10 Highest Paying FNP Jobs For 2024

Written By: Donna Reese MSN, RN, CSN

Family nurse practitioners typically work in family practice groups. However, we can enjoy a diverse career with a wide variety of choices for employment. Part of the appeal of an FNP is the opportunity to work with all age groups in many types of settings.

One of the drawbacks of a family nurse practitioner is that this specialty can pay less than some other areas of practice. Due to this unfortunate fact, you may ask, what are the highest-paying family nurse practitioner jobs?

ZipRecruiter states that the national average salary of an FNP is $111,565. Thankfully, our broad background makes us excellent candidates for a larger pool of jobs than many other NP specialists. Our specialty does not hem us in. In fact, we can use our expertise in many nontraditional FNP jobs that may pay well.

Here we answer the question of which FNP jobs pay the most. Once you read the“10 highest paying FNP jobs for 2024”, you will better know where to find the best compensation as a family nurse practitioner. Here’s a hint. Most jobs are not as an employee in a family practice group!

WHAT ARE THE HIGHEST-PAYING FNP JOBS?

(The following are the 10 highest-paying family nurse practitioner jobs for 2024.)

HIGHEST PAYING FNP JOB #1: Private Practice Owner

About the Job:

Having your own practice can be one of the highest-paying FNP jobs. NP medical practice business owners have the potential to make top dollar in our profession. FNPs typically set out their shingle as a provider in family or women’s health. However, you can specialize in many other areas, such as weight loss, infusions, or aesthetics.

Earning Potential:

Per Comparably, the US average salary for NP private practice in the US is $140,575.

Why is it One of the Highest Paid:

Cutting out the physician and/or organizational overhead leaves an NP with more freedom and the ability to earn more. Since most NP private practice owners are not a part of a larger organization, what you are compensated for your service goes directly towards your profit.

HIGHEST PAYING FNP JOB #2: Kaiser Permanente

About the Job:

Highly rated Kaiser Permanente operates 39 hospitals and more than 700 medical offices. With such a variety of locations to work, there are many career offerings for FNPs. You will most likely work in an outpatient clinic, but FNPs are also hired to work within the hospitals. You may also be interested in jobs in hospice or home health.

Earning Potential:

Indeed lists the average FNP wage at Kaiser Permanente as $127,476 per year.

Why is it One of the Highest Paid:

Kaiser Permanente represents the best of the best in healthcare. To be tops in healthcare equates to an excellent staff employed in their many facilities. This quality system translates to higher-paying jobs to entice the most talented FNPs to their hospitals and clinics.

HIGHEST PAYING FNP JOB #3: Internal Medicine NP

About the Job:

One of the highest-paying nurse practitioner jobs can be found in internal medicine. As a generalist, FNPs can be an excellent adjunct to the internal medicine team in hospitals or private internal medicine practices. Your duties may involve assessing and treating patients and serving as a patient liaison for the physicians.

Earning Potential:

According to ZipRecruiter, you can expect an average salary of $ 123,381 annually as an internal medicine NP.

Why is it One of the Highest Paid:

Although patients may utilize internal medicine as their primary care provider, this specialty is actually designed to treat patients with complex medical needs. As this field is considered more specialized, NPs can command a higher salary for their honed expertise and experience with challenging patients. Some NPs even enter an internal medicine fellowship, making them even more marketable.

HIGHEST PAYING FNP JOB #4: Hospitalist NP

About the Job:

FNPs make very competent hospitalists. FNPs in this capacity work in hospitals in tandem with their physician counterparts to monitor patients while hospitalized. With their broad background, family nurse practitioners are adept at treating a variety of age groups and conditions, which is necessary for most hospital units.

Earning Potential:

A hospitalist nurse practitioner averages earnings of 123,064 per year, according to ZipRecruiter.

Why is it One of the Highest Paid:

It takes a sharp mind and vast medical knowledge to be a hospitalist. The job can be fast-paced and overwhelming at times. At present, hospital jobs are hard to fill. Finding the right fit for this position and an NP willing to work inpatient can be a challenge. Low supply and high demand for this specialty translate to higher-paying compensation to fill the positions.

HIGHEST PAYING FNP JOB #5: Bilingual NP

About the Job:

One of the current issues in healthcare is the need for bilingual staff. As a bilingual FNP, you may be hired as a liaison between the health facility and the patients. It is more likely that you will be hired on as a provider. As a bilingual provider, your resume will be bumped to the top of the hiring list due to this skill. Once hired, you will be well utilized within the practice to work with patients who do not speak English.

Earning Potential:

Per ZipRecruiter, there is a wide range of pay for bilingual NP jobs, with an average US salary of $121,100 per year.

Why is it One of the Highest Paid:

Cities and areas with large pockets of immigrants desperately seek nurse practitioners of all backgrounds to work in healthcare jobs. If you are bilingual, your dual language proficiency will pay off if you are willing to go where the money compensates for this valuable skill. With more and more immigrants coming to the US who do not speak English as their first language, bilingual providers are greatly needed.

