Nurse Practitioner vs Physician: $132K vs $271K Median Pay

Nurse Practitioner vs Physician: what changes?

Consider Nurse Practitioner if you want to diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part of a healthcare team. Consider Physician if you would rather diagnose and provide nonsurgical treatment for a wide range of diseases and injuries of internal organ systems. Entry credentials differ: Nurse Practitioner, master's degree; Physician, medical degree and residency.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Nurse Practitioner and Physician. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

The labor-market benchmark for Physician covers the broader BLS group Physicians (29-1210). It does not isolate this specialty.

Compare the practical differences

Nurse Practitioner

National median pay (2025): $132,300
Route into the job: Registered-nurse licensure, at least a master's degree in the specialty role, national certification, and state APRN licensure are required. Check each program's prerequisites and clinical placements.
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Physical work: Patient care can involve standing, walking, and moving patients. Physical demands vary across specialties and settings.
Schedule and hours: Office roles often follow business hours; hospital roles may include nights, weekends, holidays, and on-call work.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 29,400

Know before you choose

Graduate nursing programs differ in prerequisites and clinical placement arrangements. Verify both before estimating cost and time to practice.

BLS: entry routes, workplace, and schedules · Reviewed September 16, 2026. BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections.

See the full Nurse Practitioner brief

Physician

National median pay (2025): $271,090
Route into the job: A bachelor's degree and medical degree are followed by internship and residency training. Specialty requirements and state licensing affect the full route into practice.
Prior related experience: Prior experience requirements need verification for this occupation.
Training and licensing: Verify the specialty's training, licensing, and full preparation time with an accredited program or employer.
Work to investigate: Analyze records, reports, test results, or examination information to diagnose medical condition of patient.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 20,800

Know before you choose

Exposure to illness or infection is a recurring part of the work context, even when safety procedures are followed.

See the full Physician brief

How the national numbers differ

Nurse Practitioner has the edge on projected growth

Nurse Practitioner is at 41% projected growth, compared with 3.6% projected growth for Physician.

Physician has the edge on median pay

Physician is at $271,090, compared with $132,300 for Nurse Practitioner.

Nurse Practitioner has the edge on annual openings

Nurse Practitioner is at 29,400 annual openings, compared with 20,800 annual openings for Physician.

79/ 100

Nurse Practitioner

68.7/ 100

Physician

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Nurse Practitioner vs Physician

Dimension	Nurse Practitioner	Physician
Median pay (2025)	$132,300	$271,090
Pay percentile	92.4 percentile	98.3 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	41%	3.6%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	29,400	20,800
2025 employment	336,300	808,800
How you qualify	Registered-nurse licensure, at least a master's degree in the specialty role, national certification, and state APRN licensure are required. Check each program's prerequisites and clinical placements.	A bachelor's degree and medical degree are followed by internship and residency training. Specialty requirements and state licensing affect the full route into practice.
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 5	Job Zone 5
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	Prior experience requirements need verification for this occupation.
On-the-job training	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.	Verify the specialty's training, licensing, and full preparation time with an accredited program or employer.
Schedules	Office roles often follow business hours; hospital roles may include nights, weekends, holidays, and on-call work.	Varies by employer and setting; ask about shifts, overtime, on-call work, and predictable hours.
Physical work	Patient care can involve standing, walking, and moving patients. Physical demands vary across specialties and settings.	Unknown: review standing, lifting, repetitive movement, and posture with a practitioner. No overall physical-demand rating is assigned.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Nurse Practitioner brief Read Physician brief

Nurse Practitioner vs Physician: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Nurse Practitioner

Physician

How the national numbers differ

Nurse Practitioner has the edge on projected growth

Physician has the edge on median pay

Nurse Practitioner has the edge on annual openings

Nurse Practitioner vs Physician

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