Results

The average APN annual salary was $80,071, while the average hourly salary was $35.13. Ten
percent (n = 76) reported a salary of $56,000 or less; 9% (n = 95) received $100,000 or more;
and the remainder (81%, n = 586) earned $57,000 to $99,000.

Education

APNs with a master's degree reported an average income that was $1370 less per year than the
salaries earned by APNs with a bachelor's degree. APNs with a bachelor's as their highest
degree had, on average, 23 years of clinical experience, compared with 9.6 years of experience
for APNs with a master's degree. The average salary of doctorally educated APNs was $10,613
higher than master's-prepared APNs ( Table 1 ).

Gender

The salary data revealed a gender gap, with men reporting higher full-time salaries. Male APNs
reported earning an average income that was $5938 higher than their female counterparts, a 7%
difference ( Table 1 ).

Years of Practice

Based on years of practice, the most experienced APNs received the highest average salaries,
$89,833. In contrast, APNs with 0 to 5 years of experience had the lowest average income of
$76,305. Interestingly, respondents with 11 to 15 years of practice earned slightly more ($82,062)
than APNs with 26 to 30 years of experience ($81,595). APNs with 16 to 20 years of experience
reported the second highest average income of $86,201 ( Table 1 ). Further analysis explored
whether the number of hours worked each week was a possible factor contributing to these
salary differences. There was no statistical difference in the number of hours worked among the
groups according to years of experience.

Employment Location

Salaries varied according to practice location, with the highest paid APNs in hospital operating
rooms ($89,438), occupational health settings ($89,375), and hospital emergency departments
($85,820), and hospital obstetrics departments $84,575 ( Table 2 ). Practice settings that
compensated APNs with the lowest average salaries were school/college health and Planned
Parenthood clinics at $60,426 and $60,567, respectively.

Type of Practice

APN practice increasingly includes specialty and subspecialty care, such as orthopedics,
cardiology, or pain management. Based on type of practice, APNs in the hospitalist role received
the highest average salary, $94,944 per year, followed by Psych/Mental Health APNs at $87,651.
APNs specializing in endocrinology earned the lowest average salary of $68,988 ( Table 3 ).

Salary by Workforce Development Areas and Cities

The statewide average salary was compared to the average salary in focused geographic areas,
which included workforce development areas (WDAs) and cities. Washington is divided into 12
WDAs, which represent counties within substate workforce regions. The data reflected wide
variation both across and between WDAs. APNs in WDA #11 earned the highest average
salaries of $84,550, which was $4479 more than the state average. The lowest average salary
was in WDA #3, with an average salary of $68,888, which was $11,183 less than the state
average. The difference between the highest and lowest average WDA salaries was $15,662
( Table 4 ).

Salary averages by city are the most geographically specific. Again, there was wide variation
between selected cities and the statewide average. Respondents practicing in Seattle, the
largest city in the state, reported an average annual salary of $80,815, just $744 more than the
state average. Bellevue, a smaller, more affluent city adjacent to Seattle, had the highest APN
average salary of $88,994. This was $8923 more than the state average and $8179 more than
Seattle. In contrast, APNs in Spokane, the state's second largest city but located in a less
populated area, reported the lowest average salary of $73,725. This was $6346 less than the
state average. The overall difference between the highest and lowest average APN salary by
selected cities was $15,269 ( Table 5 ).

Salary Satisfaction

APNs were queried about the level of satisfaction with various aspects of their practice, one of
which was salary. Responses measuring salary satisfaction for the entire sample ranged from
"very dissatisfied" to "very satisfied" using a 4-point Likert scale. Approximately half (52%) were
"satisfied" with their salary while another 21% were "very satisfied." Nearly one quarter (23%)
were "dissatisfied" with their salary and 5% of the APNs were very dissatisfied."

The percentage of APNs who were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with salary varied across
WDAs and ranged from 24% to 40%. Interestingly, WDA #3, which had the lowest average salary
for the WDAs reported above, also had the highest level of APN salary dissatisfaction (40%).

