11 Highest Paying Cities for Nurse Practitioners

What are the highest paying cities for nurse practitioners?

A nurse practitioner refers to advanced practice registered nurses, i.e. nurses who have been specifically trained as well as educated to ensure the maintenance of already established healthcare while simultaneously improving it. This is achieved by being able to diagnose as well as treat illnesses and chronic conditions too.

Nurse practitioners have far more power than ordinary nurses. Not only can they diagnose medical issues, both physical and mental, but they can also perform procedures at an advanced level, prescribe the relevant medicine and can order the treatment as well. Nurse practitioners are not limited to simply working at hospitals; their workplace can include a variety of places such as nursing homes, clinics, private offices, and hospices. On the other hand, other nurse practitioners simply contract their services instead of working at a regular place.

Nurse practitioners aren’t just secondary healthcare providers; they can be the primary providers as well. Furthermore, they are not limited to treating just a specific age group as depending on their specialty, they have the qualifications and expertise to be able to treat people of all ages. Furthermore, nurse practitioners can also specialize in different fields of medicine, some of which include but are not limited to oncology, dermatology, pain management, cardiology and surgery services as well. As is true for most healthcare providers, the primary purpose of a nurse practitioner is to provide special, individual care to his patients and take an active role in minimizing the repercussions of the illness on the patient and his family while also advocating for methods that will prevent the disease from occurring in the future.

However, practicing medicine is not the only profession medical practitioners can indulge in. They have also been known to teach as well as conduct research and take part in the advocacy for healthcare at a national level.

Of course, it is not an easy path to becoming a nurse practitioner. A person who wants to attain the accreditation first needs to attain a bachelor’s degree, attaining accreditation as a registered nurse. Then, after getting some practice in the registered nurse role, the person needs to graduate from a doctoral or graduate program. As you can see, it is a long winding road.

We sought to determine the 11 highest paying cities for nurse practitioners. Some of these cities are from the highest paying states for nurses in America naturally. While, as mentioned earlier, becoming a nurse practitioner is not an easy road to follow, it does pay its dividends in the end. Nearly one-third of the 300 cities that we selected for our ranking had an average salary for nurse practitioners of over $100,000. Using the US Bureau of Labor Statistics as our source for this information, here is our ranking starting with number 11:

11. Anchorage, AK

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $119,280

10. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $121,790

9. New Bedford, MA

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $123,470

8. Visalia-Porterville, CA

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $123,580

7. Texarkana-Texarkana, TX-AR

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $125,020

6. Lafayette, IN

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $126,170

5. Honolulu, HI

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $126,550

4. San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $127,790

3. Vallejo-Fairfield, CA

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $127,860

2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $139,570

1. Columbus, IN

Average annual salary for nurse practitioners in the city: $146,450

With an average salary worth nearly $150,000, the city of Columbus, located in Indiana tops the list of 11 highest paying cities for nurse practitioners.