2025 Employment Forecast: Nurse Practitioner Jobs

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Nurse practitioners (NPs) provide care in various medical settings, bridging the gap in healthcare provider shortages. The demand for healthcare continues to increase across the United States as the nation’s population ages. This demand and the continuing shortage of physicians boost the number of available nurse practitioner jobs. When researching NP jobs and estimating the average nurse practitioner salary, your location and specialty are two of the most important factors to consider. This guide provides an employment forecast for NPs in 2025, including more details on why nurse practitioners are in such high demand.

Job Outlook for Nurse Practitioners

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that nurse practitioner demand will increase by 46% between 2023 and 2033, creating around 135,500 new jobs for these advanced practice providers. These numbers are up from this time last year, when the estimated increase was 45% between 2022 and 2032, with 118,600 new jobs created. Indicating that the job outlook for NPs should remain strong throughout 2025 due to the steadily rising demand seen year after year for these healthcare professionals.

Additionally, many states are passing legislation granting NPs full practice authority (FPA), where NPs may practice independently without collaboration from a medical board or the supervision of a physician. This transition could potentially result in a greater number of available NP jobs in FPA states and territories where physician shortages are especially acute.

RELATED: Nurse Practitioner Licensure by Endorsement: A State-by-State Guide

Specialties with the Most Nurse Practitioner Jobs

Nurse practitioners have a challenging yet rewarding career and can choose from various specialties. NPs may have even more job prospects within certain specialties where there are greater shortages of primary care providers. Reviewing data collected from Vivian Health in early November 2024, some specialties with the most staff NP jobs from staffing agencies included:

• Family Practice NP: 87
• Neonatal NP: 64
• Cardiology NP: 30
• Urgent Care NP: 26
• Pediatric NP: 21
• Psychiatric NP: 19

Family Practice Nurse Practitioners

The job outlook for NPs interested in family medicine and primary care remains strong, especially in states where NPs fill the same roles as doctors. Many primary care providers will retire within the next 5 to 10 years, leaving patients without someone to provide collaborative and continuous patient care. Nurse practitioners who specialize as family nurse practitioners (FNPs), geriatric nurse practitioners (GNPs), adult-gerontology nurse practitioners (A-GNPs) or other primary care specialties can help meet ongoing care needs.

Neonatal Nurse Practitioners

Neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) provide highly specialized patient care for antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum periods for newborns and mothers. Many NNPs work in neonatal intensive care units and provide life-saving care to premature infants. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), only 0.5% of NPs were certified in neonatal care as of November 2022, among the lowest of all specialties. With so few certified NNPs and the growing need for neonatal care, practitioners within this specialty should remain in high demand.

Cardiology Nurse Practitioners

Many cardiology nurse practitioners are certified as acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) and provide inpatient and outpatient services. The issue of increasing patient acuity and the shortage of inpatient physicians has been a growing concern even before the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, the role of ACNPs has gained significance in filling the gaps in medical care provision. ACNPs are trained to provide efficient acute management of medical conditions and perform life-saving procedures, thereby contributing to the overall quality of care. Since the cardiology and ACNP roles are highly specialized, the demand for NPs to specialize in this field will likely increase.

Urgent Care Nurse Practitioners

Patients unable to schedule routine or follow-up appointments for several months due to staffing shortages may seek urgent care clinics. Urgent care has a broader scope of practice than some might realize, with most of these facilities having X-ray and lab services to expand the level of care provided. The demand for urgent care NPs should rise since these clinics need practitioners capable of treating a wide array of medical conditions, helping eliminate the need to wait months to see a primary care physician or in packed emergency departments.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

The U.S. also has a shortage of pediatric physicians, especially in rural and underserved areas. Per May 2023 data from the BLS, 22,960 pediatricians work at physician offices, but the number of pediatric care providers doesn’t come close to meeting the demand for services. Pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) practice in an office setting and other areas like outpatient care centers or hospitals and may specialize in primary or acute pediatric care. The AANP reported in November 2022 that only 2.4% of nurse practitioners chose primary care pediatrics, and 0.6% chose acute care pediatrics as their specialty. These numbers are well below the 70.3% of NPs certified in family care, likely representing a demand for PNPs in the future.

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners

Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) have become more popular due to the increasing need for mental health services, magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. PMHNPs provide extensive mental health and counseling services through in-person visits and telehealth. According to the 2022 COVID-19 Practitioner Impact Survey presented by the American Psychological Association (APA), 79% of psychologists reported an increase in diagnosing patients with anxiety since the beginning of the pandemic. The APA survey also revealed that 66% of psychologists reported an increase in the number of patients with depression. The survey found that 6 in 10 practitioners are unable to accept new patients due to full schedules, potentially increasing the demand for PMHNPs.

Where Are Nurse Practitioners Needed the Most?

Location can significantly impact the number of nurse practitioner jobs available when looking for new employment opportunities. Based on data from the BLS in May 2023, the 10 states with the highest employment of nurse practitioners were: 

1.  Florida: 22,270
2.  California: 21,740
3.  Texas: 20,170
4.  New York: 16,670
5.  Tennessee: 14,040
6.  Ohio: 11,950
7.  Illinois: 9,220
8.  Pennsylvania: 9,160
9.  Massachusetts: 8,060
10.  Michigan: 7,950

As you might expect, several states with the highest employment are also some of the most densely populated in the nation. Although the above numbers reflect employment rates, there are several states where nurse practitioner jobs are abundant. The BLS reported that the top five states with the highest concentration and location quotients of nurse practitioner jobs in May 2023 were:

• Tennessee
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire
• West Virginia
• Arkansas

5 Key Drivers of Nurse Practitioner Demand

The shortage of primary care providers and the aging population of baby boomers (people born between 1955 and 1964) aren’t the only reasons for the increasing nurse practitioner demand, but they’re potent drivers. However, several other reasons are also contributing to this trend across the nation.

