Nurse Practitioners · SOC 29-1171
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Nurse Practitionerss
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas
Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for nurse practitioners. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Top 25 of 383 metro areas
| # | Metro area | Median annual | Employment | Per 1,000 jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $231,560 | 1,580 | 1.4 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $219,080 | 3,110 | 1.3 |
| 3 | Vallejo, CA | $182,370 | 180 | 1.3 |
| 4 | Napa, CA | $176,270 | 60 | 0.8 |
| 5 | Modesto, CA | $173,380 | 380 | 1.9 |
| 6 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $172,010 | 1,170 | 1.1 |
| 7 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $169,920 | 1,710 | 1.0 |
| 8 | Hanford-Corcoran, CA | $168,540 | 70 | 1.5 |
| 9 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $167,190 | 190 | 1.9 |
| 10 | Chico, CA | $167,080 | 140 | 1.8 |
| 11 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $167,040 | 280 | 1.4 |
| 12 | Fresno, CA | $166,570 | 570 | 1.2 |
| 13 | Salinas, CA | $166,090 | 140 | 0.8 |
| 14 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $165,580 | 430 | 1.3 |
| 15 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $165,580 | 200 | 1.0 |
| 16 | Yuba City, CA | $165,020 | 70 | 1.3 |
| 17 | El Centro, CA | $164,700 | 70 | 1.0 |
| 18 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $164,210 | 60 | 0.9 |
| 19 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $163,860 | 2,340 | 1.5 |
| 20 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $163,340 | 21,680 | 2.3 |
| 21 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $162,950 | 140 | 1.2 |
| 22 | Salem, OR | $162,600 | 320 | 1.7 |
| 23 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $161,470 | 10,060 | 1.6 |
| 24 | Redding, CA | $160,480 | 120 | 1.7 |
| 25 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $160,090 | Not published | Not published |
Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Nurse Practitioners overview.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.