Nurse Practitioner Pay by City: May 2025 BLS Data for 383 Metro Areas
By NurseCompensation Research Team · 2026-10-19 · 9 min read
NP median pay ranges from $231,560 in San Jose to $101,040 in Florence, Alabama. Eighteen of the 20 highest-paying metros are in California, and all 15 of the lowest are in Alabama or Tennessee. Plus the NP-RN pay gap in the 27 largest NP markets.
The national median wage for nurse practitioners was $132,300 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with 323,040 NPs employed. That figure is an average across very different local markets. BLS publishes NP wages for 383 metro areas, and the spread between the top and bottom is more than $130,000.
The 20 highest-paying metro areas for NPs
| Rank | Metro area | Median | 10th pct | 90th pct | NPs employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $231,560 | $163,670 | $283,410 | 1,580 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $219,080 | $153,280 | $273,960 | 3,110 |
| 3 | Vallejo, CA | $182,370 | $133,940 | $287,130 | 180 |
| 4 | Napa, CA | $176,270 | $153,970 | $225,760 | 60 |
| 5 | Modesto, CA | $173,380 | $138,470 | $249,600 | 380 |
| 6 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $172,010 | $105,540 | $240,100 | 1,170 |
| 7 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $169,920 | $130,630 | $213,970 | 1,710 |
| 8 | Hanford-Corcoran, CA | $168,540 | $116,900 | $209,300 | 70 |
| 9 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $167,190 | $126,540 | $218,680 | 190 |
| 10 | Chico, CA | $167,080 | $131,730 | $203,910 | 140 |
| 11 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $167,040 | $116,450 | $236,950 | 280 |
| 12 | Fresno, CA | $166,570 | $129,300 | $212,320 | 570 |
| 13 | Salinas, CA | $166,090 | $135,360 | $213,530 | 140 |
| 14 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $165,580 | $106,710 | $205,450 | 430 |
| 15 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $165,580 | $130,450 | $220,680 | 200 |
| 16 | Yuba City, CA | $165,020 | $115,870 | $209,040 | 70 |
| 17 | El Centro, CA | $164,700 | $103,330 | $213,520 | 70 |
| 18 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $164,210 | $115,080 | $193,340 | 60 |
| 19 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $163,860 | $131,380 | $215,640 | 2,340 |
| 20 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $163,340 | $132,490 | $202,940 | 21,680 |
Eighteen of the top 20 are in California. Of California's 25 metro areas with NP data, 24 have a median of $150,000 or more. The exception, Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, is just under at $148,800. Nationally, 36 metros clear $150,000.
New York stands out for its size. With 21,680 NPs, it is by far the largest NP market in the country, more than twice the size of Los Angeles (10,060), and it still ranks in the top 20 for pay.
The 15 lowest-paying metro areas
| Rank | Metro area | Median | 10th pct | 90th pct | NPs employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 369 | Auburn-Opelika, AL | $108,500 | $81,670 | $137,110 | 180 |
| 370 | Jackson, TN | $108,260 | $72,800 | $134,790 | 410 |
| 371 | Decatur, AL | $107,760 | $87,350 | $127,570 | 120 |
| 372 | Birmingham, AL | $107,700 | $89,240 | $137,560 | 1,350 |
| 373 | Cleveland, TN | $107,360 | $58,290 | $135,630 | 170 |
| 374 | Dothan, AL | $105,730 | $83,120 | $160,300 | 260 |
| 375 | Morristown, TN | $105,560 | $69,600 | $133,120 | 120 |
| 376 | Montgomery, AL | $105,050 | $86,190 | $136,190 | 330 |
| 377 | Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | $104,410 | $85,300 | $128,110 | not published |
| 378 | Huntsville, AL | $103,900 | $95,260 | $129,600 | 830 |
| 379 | Gadsden, AL | $103,700 | $77,000 | $140,240 | 130 |
| 380 | Mobile, AL | $103,480 | $88,320 | $126,810 | 510 |
| 381 | Johnson City, TN | $102,430 | $87,210 | $127,460 | 380 |
| 382 | Anniston-Oxford, AL | $101,220 | $90,180 | $142,520 | 100 |
| 383 | Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL | $101,040 | $83,010 | $125,830 | 220 |
All 15 are in Alabama (11) or Tennessee (4). Birmingham, with 1,350 NPs, is the largest market in the group.
