Healthcare · 70 Cities Ranked

Highest Paying Cities for Nurse Practitioner (2025)

The median Nurse Practitioner salary is $231,560 in San Jose, CA, the highest-paying city for this role. After adjusting for cost of living, Bakersfield, CA offers the best purchasing power at $164,592 adjusted.

The 70 cities below are ranked by median wage for Nurse Practitioner, drawn from BLS OEWS. Top-of-list cities typically combine high local labor demand with above-baseline cost-of-living, so the gross-wage ranking partly reflects COL adjustment. Reading the ranking carefully: gross median wage is the headline number, but the cost-adjusted figure (which divides by the city's cost-of-living index) tells a different story for high-COL cities. The ranking sorts on gross wage; the per-city pages surface the adjusted figure.

For workers evaluating Nurse Practitioner relocation, the top of the ranking is the obvious starting point — but the bottom of the list (low gross wage, low COL) is often where cost-adjusted real income is highest. The role-specific pages link to per-city detail.

$138,137

National Median

$231,560

Highest City

$107,700

Lowest City

Cities Ranked

Ranked by Median Salary

Rank	City	Median	Range (10th-90th)	COL Index	COL-Adjusted	Jobs
1	San Jose, CA	$231,560	$163,670, $283,410	195.8	$118,264	1,580
2	San Francisco, CA	$219,080	$153,280, $273,960	179.6	$121,982	3,110
3	Sacramento, CA	$172,010	$105,540, $240,100	124.7	$137,939	1,170
4	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$169,920	$130,630, $213,970	122.4	$138,824	1,710
5	Fresno, CA	$166,570	$129,300, $212,320	105.5	$157,886	570
6	Bakersfield, CA	$165,580	$106,710, $205,450	100.6	$164,592	430
7	San Diego, CA	$163,860	$131,380, $215,640	160.2	$102,285	2,340
8	New York, NY	$163,340	$132,490, $202,940	187.2	$87,254	21,680
9	Los Angeles, CA	$161,470	$119,950, $216,180	166	$97,271	10,060
10	Seattle, WA	$160,090	$128,750, $188,370	149.4	$107,155	0
11	Portland, OR	$158,890	$130,270, $200,720	130.1	$122,129	1,390
12	Anchorage, AK	$157,430	$97,690, $207,490	127	$123,961	410
13	Boston, MA	$147,480	$116,600, $212,490	152.1	$96,963	5,990
14	Las Vegas, NV	$144,060	$83,960, $173,040	109	$132,165	1,390
15	Spokane, WA	$141,990	$109,040, $183,040	97.4	$145,780	530
16	Albuquerque, NM	$140,950	$110,880, $179,020	94	$149,947	890
17	Tulsa, OK	$139,460	$100,240, $167,950	86.8	$160,668	1,090
18	Bridgeport, CT	$139,330	$117,880, $173,950	137.5	$101,331	840
19	Reno, NV	$137,360	$106,290, $167,630	106.5	$128,977	420
20	Phoenix, AZ	$136,270	$105,510, $173,980	100.7	$135,323	5,450
21	Philadelphia, PA	$135,700	$104,000, $169,390	118.4	$114,611	6,590
22	Providence, RI	$135,520	$106,020, $174,650	119.4	$113,501	1,540
23	Hartford, CT	$135,170	$109,930, $169,730	112.6	$120,044	1,370
24	Washington, DC	$134,840	$101,340, $175,440	152.8	$88,246	4,050
25	Albany, NY	$134,590	$108,680, $163,900	100.7	$133,654	910
26	Houston, TX	$134,560	$96,880, $158,830	96.5	$139,440	5,970
