Nurse Practitioner Salary in Minnesota for 2024

Written By: Pattie Trumble, MPP, MPH

Minnesota is an independent practice state for nurse practitioners, meaning that NPs in the Land of Lakes can make diagnoses; prescribe and administer drugs, controlled substances and therapeutic devices; and otherwise provide treatment to the full extent of their education. Nurse practitioners in independent practice states tend to earn more money, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the average salary of a nurse practitioner in Minnesota is higher than the average salary for nurse practitioners throughout all 50 states.

How much does a nurse practitioner make in Minnesota? This article aims to give you a comprehensive analysis of nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota for 2024.

What is the Starting Salary of a Nurse Practitioner in Minnesota?

The entry-level nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota is $49.15 an hour, which amounts to $8,520 a month or just over $102,230 a year. This sum is 20 percent less than the average salary of a nurse practitioner in Minnesota. What accounts for the difference?

In Minnesota as in other states, hiring new employees raises organizations overhead. A 2016 report from the Society for Human Resource Management found that the average cost of finding the right new hire was $4,129—and that figure has probably gone up in the past six years. Minnesota employers face costs associated with training new nurse practitioners to workplace protocols and providing them with learning materials. Additionally, opportunity costs can start to mount up when seasoned employees are pulled away from their regular responsibilities to supervise new hires. It can take Minnesota hospitals and physician practices as long as six months to break even on a new employee. The starting nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota is lower than the average nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota so that the medical centers and physicians’ practices that hire those entry-level nurse practitioners can recoup some of their operational onboarding costs.

What is the Average Salary of a Nurse Practitioner in Minnesota?

What is the average salary of a nurse practitioner in Minnesota? The average nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota is $61.62 per hour, which multiplies out to $10,680 a month or $128,160 a year. Minnesota NPs typically arrive at this milestone in their ninth year of practice.

On the whole, NP earnings are higher in states like Minnesota that allow them full scope of practice. There may be several reasons for this. Nurse practitioners in Minnesota who are able to practice to the full extent of their training make better substitutes for higher-salaried physicians: Studies show that they’re able to manage 80 to 90 percent of the care provided by primary care physicians with no significant reduction in patient outcomes. They’re efficient and cost-effective physician substitutes, in other words, and this makes demand for their services high.

Average salaries in different locations also reflect local variations in cost of living as well. In Minnesota, the cost of living is only 3 percent less than it is in the U.S. as a whole. The average nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota is actually 3 percent more than the average nurse practitioner salary in other parts of the U.S., which means that Minnesota NPs enjoy slightly enhanced purchasing power.

Nurse Practitioner Salary in Minnesota by Years of Experience

The more on-the-job experience you have as an NP, the higher the nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota you will earn. The biggest jump in NP earning capacity is seen between entry-level NPs and NPs who’ve been on the job one to four years: Nurse practitioners with one to four years of experience make $109,220, which is 6 percent more than nurse practitioners who are just starting out on their career tracks. Nurse practitioners with five to nine years of experience make $128,020 a year or 17 percent more than nurse practitioners with one to four years of experience, while NPs with 10 to 19 years of experience average $135,980 a year—6 percent more than NPs with five to nine years of experience.

Nurse practitioners who stay with the profession 20 years or more can expect to average $151,580 annually, which is 48 percent higher than their entry-level salaries. Twenty-one percent of Minnesota’s NP workforce is between the ages of 55 and 64, and 7 percent are older than 65. These are NPs who are probably thinking seriously about retirement. It’s likely that high salaries for NPs who are close to retirement age are designed to act as incentives to keep these NPs in the workforce.

Total Annual Nurse Practitioner Compensation (Including Other Benefits) in Minnesota

Salary doesn’t tell the whole story of NP compensation in Minnesota, though. In addition to cash salaries, NPs also get non-cash perks called benefits. Some benefits like unemployment insurance, COBRA insurance, and workers’ compensation are legally mandated; others like paid time off; medical, dental, and vision insurance; and employer contributions to employee retirement funds are offered at an employer’s discretion.