The 27 largest NP markets, and how much NPs earn over RNs there
These are all metro areas where BLS reports at least 2,000 employed NPs. (Seattle's NP median is $160,090, but BLS did not publish an employment figure for it, so it is not listed.) The last two columns compare the NP median with the RN median in the same metro.
| Metro area | NPs employed | NP median | RN median | NP premium | NP pay as multiple of RN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 3,110 | $219,080 | $186,610 | +$32,470 | 1.17x |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 2,340 | $163,860 | $139,520 | +$24,340 | 1.17x |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 21,680 | $163,340 | $119,720 | +$43,620 | 1.36x |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 10,060 | $161,470 | $135,560 | +$25,910 | 1.19x |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 5,990 | $147,480 | $106,180 | +$41,300 | 1.39x |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 5,450 | $136,270 | $100,830 | +$35,440 | 1.35x |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 6,590 | $135,700 | $101,180 | +$34,520 | 1.34x |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 4,050 | $134,840 | $102,710 | +$32,130 | 1.31x |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 5,970 | $134,560 | $99,830 | +$34,730 | 1.35x |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 3,400 | $134,390 | $97,280 | +$37,110 | 1.38x |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 2,310 | $134,040 | $101,130 | +$32,910 | 1.33x |
| Jacksonville, FL | 2,310 | $133,810 | $83,520 | +$50,290 | 1.60x |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 4,900 | $133,370 | $103,040 | +$30,330 | 1.29x |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 5,950 | $132,500 | $100,490 | +$32,010 | 1.32x |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 3,800 | $131,990 | $99,550 | +$32,440 | 1.33x |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 6,530 | $131,740 | $100,490 | +$31,250 | 1.31x |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 3,430 | $131,580 | $83,180 | +$48,400 | 1.58x |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 5,810 | $131,340 | $91,380 | +$39,960 | 1.44x |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 7,310 | $130,980 | $101,420 | +$29,560 | 1.29x |
| Cleveland, OH | 3,320 | $130,800 | $83,940 | +$46,860 | 1.56x |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 2,730 | $130,760 | $83,040 | +$47,720 | 1.57x |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 2,530 | $130,460 | $84,230 | +$46,230 | 1.55x |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 2,820 | $128,700 | $83,650 | +$45,050 | 1.54x |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 4,180 | $128,120 | $85,470 | +$42,650 | 1.50x |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 2,700 | $128,050 | $97,890 | +$30,160 | 1.31x |
| Columbus, OH | 3,140 | $124,580 | $83,900 | +$40,680 | 1.48x |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | 4,540 | $122,320 | $84,040 | +$38,280 | 1.46x |
Nationally, the NP median is $34,750 above the RN median, or 1.36 times as much.
What the large-market table shows
Outside California, NP pay is remarkably flat. Of the 22 large markets outside California, New York, and Boston, all but Nashville and Columbus have NP medians between $128,000 and $137,000. That is a much narrower range than RN pay in the same cities, which runs from about $83,000 to $103,000.
The NP premium is largest where RN pay is lowest. In Jacksonville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati, RN medians are around $83,000 to $84,000, while NP medians are around $129,000 to $134,000. The NP license is worth $45,000 to $50,000 a year in these markets.
In California, the premium is smallest in relative terms. In San Francisco and San Diego, NPs earn 1.17 times the local RN median. California RNs are already so well paid that the step up to NP adds proportionally less, even though the dollar amounts are still large.
Where NPs are most concentrated
The national average is about 2.1 NPs for every 1,000 jobs. Some smaller metros have far more.
| Metro area | NPs per 1,000 jobs | NP median |
|---|---|---|
| Rochester, MN | 9.7 | $126,270 |
| Ithaca, NY | 5.7 | $136,980 |
| Hot Springs, AR | 5.4 | $122,940 |
| Hattiesburg, MS | 5.4 | $113,300 |
| Jackson, MS | 4.9 | $124,730 |
| Jackson, TN | 4.9 | $108,260 |
Rochester, Minnesota, home to a major academic medical center, has more than four times the national concentration. Across all metros with data, those with more NPs per worker tend to pay somewhat less, but the relationship is modest.
What the data includes
BLS figures are base wages and exclude bonuses, productivity pay, and call pay, which some NPs receive on top of base salary. Small metros with fewer than a few hundred NPs can shift noticeably from year to year. NP figures cover all specialties combined; BLS does not break out family, psychiatric, acute care, or other NP specialties.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national and metropolitan area data (SOC 29-1171 Nurse Practitioners; 29-1141 Registered Nurses). Rankings, premiums, and multiples calculated by NurseCompensation from the published BLS figures.