27	Detroit, MI	$134,390	$106,110, $164,390	95.1	$141,314	3,400
28	Milwaukee, WI	$134,350	$109,350, $168,760	97.4	$137,936	1,450
29	Denver, CO	$134,040	$95,890, $172,170	112.8	$118,830	2,310
30	Jacksonville, FL	$133,810	$108,290, $162,160	95.1	$140,705	2,310
31	Omaha, NE	$133,760	$107,450, $161,990	91.8	$145,708	1,380
32	Oklahoma City, OK	$133,390	$99,500, $161,820	86.5	$154,208	1,670
33	Minneapolis, MN	$133,370	$102,190, $170,140	106.2	$125,584	4,900
34	Madison, WI	$133,080	$108,360, $167,330	103.8	$128,208	530
35	Boise, ID	$132,610	$114,090, $166,590	102.1	$129,882	840
36	Atlanta, GA	$132,500	$104,950, $172,130	99.2	$133,569	5,950
37	Greensboro, NC	$132,230	$101,680, $158,640	91.3	$144,830	820
38	Des Moines, IA	$132,230	$113,470, $166,960	93.3	$141,726	820
39	Buffalo, NY	$132,220	$104,470, $166,300	92.5	$142,941	1,190
40	Baltimore, MD	$131,990	$102,060, $168,770	114.2	$115,578	3,800
41	San Antonio, TX	$131,770	$102,080, $159,580	91.5	$144,011	1,780
42	Chicago, IL	$131,740	$106,260, $164,750	107.3	$122,777	6,530
43	St. Louis, MO	$131,580	$108,340, $164,280	90	$146,200	3,430
44	Miami, FL	$131,340	$106,880, $169,060	123.1	$106,694	5,810
45	Dallas, TX	$130,980	$93,690, $162,950	104.1	$125,821	7,310
46	Kansas City, MO	$130,760	$97,030, $159,810	95.4	$137,065	2,730
47	Orlando, FL	$130,640	$104,230, $159,210	103.1	$126,712	1,950
48	Indianapolis, IN	$130,460	$106,500, $152,090	90.1	$144,795	2,530
49	Charlotte, NC	$130,310	$107,350, $170,490	96.7	$134,757	1,970
50	Colorado Springs, CO	$129,950	$89,300, $156,410	104.5	$124,354	470
51	Salt Lake City, UT	$129,350	$105,220, $179,130	101.4	$127,564	1,430
52	Tucson, AZ	$129,340	$104,060, $173,270	95.4	$135,577	820
53	Cincinnati, OH	$128,700	$89,710, $162,510	91.2	$141,118	2,820
54	Raleigh, NC	$128,150	$103,200, $170,520	99.8	$128,407	1,510
55	Tampa, FL	$128,120	$99,390, $158,710	99.6	$128,635	4,180
56	Rochester, NY	$128,110	$105,340, $154,610	92.9	$137,901	1,890
57	Austin, TX	$128,050	$114,440, $166,490	103	$124,320	2,700
58	Richmond, VA	$127,820	$96,720, $147,610	102.1	$125,191	1,440
59	Little Rock, AR	$126,680	$100,540, $215,290	88.2	$143,628	1,360
60	New Orleans, LA	$124,800	$105,570, $157,690	95.9	$130,136	1,270
61	Memphis, TN	$124,600	$83,770, $154,040	84	$148,333	1,800
62	Columbus, OH	$124,580	$99,960, $150,250	93.1	$133,813	3,140
63	Lexington, KY	$123,070	$102,040, $175,600	91.3	$134,797	540
64	Louisville, KY	$122,900	$104,090, $159,860	90.2	$136,253	1,580
65	Nashville, TN	$122,320	$84,300, $139,740	100.3	$121,954	4,540
66	Pittsburgh, PA	$119,630	$102,680, $154,370	92.3	$129,610	1,980
67	Greenville, SC	$119,280	$81,910, $145,570	90.1	$132,386	1,120
68	Wichita, KS	$116,100	$95,600, $145,620	84	$138,214	690
69	Knoxville, TN	$109,740	$85,210, $135,170	90.3	$121,528	1,630
70	Birmingham, AL	$107,700	$89,240, $137,560	90.4	$119,137	1,350

Ranked by Purchasing Power (COL-Adjusted)

Cost-of-living adjusted salaries show where your Nurse Practitioner paycheck goes furthest. A lower COL index means your dollars stretch further.

