10 Highest Paid Nurse Practitioner Specialties in 2022

Are you considering becoming a nurse practitioner?

If the crowd’s any indication, you’re making a great choice. Last year, the number of licensed nurse practitioners surpassed more than 325,000. In fact, nurse practitioner is predicted to be the fastest-growing job in the entire country over the next decade.

So how do you become one? First, you need to become a registered nurse (RN). After that milestone, you may need to earn a few years of experience before continuing with a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) within your specialty. 

On the topic of specialties, there’s a lot of variety among NPs, as you probably know. Specialties range from neonatal to geriatric care, and everything in between. Naturally, salaries differ too. Both based on the state in which you practice, but also depending on what you specialize in.

Since you’re here, you’re probably wondering: Which is the highest paying nurse practitioner specialty in 2022? Well, you’re in the right place. 

We’ve listed the top 10 paying NP specialties in 2022 based on data from Salary.com. Read on to find out which ones pay the best, what each specialty does, and what training is required. The latter is merely general guidelines, since the specific training can vary state-by-state. If you’re interested in pursuing a certain specialty, look into what training is required in your state.  

Got one in mind already? Jump directly to your preferred specialty below:

Top 10 Highest Paid Nurse Practitioner (NP) Specialties

1. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) – $202,600

What it is: At the top of the list we find the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist – the CRNA – averaging more than $200,000 per year. A CRNA issues anesthesia, which is medicine that keeps you from feeling pain. They can administer drugs ahead of a procedure, but also to treat conditions like chronic pain.

How to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist: As mentioned above, any aspiring CRNA must first become a registered nurse. Following that, they need at least one year’s experience in an intensive care unit, and a master’s or a doctorate from a nurse anesthesia program. Upon graduation, the average CRNA has a whopping 9,000 hours of experience. 

2. Neonatal Nurse Practitioner – $132,112

What it is: A Neonatal Nurse Practitioner focuses on the early stages of life. They provide care for neonates (newborn babies), infants, and toddlers of up to two years of age. A Neonatal NP’s responsibilities span the continuum of care, including primary, acute, chronic, and critical.

How to become a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner: After becoming a registered nurse, you need a master’s in nursing with a concentration in neonatology. Another option is to complete an Advanced Practice Neonatal Nursing programme.

3. Emergency Nurse Practitioner – $126,019

What it is: An Emergency Nurse Practitioner, or an ENP, works in emergency departments or urgent care facilities. Since most patients come in with minor health ailments, ENPs must be able to provide primary care. But they also need to be ready to tackle more severe challenges, like resuscitation. Often, this role involves long hours, varying shifts, and the need to be on call.

How to become an Emergency Nurse Practitioner: As with other NPs, anyone who aspires to be an ENP must first become an RN. After that, they have to complete a Family Nurse Practitioner program and emergency care specialty training. The latter can be 2,000 hours of emergency care practice as an NP or completing either an academic emergency care program or an emergency fellowship program. 

4. Cardiac Nurse Practitioner – $121,163

What it is: A Cardiac Nurse Practitioner provides care to patients with cardiac diseases. This can mean treating people with heart diseases, blood vessel diseases or electrical heart diseases. Given the focus, a cardiac NP can work in environments such as specialty cardiac units or ICUs.

How to become a Cardiac Nurse Practitioner: If you’re an RN looking to become a Cardiac Nurse Practitioner, you must first get up to two years of experience in cardiology. Following that, you can apply to a master’s programme to become a nurse practitioner.  

5. Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner – $120,263

What it is: An Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner provides continuing care for adults throughout their lives, from adolescence to old age. With their broad focus, these nurses can work in different environments such as hospitals, hospices or correctional institutions. 

How to become an Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner: The route to becoming an Adult-Gerontology NP involves completing a master’s degree within that specialty.

6. Hospitalist Nurse Practitioner – $120,158

What it is: A Hospitalist Nurse Practitioner is educated in general or internal medicine, or family practice. Like the name implies, a Hospitalist NP works within the hospital. This role provides care on the medical floors, but it has limited outpatient responsibilities.

How to become a Hospitalist Nurse Practitioner: A Hospitalist Nurse Practitioner needs a minimum of a master’s degree in nursing. In addition to this, they also have to complete a hospital residency program.

7. Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner – $119,871

What it is: An Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner cares for people with musculoskeletal problems – diseases or injuries to bones or limbs. An Orthopedic NP can work in a range of settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation facilities or sports medicine clinics.

How to become an Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner: Like many other specialties, Orthopedic NPs need an RN license and a master’s degree. Many Orthopedic Nurse Practitioners are generalists, but there is an opportunity to specialize in certain areas. For example sports medicine, orthopedic oncology or joint reconstruction.

8. Oncology Nurse Practitioner (ONP) – $118,817

What it is: Oncology focuses on cancer. As such, an Oncology NP is someone who specializes in caring for cancer patients. Often, they work in places like hospitals, cancer treatment centers or home care agencies. The role also varies depending on the treatment in focus, such as chemotherapy or oncological surgery.

How to become an Oncology Nurse Practitioner: As a registered nurse, you can become an Oncology NP by getting a master’s of science in nursing focused on oncology.

9. Palliative Nurse Practitioner – $118,817

What it is: A Palliative NP treats patients with terminal illnesses and provides end-of-life care. For this reason, these nurses know about a number of medical conditions. An important part of their job is often to provide emotional support to those affected by a devastating diagnosis.

How to become a Palliative Nurse Practitioner: A palliative nurse practitioner must complete a master’s degree in nursing, typically with a focus on palliative care.

10. Acute Care Nurse Practitioner – $117,428

What it is: Acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) are NPs that treat acute illnesses and provide life-saving care. Unlike ENPs, which have a Family Nurse Practitioner background, ACNP is a specialty in itself. As an ACNP, you can work in emergency departments, in-patient units, nursing homes, and more. Like the ENP, however, this is a job that tends to involve night shifts as well as weekend and holiday work.

How to become an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner: Once you have become a registered nurse, you must complete an NP master’s program with a focus on acute care to become an ACNP. 

Highest Paying States for NPs

As for the average general NP salary, it clocks in at $117,195 across the United States. But that’s not the case throughout the country. As mentioned above, geography matters. Sometimes a lot. Whether you’re looking to make a move or simply to still your curiosity, check out the 10 states with the highest average NP salaries below.

Job Outlook for NPs

As noted in the introduction, nurse practitioner is predicted to be the fastest growing job in the country leading up to 2030. More specifically, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the employment of NPs will grow by 40% in the next decade.

To put this into perspective, the average estimated growth rate for all occupations is 5%. It is also faster than for healthcare practitioners in general, where hiring is estimated to grow at around 9%. In short, viewed through a market demand lens, there’s hardly a better choice today than becoming an NP. 

How to Choose a Specialty

There you have it – now you know which specialties that generate the highest income, and where you can go to maximize those earnings. But for many of us, money is just one part of the equation. So how would you go about choosing your specialty?

Start out by trying to identify what type of patients you would like to work with. Is it adults, babies or somewhere inbetween? Would you like to treat patients with chronic illnesses or addictions? Or do you prefer to work with people who require urgent care?

Secondly, consider what kind of environment you want to work in. If you would like to work in a fast-paced environment, maybe the ER is a good choice. But if that’s not your cup of tea, you could focus on something like family medicine instead.

Finally, look at your own interests. Do you make deep-dives in oncology journals out of sheer interest on the weekends? Then that’s probably your jam. Keep all these factors in mind, including the expected annual salary. Taken together, these can hopefully help you make a decision that you’re happy with down the road.