NYMedian $153,510 · Employment 22,890
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in FLMedian $129,510 · Employment 21,790
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in New York, NYMedian $163,340 · Employment 21,680
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in OHMedian $124,870 · Employment 15,400
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in TNMedian $117,590 · Employment 12,150
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in PAMedian $130,140 · Employment 10,670
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in GAMedian $129,430 · Employment 10,460
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $161,470 · Employment 10,060
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in NJMedian $159,310 · Employment 9,950
- Nurse Practitioners Salary in NCMedian $128,990 · Employment 9,800
Related careers
- PsychiatristsNational median $281,870
- NeurologistsNational median $248,560
- Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational NursesNational median $64,400
- Nurse AnesthetistsNational median $236,590
- AnesthesiologistsNational median $391,490
- CardiologistsNational median $496,010
- Pediatric SurgeonsNational median $559,030
- ParamedicsNational median $60,600
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.