The number of Nurse Practitioners (NPs) in the healthcare industry are steadily growing. The specialization now caters to 760 million Americans annually. Being an NP requires years of extended study that would put their skills above those of regular nurses. As such, NPs should be well-compensated wherever they work. Albeit the numbers vary from one state to another, there are some factors to take into consideration when beginning, expanding, or reevaluating one’s practice.
The Salary:
A study in 2017 revealed that NPs have been earning more in the past year with numbers continually growing. With a sample size of 1,089, about 5% of nurses claim to have earned more than $150,000 in that year. This gives us a glimpse of the potential salary that top-tier NPs may get in parts of the US. On the other hand, the national average is closer to $113,900, which has actually improved by 6.6% from the previous year. Experts believe this trend to improve and gain momentum and it is now more practicable than ever to invest one’s career in nursing practictionership.
As of 2016, the state of California has the highest annual average salary with $124,330, improving from $115,460 in just two years. This is followed by New York and Texas respectively, also tallying 6-digit annual salaries. The trend follows in many other states, bolstering annual average NP salary by as much as 10%.
Employment Opportunities:
In 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released findings that the top 5 fastest growing industries are all in healthcare. In a span of a decade, nurse practitionership is expected to surge by 35%.
Top paying areas are not synonymous to the top employing areas. The numbers are not necessarily correlated either: the highest employment rates do not translate to the highest salaries. Although New York is at the top with 13,060 NPs in the latest survey, it is only second in annual average salary. In fact, top-paying California would come in second with 12,740 NPs. Other states almost breaching the 5-digit employment threshold are Florida and Texas.
Experience and Specialization:
The numbers above are only related to the practice at large. Salary and tenure vary with regard to experience and specialization in the practice. Practitioners with 0-5 years of experience earn as much as $92,410; those with 6-10 years: $99,221; NPs with 11-15 years: $101,364; more experienced NPs having 16-20 years: $105,507; and those with 21 years or more: $106,669. Note however that these numbers do not account for specialization and refer only to general practice.
Should NPs choose to specialize, different averages would apply. A specialization in neonatal healthcare earns as much as $112,893 annually; NPs concentrating on psychiatric mental health for adults: $109,576; those who specialize in psychiatric mental health-general: $108,091; Psychiatric mental health for the family: $106,771; Gerontology: $104,582; Hospice and Palliative Care: $102,385; Oncology: $101,698; Acute Care: $101,017; and general practice for an adult population: $98,308.
Sources and more statistics per state can be found here and here.