Why do employers like benefits? They’re a way of attracting high-quality employees. To attract graduates of the best nurse practitioner programs in Minnesota, medical centers and physicians’ frequently add perks like professional liability insurance; reimbursement and allowances for licensure, certification and other professional development activities; and retirement planning to the benefits listed above.

Benefits can represent a substantial portion of your total compensation. For Minnesota NPs who work in the private sector, the total cash value of benefits averages $54,149 a year, or 42 percent of their total cash salary of $128,170. The total compensation package for Minnesota NPs in the private sector is therefore $182,319 annually. For Minnesota NPs who work for state or local governments, the total cash value of benefits averages $78,822 a year, or 62 percent of their total cash salary of $128,060. The total compensation package for Minnesota NPs who work for state or local governments is therefore $206,882 annually.

This is another reminder that you should never accept a job offer without carefully reviewing the benefits package: Although an NP job offer with the Minnesota public sector may carry a slightly lower salary than an NP job offer with the Minnesota private sector, if you review the associated benefits packages, you’ll discover that the public sector job actually carries higher total compensation.

Nurse Practitioner Salary in Minnesota by Practice Setting

In Minnesota as in other states, outpatient care centers like ambulatory surgery units, emergency rooms and urgent care clinics are an increasingly lucrative profit center. The salaries outpatient care centers pay their staff reflects this. Nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota for outpatient care center NPs is $66.25 an hour or $137,770 a year, which is 4 percent higher than salaries earned by hospital-employed NPs and 10 percent higher than salaries earned by NPs associated with private physician practices.

Private physician practices are small compared with outpatient care centers that are anchored by major medical centers, and that means such practices can’t take advantage of economies of scale to manage their operational overhead. One way these practices have traditionally controlled their overhead is to offer their staff members lower salaries. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic created significant reductions in patient volume and overall revenue: A 2020 report issued by the American Medical Association found that 81 percent of physicians struggled with a revenue loss, and the average revenue decline was 31 percent. In such an economic climate, it’s easy to see why Minnesota NPs who work in physicians’ offices are paid less.

Nearly 5 percent of Minnesota’s NPs own or co-own an individual or group practice. Revenue figures for these practices are not available, but three-quarters of them are in metropolitan areas, which makes it likely that these NPs earn between $115,800 and $137,770 a year at the very least.

Nurse Practitioner Salary in Minnesota by Specialty

1. Adult Gerontology-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner:

Adult gerontology-acute care nurse practitioners are advanced practice nurses who specialize in the management and treatment of critically ill or injured patients. Most often, they work in Intensive Care Units and other critical care settings within hospitals. These are the settings that have been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 9 percent of Minnesota’s nurse practitioner workforce are AG-ACNPs. The average adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner pay in Minnesota is $62.71 an hour or $130,430 annually.

Hourly	$62.71
Annual	$130,430

2. Adult Gerontology-Primary Care Nurse Practitioner:

Adult gerontology-primary care nurse practitioners offer wellness promotion, preventative services and patient education to adults of all ages. They typically work in physicians’ offices, in community clinics, or their own practices. Minnesota has 133 areas that have been identified as primary care shortage areas, and most of these are in rural parts of the state. Minnesota’s AG-PCNPs have the training to help bridge this healthcare provider gap. The average adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota is $59.30 an hour or $123,330 a year.

Hourly	$59.30
Annual	$123,330

3. Dermatology Nurse Practitioner:

Dermatology is not one of the NP specialties defined by the APRN Consensus Model, so a DNP’s exact scope of practice is difficult to define. DNPs are advanced practice nurses who specialize in treating diseases and medical issues of the skin, and many of them received their advanced practice training in family practice or adult gerontology-primary care practice. In the Land of Lakes, dermatology NPs mostly work in the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area. Minnesota-based NPs average $61.84 an hour or $128,630 a year.

