Nurse Practitioners Salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
SOC 29-1171 · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · BLS OEWS May 2025
Median Annual Salary
$134,846
$64.83/hr
1.9% higher than the US national median ($132,309)
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Nurse Practitioners salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS September 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q3 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$101K
P25$120K
P50$135K
P75$159K
P90$175K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
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Demand: HOT. Demand is hot -- health care job openings are running at 5.8% (JOLTS, September 2026), a tight market. Candidates have leverage, so a competitive offer sits at or above the median; below-median offers often will not close.
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Merit budget: Wages in health care are rising about 3.7% a year (BLS ECI, Q3 2026). Budget a 3.3-3.8% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $134,846 to $158,662 (market median to the 75th percentile). Lean toward the top of the range for senior or hard-to-fill roles.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Nurse Practitioners pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 2.4% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, trailing the 3.7% wage growth of Health Care & Social Assistance (BLS ECI).
Hiring demand · HOT
Health Care & Social Assistance is running a 5.8% job-openings rate with quits at 2.0% (BLS JOLTS). The openings rate has drifted up from 5.5% to 5.8% over the past quarter.
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 1.7 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is narrower than typical, so pay is fairly standardized; small differences move a candidate across the market.
What changed recently
Nov 3, 2026JOLTS September 2026: sector openings at 5.8% (down 35K). BLS revised August up from 5.4% to 5.9%, so last month's pullback largely did not happen. Still the tightest major sector; layoffs fell 70K.
Oct 30, 2026ECI Q3 2026: health care and social assistance wages rose 3.7% over the year (3.6% in Q2), the fastest of the sectors we track.
Sep 29, 2026JOLTS August 2026: sector openings fell to 5.4% (down 115K; July revised up to 5.8%), still the tightest major sector. Quits held at 2.0%.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS September 2026, ECI Q3 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The median salary for Nurse Practitioners in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is $134,846 per year ($64.83/hr). This is 1.9% higher than the national median of $132,309.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part of a healthcare team. May focus on health promotion and disease prevention. May order, perform, or interpret diagnostic tests such as lab work and x rays. May prescribe medication. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.
Wage Percentiles: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · BLS metro data
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$48.72
$101,338
+0.0%
P25
$57.53
$119,662
+1.4%
P50MEDIAN
$64.83
$134,846
+1.9%
P75
$76.28
$158,662
+1.2%
P90Top earners
$84.35
$175,448
+0.6%
How Washington DC compares for Nurse Practitioners
Computed from this metro's own BLS distribution against national
Pay for Nurse Practitioners in Washington DC tracks the national range closely, within 3% of national at entry, at the median and at the top.
An offer at the national median of $132,309 would sit at about the 46th percentile in Washington DC.
The top of the range earns 1.73 times the bottom here, close to the 1.72 times seen nationally.
Washington DC employs 4,050 people in this role, 1.3% of the national total.
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P10–P90 breakdown, career outlook, industry wages, and JOLTS market signal for Nurse Practitioners
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Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+40.1%
Much faster than average
Annual openings
30K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
320K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
44% from new growth56% from people leaving the role
Mixed: openings come from both new growth and people exiting the role.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Master's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 2 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Offices of Physicians
NAICS 621100
149K
$129,190
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
NAICS 622100
74K
$136,230
See the complete picture
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median nurse practitioners salary in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria?
The median (P50) annual salary for Nurse Practitioners in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is approximately $134,846, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 1.9% higher than the national median of $132,309. For the full P10–P90 breakdown and market context, open CompSignal.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
