Nurse Practitioner Salary in 2026: What $132,300 Can Tell You
The latest national nurse practitioner salary figure is $132,300 a year, the median wage in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2025 data. There isn’t a federal 2026 salary number yet. And $132,300 is the midpoint across the NP occupation, not a promise about your first offer.
What is the national nurse practitioner salary?
$132,300 is the annual median: half of NPs in the BLS wage data earned more, and half earned less. If a site calls that the “average,” it’s using the wrong word. BLS also reports a separate $134,920 median for the broader group of NPs, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives. Use the NP-specific number when you’re researching NP pay.
The date matters. This article is about salary decisions in 2026, but the most recent BLS wage measurement is from May 2025. A job offer made today can be above or below that number without the employer having made a mistake.
| BLS measure | Latest figure | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse practitioner median annual wage | $132,300 | NPs nationwide, May 2025 |
| Nurse-midwife median annual wage | $134,040 | CNMs nationwide, May 2025 |
| Nurse anesthetist median annual wage | $236,590 | CRNAs nationwide, May 2025 |
Those are three different occupations. Combining them into one “advanced practice nurse salary” hides the difference an NP applicant is trying to understand. The BLS occupational profile shows each figure.
Why doesn’t BLS list NP salary by specialty?
BLS reports nurse practitioners under one occupation code. It does not publish separate federal medians for FNP, psychiatric-mental health NP, or acute-care NP pay. A specialty-specific number from a job board or survey may still be useful, but it answers a different question: what a particular sample of postings or respondents reported.
If you’re comparing specialties, start with the source. Does it say how many salaries it counted, where those jobs are, and whether the number is base pay or total compensation? Then check your local market. A national FNP estimate and a psychiatric NP posting in your city aren’t an apples-to-apples comparison. Our FNP salary guide, psychiatric NP salary guide, and acute-care NP salary guide keep the specialty questions separate from the federal all-NP figure.
What does a new graduate NP salary look like?
The $132,300 median does not isolate new graduates. BLS doesn’t give you one nationwide starting-pay number to plug into a school budget. Before accepting a first offer, put the actual terms side by side:
| Offer detail | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Base pay and schedule | How many hours and patients are expected for that salary? |
| Call and extra shifts | Are they required, and how are they paid? |
| Benefits | What do health coverage, retirement contributions, and paid time off add? |
| Costs you may carry | Who pays for licensing, certification, continuing education, and malpractice coverage? |
| Debt support | Is loan repayment included, and what are the conditions? |
A higher base salary can lose its appeal once you see the schedule or the costs you’ll pay yourself. Our new-graduate NP salary negotiation guide goes further on offer terms. For local wage context, compare the BLS-based NP salary by state guide with current postings for the setting and population you actually want.
Is NP salary expected to rise because the field is growing?
BLS projects 41% growth in NP employment from 2025 to 2035. That’s a jobs forecast. It doesn’t forecast 41% wage growth, and it doesn’t mean every town will have the same demand. The broader APRN group is projected to grow 36%, while the nurse-midwife projection is 11%. BLS lists those figures separately in its job outlook table.
If school is your next step, use local pay and a realistic starting offer when you compare program costs. Our school database can help you narrow programs by specialty, format, and cost. The national median is a reference point; your budget has to work with the job you can actually take.