Hourly	$61.84
Annual	$128,630

4. Family Nurse Practitioner:

FNPs are advanced practice registered nurses who specialize in providing primary care to clients over the course of those clients’ lifespan. Family nurse practitioners have been at the forefront of healthcare delivery throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the more rural regions of the state. The average family nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota is $61.51 an hour or $127,930 annually, which is 1 percent less than the average salary for NPs trained in all specialties throughout all parts of the Land of Lakes.

One of the reasons why Minnesota’s family nurse practitioners make comparatively low salaries is because there are so many of them. FNPs comprise the majority of Minnesota’s nurse practitioner workforce; in a 2019 report, the Minnesota Office of Rural Health and Primary Care estimated that FNPs make up between 24 and 49 percent of Minnesota’s NP workforce. Demand for services is one of the primary drivers of salary, but demand is generally lower for specialists who exist in large numbers, and this is reflected in family nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota.

Hourly	$61.51
Annual	$127,930

5. Neonatal Nurse Practitioner:

The neonatal nurse practitioner is the highest-paid nurse practitioner in Minnesota. The average neonatal nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota is $66.03 an hour or $137,330 annually. Neonatal nurse practitioners are charged with the management and care of medically fragile newborns, most often in highly specialized critical care units called Intensive Care Nurseries. Prematurity is the second leading cause of infant death in Minnesota, and in 2016, nearly 9 percent of the state’s births were premature. In 2019, just 3 percent of Minnesota’s NPs were certified in the NNP specialty.

Hourly	$66.03
Annual	$137,330

6. Pediatric-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner:

Pediatric-acute care nurse practitioners work with critically ill infants and children who require hospitalization. Often P-ACNPs are affiliated with specialized children’s hospitals: Minnesota has seven children’s hospitals. Many pediatric-acute care nurse practitioners have been trained in the care of critically ill newborns, which also makes them effective substitutes for neonatal nurse practitioners. Minnesota P-ACNPs average $64.35 an hour or $133,840 annually.

Hourly	$64.35
Annual	$133,840

7. Pediatric-Primary Care Nurse Practitioner:

Minnesota’s P-PCNPs deliver manage and deliver wellness promotion services, preventative care and health education to the state’s infants, children and teens as well as to some adults whose chronic health conditions began in childhood. The average pediatric-primary care nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota is $59.58 an hour or $123,920 a year. Pediatric primary care is strongly correlated with positive adult outcomes, so P-PCNPs play an important role in keeping Minnesota residents healthy.

Hourly	$59.58
Annual	$123,920

8. Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP):

Psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners provide mental health treatment and preventative care to clients affected by anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses. P-MHNPs comprise 6.5 percent of Minnesota’s NP workforce. The average psychiatric nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota is $64.77 an hour or $134,720 a year.

A 2019 report issued by the University of Southern California’s Center for Health Policy and Economics estimated that more than 4 percent of Minnesota’s population have unmet mental health needs.. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated mental health-related issues, particularly among Minnesota’s most vulnerable populations—younger adults, isolated seniors, care providers, and members of Black and Hispanic communities. While urban areas in the Land of Lakes—most particularly the Twin Cities—enjoy some of the highest ratios of mental health care providers to people in the U.S., seven rural Minnesota counties have no mental health care providers at all. Minnesota’s P-MHNPs have the training to help bridge that critical healthcare gap.

Hourly	$64.77
Annual	$134,720

9. Women's Health Nurse Practitioner:

Women’s health nurse practitioners focus on the health issues that are specific to women throughout the lifespan; thus, the WHNP scope of practice shows considerable overlap with the FNP scope of practice. WHNPs work primarily in OB-GYN practices, prenatal clinics and community agencies throughout Minnesota’s more metropolitan regions. On average, women’s health nurse practitioners earn $59.58 an hour or $123,920 annually.