Limitations

Seventy-seven percent of all study participants were willing to respond to the salary question.
However, a higher percent (86%) of full-time APNs (35 or more hours/week) answered the salary
question. It is not possible to determine the extent to which these APNs represent the entire
study sample or population of APNs in the state. In addition, some respondents may have
worked less than a full year, leading to the potential for underestimating the average salary.
Average Salary of Jobs Matching Your Search

In USD as of Sep 23, 2013 45k 90k 135k

$127,000
Apn Women Health in East
Brunswick, NJ

Average Apn Women Health salaries for job postings in East Brunswick, NJ are 31% higher than average Apn
Women Health salaries for job postings nationwide.

Average Salary of Jobs with Related Titles

In USD as of Sep 23, 2013 45k 90k 135k

Advanced Practice Nurse in East $124,000

Brunswick, NJ
Nurse Practitioner Family Practice in East $117,000
Brunswick, NJ

Overview of Recent APN Salary Data

Few state and local APN salary surveys were located, although practice surveys often include
questions about salary and other types of compensation. Several national surveys that focus on
salary have been conducted over the years. Highlights of the results of several representative
surveys are summarized below to provide a basis for understanding the contributions of each.

The St. Louis (Missouri) Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (PNPs) conducts a biennial
survey of PNPs within a 100-mile radius of the city.[7] The 2005 survey included questions about
salary and had a response rate of 60% (n = 120). Salary was reported by increments of $5000,
with the adjusted mean salary of $72,788 for PNPs practicing full time. There was no significant
difference in salary based on type of practice (primary or specialty care) or practice location (eg,
office, hospital, clinic), however, there was a significant rise in salary as years of experience
increased.

The Northeast Tennessee Nurse Practitioner Association conducted a 2005 regional survey of
nurse practitioners (NPs) within a 250-mile area of northeast Tennessee and western Virginia.
The survey yielded a response rate of 41% (n = 441). [8] The average full-time NP salary was
$69,316. This amount was lower than the statewide average of $71,068 and the national average
of $74,812.

A 2005 state survey of certified nurse midwives (CNMs) conducted in Connecticut had a 60%
response rate (n = 129). The mean salary of CNMs practicing full time in Connecticut was
$79,554. The mean income for part-time/per diem respondents was $50,557. [9]

National salary data serve as a benchmark for the profession. National data assess APN income
differences using various factors such as geographic region, size of the community, gender,
education, years of practice, type of employer, and practice setting.[10-12] Major sources of national
APN salary data include surveys conducted by Advance for Nurse Practitioners and The Nurse
Practitioner and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).[11-13]

The most recent survey was conducted by Advance for Nurse Practitioners.[12] The questionnaire
was published in the journal with responses submitted by fax or mail and was also available
online. A total of 6162 NPs participated. The 2007 average national salary for full-time NPs (35 or
more hours per week) was $81,397. Compared to the 2005 average salary of $74,812, the
average 2007 salary was 8.8% higher. Emergency department NPs reported the highest average
income of $95,157, while NP nurse educators had the lowest average income of $68,624.
Salaries varied widely across selected cities, ranging from $74,286 in Savannah to $112,551 San
Francisco.

The April 2007 American Academy National Practitioners (AANP) National NP Compensation
Survey was conducted via email to a national random sample of NPs, of which slightly more than
half were AANP members.[13] The response rate was 24% (n = 7832). The average national base
salary was $81,486 for full-time NPs (35 hours per week for more than 47 weeks per year). The
average hourly wage based on the income of the entire sample was $42.58. When data were
analyzed according to area of certification, acute care NPs had the highest annual salary of
$86,460 compared with women's health NPs, who received the lowest salary of $77,460.

The Nurse Practitioner conducted a salary and practice survey in 2005 using a convenience
sample.[11]A questionnaire was published in 4 issues of the journal, with an option to reply online,
and yielded 549 respondents. The average full-time (35 or more hours/week) NP salary was
$72,060 and the hourly part-time wage was $35.10. The difference in salary between NPs with 1
to 2 years of experience and those with more than 20 years of experience was just under
$10,000, an increase of $500 for each year of practice.