HIGHEST PAYING FNP JOB #6: Cleveland Clinic NP

About the Job:

Another one of the highest-paying FNP jobs in a top large healthcare organization is with the Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic is a vast network of inpatient and outpatient facilities that hires NPs in all capacities. As an FNP, you can find work in one of the many hospitals or work in ambulatory care or other outpatient environments.

Earning Potential:

Glassdoor estimates that the average pay for a nurse practitioner at Cleveland Clinic is $119,165 per year.

Why is it One of the Highest Paid:

A primo staff is required to achieve excellence in healthcare. To maintain its pristine reputation, the Cleveland Clinic must attract top nurse practitioners for its staff. By offering above-average compensation, the Cleveland Clinic can fill NP positions with the most highly qualified FNPs.

HIGHEST PAYING FNP JOB #7: Bariatric Nurse Practitioner

About the Job:

As one of the more obscure, highest-paying FNP jobs, bariatric nurse practitioners are hard to find. This is a very narrow niche field that NPs typically love and become experts in their area. Bariatric NPs work in tandem with gastroenterologists who perform bariatric surgery for weight loss.

The FNP typically educates the patient pre-op and then monitors them postoperatively throughout their weight loss journey and beyond. You may also assist with bariatric surgery. The bariatric NP sees many patients for life to monitor their progress.

NPs in this specialty may also work with gastrostomy tube placement and care.

Earning Potential:

Bariatric NPs are paid 117,104 on average annually per ZipRecruiter.

Why is it One of the Highest Paid:

As stated, bariatric surgery is a very specialized niche for FNPs. Most NPs in this field are certified in the specialty. There are few NPs in this field, with an increasing need for weight loss surgeries as the US obesity epidemic worsens. There is a growing demand for specialists in this field now and projected for many years.

HIGHEST PAYING FNP JOB #8: Geriatric NP

About the Job:

The beauty of having a more general background allows you to work in the area of gerontology. Although there are gerontology nurse practitioners, FNPs are also hired in this environment. You can find jobs in hospice, skilled nursing facilities, rehab centers, along with other outpatient senior settings.

Earning Potential:

According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary of an NP working in gerontology is $116,492.

Why is it One of the Highest Paid:

NPs working in more specialized settings tend to make more than traditional family practice jobs. As a skilled gerontology NP, you can command better compensation in many positions that treat the unique medical needs of our senior population.

HIGHEST PAYING FNP JOB #9: Neurosurgery NP

About the Job:

Working in neurosurgery can be one of the highest-paying family nurse practitioner jobs. FNPs in this specialty work within a medical team to surgically treat spine and brain conditions. As a neurosurgery NP, you can expect to see patients pre- and post-op for health teaching and to monitor medical progress. You may also be involved in assisting the neurosurgeon in the OR. You will primarily work in an office but also can do follow-up in the hospital post-surgery.

Earning Potential:

ZipRecruiter indicates that neurosurgery nurse practitioners make an average annual salary of $115,596.

Why is it One of the Highest Paid:

Since neurosurgery is the highest paying specialty for physicians, it makes sense that the NPs working in this highly specialized field will also make a better than the average wage. The neurosurgery team will train FNPs for this intensive job. Employers want to be sure that they pick the best of the best FNPs to get trained as their neurosurgery NP. This need and the lack of NPs trained in this specialty area creates a job where the employer is willing to pay above-average wages to bring on the right candidate.

HIGHEST PAYING FNP JOB #10: Wound Care NP

About the Job:

Working as a wound care nurse practitioner is a specialized field that is expanding in healthcare. Working in wound care typically involves the treatment of bed sores, hard-to-heal wounds, burns, and diabetic foot ulcers. Wound care NPs work with a medical team to treat these challenging wounds. You may work in a hospital, clinic, skilled nursing facility, or home health agency. You can also become a specialist in ostomy care.

Earning Potential:

The average salary of a wound care NP is $114,504

Why is it One of the Highest Paid:

Wound care has become a specialized field of late. Some hospitals are just getting on board with this specialty. FNPs have the essential background for this type of job, but many go on to become certified as wound specialists.

There are very few certified wound care NPs in the US, although there’s a great need. Many healthcare organizations promote in-house FNPs to get trained as their wound care specialists. This need and the lack of NPs trained in this specialty area creates a job where the employer is willing to pay above-average wages to bring on the right candidate.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS

Although we enjoy our careers as FNPs, we still would prefer to make an adequate wage. We deserve to be fairly paid for our diverse education and background.

As the “10 Highest Paying FNP Jobs For 2024” has highlighted, there are options to earn more as an FNP if you look beyond the more traditional jobs in our specialty. Hopefully, after reading this article, you can now answer the question: What are the highest-paying family nurse practitioner jobs? If you are starting as an FNP or seeking a new position, knowing that you can stretch your abilities to transfer to new and exciting jobs will give you a boost and a new direction when looking for the perfect opportunity.