1. Physician Shortages

The 2021-2026 projections from the Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) predict the demand for full-time physicians will surpass 1 million by 2026. Demand is spiking even faster than predicted, as their previous year’s report indicated demand wouldn’t surpass a million until 2030. Based on BHW’s 2022 projections, the 2035 projected supply left an 8% deficit in the physician workforce. However, the new report indicates a 10% deficit by 2026 and 13% by 2031. Of the 35 physician specialties listed in BHW’s brief, 30 were projected to have shortages in 2036. Shortages in some regions and specialties could be mitigated in part by increased use of NPs and physician assistants, helping drive up demand in both healthcare fields.

2. Aging Population

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 population estimates, 17.7% of the population were aged 65 or older—nearly 59.3 million of the nearly 334.9 people in the nation. This number has grown since its 2020 census results where 55.8 million people, or 16.8% of the population, were 65 and older and represented the fastest 10-year population growth for this age group since the decade between 1880 and 1890. The country’s ever-expanding aging adult segment fuels the demand for geriatric and primary healthcare services. Currently, there aren’t enough healthcare providers specializing in geriatrics to keep up with this demand, leaving nurse practitioners to fill the gap. In 2024, about 15.1% of the approximately 385,000 NPs held primary care preparation in adult and geriatric care.

3. Desire to Reduce Healthcare Costs

The American Medical Association reported that U.S. healthcare spending surpassed $4.3 trillion in 2021 and grew another 4.1% in 2022 to $4.5 trillion. Rising healthcare costs are a significant concern for patients, insurance companies and healthcare providers. Physician services are the second-largest category of healthcare spending after hospital care. NPs provide high-quality care at a fraction of the cost of what a physician charges. The cost savings are especially significant in states that grant nurse practitioners full-practice authority.

4. Availability of Telehealth Services

Although telehealth services have been available for some time, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically increased the use of video-based care to meet patients’ needs. Telehealth also provides access to care for people who live in rural or underserved communities with limited access to nearby medical care. Many healthcare organizations are providing telehealth services for primary and urgent medical treatment. As this demand continues and access to care increases, so should the number of nurse practitioner jobs.

RELATED: Remote Nursing Jobs: Opportunities and Obstacles

5. Rural and Underserved Areas

The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census reported that 20% of the population lives in rural areas. However, only around 11% of physicians practice in rural areas, as reported by the Association of American Medical Colleges, leaving limited access to much-needed medical services. While not all rural communities are considered underserved, the rate of hospital closures in rural areas has climbed tremendously over the past decade, according to Health Affairs. 

Closure of what may be an area’s only hospital creates a gap in healthcare services and a potentially growing population of underserved communities. Residents in areas with limited local healthcare services may have to travel an hour or more to see a primary care doctor, receive specialty care or seek hospital admittance for inpatient care. 

Nurse practitioner demand in many rural or underserved areas is exceptionally high, as NPs have the knowledge and skills to diagnose a wide range of medical conditions, develop comprehensive treatment plans and refer patients for specialty care when needed. NPs in rural areas provide much of the primary care available, ensuring that residents receive proper and equitable care.

Barriers to NP Practice

Currently, nurse practitioners must apply for a single-state or endorsement license in every state they practice. Obtaining multiple licenses can get expensive for those providing telehealth to patients in other states or who wish to take travel NP jobs, which may be limited due to licensure concerns. Recent state legislation and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing are proposing an APRN Compact similar to the Nurse Licensure Compact for registered and practical nurses.

The APRN Compact would allow NPs to hold one multistate license and practice in participating Compact agreement states if it’s ever adopted. This Compact is crucial in providing greater access to medical care and will likely have a distinct impact on NP demand in participating states. However, as of November 2024, only Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah have enacted the APRN Compact, and it requires a minimum of seven states to join before it can actually be implemented.

Average Nurse Practitioner Salaries

The average staff nurse practitioner salary per Vivian Health on November 12, 2024, was $84.37 per hour. However, overall earnings heavily depend on your location and specialty. We pulled salary data from Vivian for the top states where staff NPs earned the most. The maximum hourly salaries for these states were:

1. California: $121
2. Oregon: $101
3. Texas: $87
4. Colorado: $83
5. Missouri: $82

We also analyzed salary data from Vivian on November 12, 2024, to compare the NP specialties with the highest average paid nationwide. The following seven specialties ranked the highest: 

• Cardiovascular/Cardiothoracic Surgery NP: $90.12
• Pediatric NP: $89.91
• Cardiology NP: $84.88
• Emergency NP: $84.46
• Neonatal NP: $84.46
• Palliative Care NP: $84.46
• Oncology NP: $84.46

As healthcare needs continue to rise, NPs are expected to be at the forefront of filling crucial care gaps across the country. The role offers excellent job stability, competitive salaries and opportunities in diverse settings from hospitals to private practices. Explore Vivian’s Nurse Practitioner Career Guide to learn more about the NP role and this promising career path.

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Editor Note: This blog was updated from the original version that appeared in September 2022.