The national average hourly pay is $56.75 per for nurse practitioners, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment statistics survey. Wages and living costs vary from place to place, however.
The highest average hourly wage for NPs is in California, but the state also holds the nation's third-highest cost of living, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. After adjusting for cost of living, California falls all the way to number 36 on the list.
Here is every state, ranked by its living cost-adjusted average PA wage:
|
Rank |
State |
NP hourly mean wage |
Cost of living as % of US avg. |
Living cost-adjusted NP pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Iowa |
$58.35 |
89% |
$65.56 |
|
2 |
Oklahoma |
$56.08 |
85.7% |
$65.44 |
|
3 |
Illinois |
$57.92 |
91.4% |
$63.37 |
|
4 |
Mississippi |
$53.73 |
84.9% |
$63.29 |
|
5 |
Minnesota |
$61.06 |
96.8% |
$63.08 |
|
6 |
Texas |
$56.68 |
90.9% |
$62.35 |
|
7 |
Indiana |
$54.56 |
88.9% |
$61.37 |
|
8 |
New Mexico |
$56.96 |
93.6% |
$60.85 |
|
9 |
Kansas |
$52.27 |
86.4% |
$60.50 |
|
10 |
Georgia |
$52.67 |
87.8% |
$59.99 |
|
11 |
Wyoming |
$55.06 |
91.8% |
$59.98 |
|
12 |
Wisconsin |
$56.24 |
94.8% |
$59.32 |
|
13 |
Nebraska |
$54.17 |
91.5% |
$59.20 |
|
14 |
Ohio |
$54.08 |
92% |
$58.78 |
|
15 |
Louisiana |
$54.16 |
92.8% |
$58.36 |
|
16 |
Pennsylvania |
$56.38 |
97.9% |
$57.59 |
|
17 |
South Dakota |
$54.00 |
93.8% |
$57.57 |
|
18 |
Arkansas |
$51.48 |
89.9% |
$57.26 |
|
19 |
Michigan |
$52.30 |
91.6% |
$57.10 |
|
20 |
North Carolina |
$54.20 |
95% |
$57.05 |
|
21 |
West Virginia |
$50.36 |
88.5% |
$56.90 |
|
22 |
Nevada |
$59.46 |
105.4% |
$56.41 |
|
23 |
Alabama |
$49.24 |
87.5% |
$56.27 |
|
24 |
Missouri |
$49.76 |
88.6% |
$56.16 |
|
25 |
North Dakota |
$54.19 |
96.7% |
$56.04 |
|
26 |
New Jersey |
$65.87 |
118.6% |
$55.54 |
|
27 |
Washington |
$62.90 |
113.9% |
$55.22 |
|
28 |
Arizona |
$57.65 |
106.9% |
$53.93 |
|
29 |
Delaware |
$55.88 |
103.9% |
$53.78 |
|
30 |
Kentucky |
$51.00 |
95.2% |
$53.57 |
|
31 |
Rhode Island |
$60.94 |
113.8% |
$53.55 |
|
32 |
Montana |
$55.63 |
104.8% |
$53.08 |
|
33 |
Utah |
$54.29 |
102.4% |
$53.02 |
|
34 |
South Carolina |
$49.45 |
94.2% |
$52.49 |
|
35 |
Virginia |
$54.00 |
103.2% |
$52.33 |
|
36 |
California |
$72.99 |
139.8% |
$52.21 |
|
37 |
Colorado |
$54.13 |
105.1% |
$51.50 |
|
38 |
New Hampshire |
$58.05 |
113.2% |
$51.28 |
|
39 |
Oregon |
$61.63 |
120.6% |
$51.10 |
|
40 |
Tennessee |
$45.73 |
89.5% |
$51.09 |
|
41 |
Idaho |
$50.62 |
99.7% |
$50.77 |
|
42 |
Connecticut |
$57.91 |
116.7% |
$49.62 |
|
43 |
Florida |
$50.40 |
103% |
$48.93 |
|
44 |
Maine |
$55.95 |
116.9% |
$47.86 |
|
45 |
New York |
$64.39 |
136.8% |
$47.07 |
|
46 |
Vermont |
$54.11 |
116.7% |
$46.37 |
|
47 |
Maryland |
$55.63 |
125.1% |
$44.47 |
|
48 |
Alaska |
$54.72 |
126.7% |
$43.19 |
|
49 |
Massachusetts |
$62.28 |
147.9% |
$42.11 |
|
50 |
Hawaii |
$61.29 |
189.9% |
$32.27 |
Methodology
Figures in the far right column are calculated by multiplying the state's average NP wage and its cost of living modifier.