Hourly	$59.58
Annual	$123,920

Nurse Practitioner Salary in Minnesota by City

1. Minneapolis:

Minneapolis and St. Paul, its sister city across the Mississippi River, are regarded as one of the healthiest metropolitan areas in the U.S. Top-notch medical centers located in Minneapolis/St. Paul include Abbott Northwestern Hospital, United Hospital, and M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center. Still, some 19 percent of the greater metropolitan region’s population lives beneath the federal poverty line. Poverty is associated with negative health outcomes such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure—all conditions that primary healthcare providers like nurse practitioners are trained to help manage. The average nurse practitioner salary in Minneapolis is $61.72 an hour or $128,380 a year.

Hourly	$61.72
Annual	$128,380

2. Rochester:

The Mayo Clinic, considered by many to be the nation’s top medical center, is located in Rochester. The average salary of a nurse practitioner in Rochester, MN, is $61.03 an hour or $126,940 annually, which is 1 percent less than the state average. Rochester is located in Olmstead County where 28 percent of the residents are clinically obese. Obesity is linked with serious health complications like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and mental health issues. Minnesota NPs can play an important role in addressing Olmstead County’s obesity epidemic.

Hourly	$61.03
Annual	$126,940

3. Duluth:

Although the port city of Duluth is Minnesota’s second-largest metropolitan area, its population is under well 100,00 residents, which would make it a small city in many other states. Its best-known hospital is Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center. Duluth’s poverty rate is just over 18 percent, and many of its lower-income residents are at high risk for developing diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. These chronic conditions, though, are amenable to primary healthcare interventions such as the ones provided by nurse practitioners. The average salary of a nurse practitioner in Duluth is $69.73 an hour or just under $145,040 a year.

Hourly	$69.73
Annual	$145,040

4. St. Cloud:

In 2016, the Wall Street Journal called St. Cloud Minnesota’s least livable city because of its high property crime rate. St. Cloud’s high property crime rate is a reflection of its poverty rate, which is closing in on 23 percent. High rates of poverty are directly correlatable with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity; these conditions respond favorably to primary healthcare interventions such as those provided by nurse practitioners. St Cloud NPs are the highest-paid nurse practitioners in Minnesota: The average NP salary in St. Cloud, MN is $58.64 an hour or $121,960 annually.

Hourly	$58.64
Annual	$121,960

5. Mankato:

With a population of just under 40,000 residents, Mankato is a tiny place so far as American cities go, but it’s the fifth-largest metropolis in Minnesota. Nearly one-quarter of its residents live beneath the federal poverty line. Poverty is linked with chronic health conditions, and Mankato has incidences of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity that are significantly higher than the state average. The average NP salary in Mankato, MN, is $63.35 an hour or $131,760 a year.

Hourly	$63.35
Annual	$131,760

NP Pay in Minnesota VS. Other Nursing Careers

Nurse practitioners in Minnesota make generous salaries when compared with other nursing careers. While it’s true they make 42 percent less than nurse anesthetists and 10 percent higher than nurse-midwives, it’s also true that nurse anesthetists and nurse midwives assume considerably more risk in the services they provide and so, must pay considerably higher malpractice premiums.

Any investment you make in advanced nursing practice studies in the Land of Lakes will definitely show a return. NPs earn 44 percent more than registered nurses who don’t have a Master of Nursing Science (MSN) degree or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, and more than twice as much as licensed practical and vocational nurses. NPs in the Land of Lakes make more than three times what a Minnesota nursing assistant earns.

NP Pay in Minnesota VS. Other Healthcare Careers

In the field of healthcare, if you learn more, you earn more. On average, nurse practitioners earn 32 percent less than healthcare professionals like dentists, podiatrists and pharmacists who are graduates of four-year doctoral programs. If the DNP replaces the MSN as the nursing profession’s terminal degree—as recommended by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in 2004—the average nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota is likely to increase so that it’s more in line with the salaries of graduates from other doctoral-level programs.

In Minnesota, physician assistants earn marginally less (2 percent) than nurse practitioners. However, this is not true of the nation as a whole where according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, NPs earn 2 percent more than PAs. Nurse practitioners in Minnesota also earn consistently higher salaries than ancillary healthcare professionals whose specialty is rehabilitation rather than treatment.

