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A look at nurse practitioners for National Nurse Practitioner Week

November 14, 2023

Nurse practitioners are a type of registered nurse with specialized graduate education of at least a master’s degree. Although their duties vary by state, nurse practitioners in many states can work independently and provide some of the same services as physicians, including conducting physical examinations, ordering laboratory tests, prescribing medications, and administering treatments. In celebration of National Nurse Practitioner Week, the second full week in November, let’s take a closer look at these workers.

In May 2022, the latest data available, nurse practitioners had employment of 258,230 and an annual mean wage of $124,680, approximately double the U.S. average wage of $61,900. About 92 percent of nurse practitioner jobs were in the private sector. Employment of nurse practitioners is projected to increase by 45 percent from 2022 to 2032, much faster than the average of 3 percent for all occupations.

Industries with the highest employment of nurse practitioners, May 2022
Industry Employment

Offices of physicians

122,830

General medical and surgical hospitals

58,080

Outpatient care centers

23,760

Offices of other health practitioners

10,950

Home health care services

7,460

Colleges, universities, and professional schools

6,730

Employment services

3,340

Local government, excluding schools and hospitals

3,100

Specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals

2,170

Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals

2,100

Nearly half of nurse practitioners (122,830) worked in offices of physicians. The next highest numbers of nurse practitioners were in general medical and surgical hospitals (58,080); outpatient care centers (23,760), such as community health clinics and health maintenance organization (HMO) medical centers; and offices of other health practitioners (10,950), which includes nurse practitioners’ offices.

Nurse practitioner employment, location quotient, and annual mean wage, May 2022

Nurse practitioner employment, location quotient, and annual mean wage, May 2022
State Employment Location quotient Annual mean wage

Alabama

4,390 1.25 106,610

Alaska

680 1.27 116,390

Arizona

6,240 1.18 121,410

Arkansas

2,970 1.38 107,110

California

19,130 0.62 158,130

Colorado

3,630 0.75 116,440

Connecticut

2,910 1.02 131,490

Delaware

990 1.25 120,570

District of Columbia

730 0.61 131,270

Florida

18,530 1.15 110,310

Georgia

8,110 1.01 115,440

Hawaii

530 0.51 128,310

Idaho

1,170 0.84 117,720

Illinois

7,990 0.78 122,310

Indiana

6,480 1.20 121,730

Iowa

2,610 0.98 128,180

Kansas

3,070 1.28 111,670

Kentucky

4,520 1.36 109,290

Louisiana

4,280 1.33 118,210

Maine

1,300 1.22 118,300

Maryland

4,170 0.90 119,650

Massachusetts

7,190 1.16 138,700

Michigan

7,250 0.98 113,780

Minnesota

5,300 1.07 128,160

Mississippi

4,000 2.03 117,260

Missouri

7,290 1.48 113,180

Montana

730 0.85 119,960

Nebraska

1,610 0.95 118,970

Nevada

1,800 0.73 136,230

New Hampshire

1,510 1.31 125,780

New Jersey

6,640 0.93 143,250

New Mexico

1,650 1.16 129,560

New York

17,670 1.11 Not available

North Carolina

8,040 0.99 114,450

North Dakota

570 0.81 113,940

Ohio

10,730 1.14 117,440

Oklahoma

2,700 0.96 121,740

Oregon

1,880 0.57 136,250

Pennsylvania

7,560 0.75 120,550

Rhode Island

1,390 1.66 125,250

South Carolina

3,960 1.05 109,130

South Dakota

810 1.07 115,610

Tennessee

13,060 2.40 99,330

Texas

18,820 0.83 124,660

Utah

2,740 0.96 115,610

Vermont

800 1.57 116,610

Virginia

7,040 1.04 116,980

Washington

4,150 0.70 135,590

West Virginia

1,640 1.38 106,790

Wisconsin

4,790 0.97 121,210

Wyoming

460 0.98 115,230

California (19,130), Texas (18,820), Florida (18,530), and New York (17,670) were the states with the largest numbers of nurse practitioner jobs. States with the highest employment concentrations of nurse practitioners were mainly in the South and New England. As a share of state employment, Tennessee had 2.4 times as many nurse practitioners as the national share. States with the highest concentrations of nurse practitioners also included Mississippi (location quotient of 2.0), Rhode Island (1.7), and Vermont (1.6).

California ($158,130), New Jersey ($143,250), and Massachusetts ($138,700) were among the highest paying states for nurse practitioners. The lowest paying states for this occupation included Tennessee ($99,330), Alabama ($106,610), and West Virginia ($106,790).

These data are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) and Employment Projections programs. To learn more, see the OEWS profile page for nurse practitioners and the Occupational Outlook Handbook profile for nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners. Location quotients represent the ratio of an occupation's share of state employment to that occupation's share of national employment. For example, an occupation that makes up 10 percent of state employment compared with 2 percent of U.S. employment would have a location quotient of 5 for that state. Information on the practice environment for registered nurses by state is available from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, A look at nurse practitioners for National Nurse Practitioner Week at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/a-look-at-nurse-practitioners-for-national-nurse-practitioner-week.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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