National Salary Info » Nurse Practitioners

Highest Paying Industries for Nurse Practitioners

The top 100 highest paying industries for nurse practitioners (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment in those industries are also shown. As shown in the table, with an average annual salary of $114,530, business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations is the highest paying industry for nurse practitioners. It is followed by colleges, universities, and professional schools - local government owned industry (average annual salary $113,740). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2015 [1]. For more information about salaries of nurse practitioners in a specific industry, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest Paying Industries for Nurse Practitioners

Rank	Industry	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations	$114,530	$73,010	n/a
2	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - Local government owned	$113,740	$89,790	50
3	Temporary Help Services	$112,750	$82,790	610
4	Specialty hospitals - Privately owned	$112,400	$83,790	1,920
5	Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	$111,870	$83,640	2,070
6	Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations	$111,510	$71,680	180
7	Employment Services	$108,850	$81,880	1,140
8	Other Services (except Federal, State, and Local Government)	$108,260	$68,940	390
9	Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities	$107,640	$85,650	120
10	Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	$107,040	$82,140	1,390
11	Administrative and Support Services	$107,030	$82,130	1,390
12	Specialty hospitals - State government owned	$106,200	$82,220	140
13	Personal Care Services	$106,080	$65,970	210
14	Personal and Laundry Services	$106,080	$65,970	210
15	Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	$105,310	$73,530	290
16	General Merchandise Stores	$105,110	$80,920	n/a
17	Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	$101,290	$78,700	220
18	Hospitals - Privately owned	$101,280	$78,820	29,350
19	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - Privately owned	$100,600	$78,560	27,000
20	Hospitals (including private, state, and local government hospitals)	$100,430	$78,420	35,210
21	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	$99,920	$78,200	32,310
22	Office Administrative Services	$99,870	$83,150	230
23	Insurance Carriers	$99,610	$67,800	170
24	Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers	$99,210	$66,890	160
25	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals - Privately owned	$99,030	$77,300	440
26	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$98,780	$67,790	890
27	Retail Trade	$98,120	$79,800	120
28	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - Local government owned	$97,900	$78,440	4,030
29	Hospitals - Local government owned	$97,780	$78,420	4,070
30	Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers	$97,670	$67,090	1,910
31	Elementary and Secondary Schools - Privately owned	$97,360	$59,010	40
32	Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists	$97,160	$57,420	230
33	Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	$97,150	$72,460	480
34	Outpatient Care Centers	$96,770	$69,950	9,390
35	All Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	$96,730	$72,220	470
36	Computer Systems Design and Related Services	$96,650	$38,940	130
37	Scientific Research and Development Services	$96,340	$77,520	400
38	Health Care and Social Assistance	$95,580	$69,190	111,880
39	Local government, including schools and hospitals	$95,510	$69,730	6,050
40	Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians)	$94,960	$63,780	310
41	Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities	$94,950	$44,220	380
42	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals	$94,590	$75,610	830
43	Other Residential Care Facilities	$94,520	$38,400	70
44	Ambulatory Health Care Services	$93,860	$67,620	73,250
45	Individual and Family Services	$93,650	$59,460	820
46	Offices of Other Health Practitioners	$93,590	$53,090	2,980
47	Offices of Physicians	$93,490	$68,190	57,100
48	Offices of All Other Health Practitioners	$93,420	$50,810	2,280
49	Social Assistance	$93,200	$55,460	910
50	Hospitals - State government owned	$93,160	$70,410	1,780
51	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$93,130	$65,810	350
52	Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities	$93,020	$44,110	450
53	Offices of Chiropractors	$92,870	$67,610	120
54	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - State government owned	$92,720	$68,480	1,270
55	Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services	$92,580	$57,150	50
56	Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences	$92,560	$73,660	280
57	Public sector -- Federal, state, and local government, including government owned schools and hospit	$92,440	$68,280	10,620
58	Insurance Carriers and Related Activities	$92,440	$65,630	330
59	Finance and Insurance	$92,380	$65,680	330
60	Educational Services - Privately owned	$92,180	$68,070	1,790
61	Home Health Care Services	$92,140	$56,070	3,090
62	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - Privately owned	$92,060	$68,360	1,730
63	Health and Personal Care Stores	$91,880	$79,000	n/a
64	Pharmacies and Drug Stores	$91,730	$79,390	n/a
65	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals - State government owned	$91,400	$73,900	360
66	Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	$90,660	$67,230	3,570
67	Educational Services	$90,420	$65,500	3,760
68	Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	$90,320	$60,820	1,800
69	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - State government owned	$88,930	$66,210	1,800
70	Educational Services - State government owned	$88,920	$66,230	1,800
71	Manufacturing	$88,700	$49,570	100
72	State government, including schools and hospitals	$88,590	$67,160	4,560
73	Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities	$87,510	$34,390	180
74	Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities	$86,000	$64,870	160
75	Other Insurance Related Activities	$85,840	$64,840	150
76	Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation)	$85,790	$63,640	2,780
77	Federal, State, and Local Government	$85,790	$63,640	2,780
78	Elementary and Secondary Schools	$84,470	$40,100	140
79	Vocational Rehabilitation Services	$83,850	$37,210	50
80	Nursing and Residential Care Facilities	$82,330	$37,740	2,510
81	Educational Services - Local government owned	$81,900	$35,340	170
82	Offices of Optometrists	$81,380	$68,330	n/a
83	Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities	$79,820	$43,800	70
84	State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	$79,790	$65,630	980
85	Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	$79,290	$24,740	720
86	Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	$78,060	$37,350	1,270
87	Miscellaneous Manufacturing	$77,880	$38,230	n/a
88	Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing	$76,770	$37,830	n/a
89	Elementary and Secondary Schools - Local government owned	$60,680	$37,630	100
90	Educational Support Services	$36,700	$31,510	30