Nurse Practitioners
SOC 29-1171 · 2024-2034
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.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
The job this trains for
- Typical pay in California
- $173,237per year
- Projected openings
- 26,610
- Projected change
- +52.2%
- Usually needs
- Master's degree
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Complex Problem Solving
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Writing
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $238,702 | 1,480 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $231,865 | 1,280 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $222,261 | 70 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $201,847 | 1,360 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $201,814 | 90 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $175,801 | 230 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $174,610 | 200 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $172,843 | 120 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $170,890 | 4,590 |
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | $170,604 | 70 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $169,957 | 370 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $169,104 | 190 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $168,991 | 1,360 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $166,885 | 1,720 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $166,434 | 3,130 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $165,940 | 650 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $165,910 | 110 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $165,386 | 240 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $165,160 | 50 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $163,732 | 100 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $163,414 | 150 |
| Hanford-Corcoran MSA (Kings County) | $162,705 | 70 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | $162,582 | 60 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $162,202 | 1,990 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $161,102 | 140 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $161,000 | 300 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $159,664 | 280 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $158,565 | 120 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $157,261 | 190 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $157,261 | 410 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $148,273 | 100 |
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| The job this trains for | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | Not reported | 1,730 | +10.9% |
| Registered Nurses | $144,197 | 228,840 | +13.5% |