Rank	City	COL-Adjusted	Raw Median	COL Index
1	Bakersfield, CA	$164,592	$165,580	100.6
2	Tulsa, OK	$160,668	$139,460	86.8
3	Fresno, CA	$157,886	$166,570	105.5
4	Oklahoma City, OK	$154,208	$133,390	86.5
5	Albuquerque, NM	$149,947	$140,950	94
6	Memphis, TN	$148,333	$124,600	84
7	St. Louis, MO	$146,200	$131,580	90
8	Spokane, WA	$145,780	$141,990	97.4
9	Omaha, NE	$145,708	$133,760	91.8
10	Greensboro, NC	$144,830	$132,230	91.3
11	Indianapolis, IN	$144,795	$130,460	90.1
12	San Antonio, TX	$144,011	$131,770	91.5
13	Little Rock, AR	$143,628	$126,680	88.2
14	Buffalo, NY	$142,941	$132,220	92.5
15	Des Moines, IA	$141,726	$132,230	93.3
16	Detroit, MI	$141,314	$134,390	95.1
17	Cincinnati, OH	$141,118	$128,700	91.2
18	Jacksonville, FL	$140,705	$133,810	95.1
19	Houston, TX	$139,440	$134,560	96.5
20	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$138,824	$169,920	122.4
21	Wichita, KS	$138,214	$116,100	84
22	Sacramento, CA	$137,939	$172,010	124.7
23	Milwaukee, WI	$137,936	$134,350	97.4
24	Rochester, NY	$137,901	$128,110	92.9
25	Kansas City, MO	$137,065	$130,760	95.4
26	Louisville, KY	$136,253	$122,900	90.2
27	Tucson, AZ	$135,577	$129,340	95.4
28	Phoenix, AZ	$135,323	$136,270	100.7
29	Lexington, KY	$134,797	$123,070	91.3
30	Charlotte, NC	$134,757	$130,310	96.7
31	Columbus, OH	$133,813	$124,580	93.1
32	Albany, NY	$133,654	$134,590	100.7
33	Atlanta, GA	$133,569	$132,500	99.2
34	Greenville, SC	$132,386	$119,280	90.1
35	Las Vegas, NV	$132,165	$144,060	109
36	New Orleans, LA	$130,136	$124,800	95.9
37	Boise, ID	$129,882	$132,610	102.1
38	Pittsburgh, PA	$129,610	$119,630	92.3
39	Reno, NV	$128,977	$137,360	106.5
40	Tampa, FL	$128,635	$128,120	99.6
41	Raleigh, NC	$128,407	$128,150	99.8
42	Madison, WI	$128,208	$133,080	103.8
43	Salt Lake City, UT	$127,564	$129,350	101.4
44	Orlando, FL	$126,712	$130,640	103.1
45	Dallas, TX	$125,821	$130,980	104.1
46	Minneapolis, MN	$125,584	$133,370	106.2
47	Richmond, VA	$125,191	$127,820	102.1
48	Colorado Springs, CO	$124,354	$129,950	104.5
49	Austin, TX	$124,320	$128,050	103
50	Anchorage, AK	$123,961	$157,430	127
51	Chicago, IL	$122,777	$131,740	107.3
52	Portland, OR	$122,129	$158,890	130.1
53	San Francisco, CA	$121,982	$219,080	179.6
54	Nashville, TN	$121,954	$122,320	100.3
55	Knoxville, TN	$121,528	$109,740	90.3
56	Hartford, CT	$120,044	$135,170	112.6
57	Birmingham, AL	$119,137	$107,700	90.4
58	Denver, CO	$118,830	$134,040	112.8
59	San Jose, CA	$118,264	$231,560	195.8
60	Baltimore, MD	$115,578	$131,990	114.2
61	Philadelphia, PA	$114,611	$135,700	118.4
62	Providence, RI	$113,501	$135,520	119.4
63	Seattle, WA	$107,155	$160,090	149.4
64	Miami, FL	$106,694	$131,340	123.1
65	San Diego, CA	$102,285	$163,860	160.2
66	Bridgeport, CT	$101,331	$139,330	137.5
67	Los Angeles, CA	$97,271	$161,470	166
68	Boston, MA	$96,963	$147,480	152.1
69	Washington, DC	$88,246	$134,840	152.8
70	New York, NY	$87,254	$163,340	187.2

Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose, CA pays the highest median Nurse Practitioner salary at $231,560. However, after cost-of-living adjustment, Bakersfield, CA offers the most purchasing power at $164,592 adjusted.

The national median Nurse Practitioner salary is $138,137 based on BLS data. Salaries range from $107,700 to $231,560 depending on city.

Not necessarily. A city with higher nominal pay may have a higher cost of living that offsets the salary difference. Compare the "COL-Adjusted" column in both tables above, cities with lower costs of living often offer better real purchasing power.