When you’re looking for a nurse practitioner job or evaluating a potential career change or advancement, salary is a major piece of the equation. If you are relocating for a position, will your move have a positive or negative impact on your earning potential? Does going back to school to become a nurse practitioner make financial sense for you?
The first step in evaluating these kinds of questions is to look at how much you can expect to earn as an NP. While average salaries certainly don’t dictate your exact income, they can at least give you an idea of how much you can plan to make in your practice. Pay for nurse practitioners varies significantly across job markets so looking at state and city specific average salaries is the best way to approach your earnings analysis. These twelve states have the least favorable nurse practitioner salaries in the nation.
1. Oklahoma
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $82,880
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $39.85/hour
2. Kansas
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $84,270
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $40.51/hour
3. Illinois
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $85,410
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $41.06/hour
4. Pennsylvania
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $88,410
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $42.54/hour
5. South Carolina
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $88,460
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $42.53/hour
6. North Dakota
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $88,520
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $42.56/hour
7. West Virginia
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $88,780
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $42.68/hour
8. Missouri
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $89,690
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $43.12/hour
9. South Dakota
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $90,210
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $43.37/hour
10. Nebraska
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $90,240
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $43.38/hour
11. Wyoming
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $90,400
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $43.46/hour
12. Georgia
Mean Nurse Practitioner Salary: $90,490
Mean Nurse Practitioner Hourly Wage: $43.50/hour
Don’t forget to take cost of living into account when evaluating nurse practitioner salaries. Many of the states falling into the lowest paying category are inexpensive places to live. Rural locations may also offer student loan repayment programs to nurse practitioners practicing medically underserved areas making an employment package much more attractive. How does your pay compare to average salaries in these states?
*Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
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