Why is the Outlook Bright for Nurse Practitioner Salary in Minnesota?

In Minnesota, as in many other states, the demand for primary care providers has outpaced demand. Minnesota’s nurse practitioner workforce are primed to take up that slack. Since the Minnesota State legislature first gave nurse practitioners full scope of practice in 2014, the number of NPs in the Land of Lakes has risen by more than a third. According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, nurse practitioner is the seventh fastest-growing occupation in the state.

A higher demand for services is usually correlated with a willingness to pay higher prices for those services. Thus, there’s every reason to expect that the average nurse practitioner salary in Minnesota will continue to increase.

Summing It Up

How much does a nurse practitioner make in Minnesota? The average salary of a nurse practitioner in Minnesota for 2024 is $128,160 annually, which is nearly twice the average salary for all occupations throughout the state ($51,087). As an NP in Minnesota, not only will you have job security, plus the opportunity to make a generous salary that’s likely to increase as the years pass, but you’ll also be an integral part of a dynamic primary care delivery network.

TOP QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY OUR EXPERT

1. How many Nurse Practitioners are currently employed in Minnesota?

There are 5,300 nurse practitioners currently employed in the state of Minnesota.

2. How much does a nurse practitioner make per hour in Minnesota?

The average nurse practitioner salary per hour in Minnesota is $61.62. NPs typically reach this milestone in the ninth year of their careers.

3. How does the average salary of a nurse practitioner in Minnesota compare to the average NP salary in the U.S?

In Minnesota, nurse practitioners average $128,160 annually, which is nearly 3 percent more than nurse practitioners earn throughout all parts of the U.S. as a whole.

4. How much does a family nurse practitioner make in Minnesota?

The average FNP salary in Minnesota is $61.51 an hour, which works out to $10,660 a month or $127,930 a year.

5. How much does a psychiatric nurse practitioner make in Minnesota?

The average P-MHNP salary in Minnesota is $64.77 an hour, which multiplies out to $11,230 a month or $134,720 a year.

6. What are the 5 highest-paid Nurse Practitioners in Minnesota?

With annual salaries of $137,330, neonatal nurse practitioners are the highest-paid nurse practitioners in Minnesota. NNPs are followed by psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners ($134,720), pediatric-acute care nurse practitioners (($133,840), adult gerontology-acute care nurse practitioners ($130,430) and dermatology nurse practitioners ($128,630).

7. What are the 5 highest paying cities for Nurse Practitioners in Minnesota?

Nurse practitioners employed in Duluth, MN, earn $145,040 annually. Other Minnesota cities where NPs earn high salaries include Mankato ($131,760), Minneapolis ($128,380), Rochester ($126,940), and St. Cloud ($121,960).

8. How much do Nurse Practitioners earn in the various metros of Minnesota?

Nurse practitioner salaries in Minnesota don’t show a high degree of variation from city to city. NPs in Duluth average $145,040 a year, which is only 14 percent more than the average salary for NPs in Rochester.

9. Where do the majority of Nurse Practitioners practice in Minnesota?

Some 2,520 NPs—or 56 percent Minnesota’s total nurse practitioner workforce—is employed by or otherwise affiliated with physician practices. Twenty-six percent (1,190 NPs) are employed by hospitals and medical centers while 10 percent (490 NPs) are employed by outpatient care centers.

10. What are the approximate number of annual job openings for nurse practitioners in Minnesota for 2023?

In 2023, there were 450 job opportunities for NPs in Minnesota. Some 188 of those positions were replacement openings for nurse practitioners who had retired, moved out of state or left the profession while 262 of those positions represented newly created jobs.

11. What is the job outlook for NPs in Minnesota?

The job outlook for NPs in Minnesota is very good. Minnesota is an independent practice state, so nurse practitioners can practice to the full extent of their education. There’s a strong demand for NP services, and NPs earn higher-than-average salaries.