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Median pay
$129,210
Median annual pay for Nurse Practitioner.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
One of the fastest-growing occupations with strong compensation and a large national workforce, but it requires graduate nursing education and state-dependent practice rules.
One of the fastest-growing occupations with strong compensation and a large national workforce, but it requires graduate nursing education and state-dependent practice rules.
The measurable baseline is $129,210 median pay, 40.1% projected employment change from 2024 to 2034, and about 29,500 annual openings. Those figures establish the national baseline; the occupation-specific evidence on this page is what makes the decision more useful than a generic profile.
The national median-pay figure in the current ChooseField dataset is $129,210. The 2024 self-employed share is 1%, which matters because self-employment can make outcomes less uniform across workers. A national median is a benchmark, not a personal forecast: experience, geography, employer type, specialty, credentials, and hours can move actual compensation materially.
BLS data in the ChooseField corpus put 2024 employment at 320,400 and projected 2034 employment at 448,800. That corresponds to 40.1% projected growth over the decade. BLS projects about 29,500 openings per year, including growth and replacement demand. This distinction matters when people ask whether a field is oversaturated: growth measures whether the occupation itself is getting larger, while annual openings also reflect people retiring, changing occupations, or leaving roles that must be refilled.
BLS lists the typical entry education as Master's degree. Treat this entry path like an investment: compare the time and cost required to enter with the pay, annual openings, and alternatives available at a similar training level.
Among the fastest-growing occupations. The headline figure is 40.1%. BLS projected growth from 2024 to 2034. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034).
Large national workforce. The headline figure is 461,000+. AANP estimate of nurse practitioners in the United States. Source: AANP (2025).
The growth numbers are unusually strong and the workforce is already large. The main entry cost is that NP is not a direct-from-college occupation: it requires nursing preparation followed by graduate education.
This field is a stronger fit if the required education and licensure are acceptable and you value a labor market anchored in direct care or clinical services.
Before choosing Nurse Practitioner, compare it with Registered Nurse, Physician Assistant, Physician. The purpose is not to find a universal winner; it is to see how pay, training time, annual openings, work setting, and field-specific risks change when you move to an adjacent option.
One of the fastest-growing occupations with strong compensation and a large national workforce, but it requires graduate nursing education and state-dependent practice rules. The measurable baseline is $129,210 median pay, 40.1% projected 2024–34 employment change, about 29,500 annual openings, and a typical entry path of Master's degree.
Compare Nurse Practitioner with Registered Nurse, Physician Assistant on pay, training time, openings, working conditions, and occupation-specific evidence rather than relying on one score.
Compare Nurse Practitioner with Registered Nurse, Physician Assistant on pay, training time, openings, working conditions, and occupation-specific evidence rather than relying on one score.
The national median in the current ChooseField dataset is $129,210. Treat that as a benchmark rather than an expected starting salary; actual compensation varies by experience, location, employer, specialty, credentials, and hours.
National pay and employment projections come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other sources are linked on their cards.