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Nurse Practitioner Salary in Pennsylvania for 2023

Written By: Pattie Trumble, MPP, MPH

In February 2022, a bill was introduced into Pennsylvania’s state legislature that if passed, will loosen current restrictions on independent practice for the commonwealth’s more than 8,000 nurse practitioners. SB25 would allow NPs with three or more years of experience to practice to the full extent of their training, making it likely that the average salary of a nurse practitioner in Pennsylvania will increase. The passage of SB25 is also likely to give residents of the Keystone State’s 32 medically underserved areas better access to the primary care services they so urgently need.

How much does a nurse practitioner make in Pennsylvania? For a detailed analysis of nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania for 2023, keep reading.


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

The starting nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania is $40.84 an hour, which multiplies out to $7,080 a month or $84,940 a year. This is 16 percent less than the salary NPs in the Keystone State can expect to earn with one to four years of experience. Why is the entry-level nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania so comparatively low?

A lot of it has to do with the way that the medical centers and physician practices in the Keystone State—which are the biggest employers of NPs—handle onboarding costs. Orientation can take between four and six months, depending upon an NP’s area of specialization, and during this time, the staff members who are doing the orientation handle a greatly reduced patient load. Decreased patient coverage leads to lower organizational revenues. The lower salaries paid to entry-level NPs in Pennsylvania represent these organizations’ attempts to recoup some of the costs associated with training.

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

What is the average salary of a nurse practitioner in Pennsylvania? The average salary of a nurse practitioner in Pennsylvania is $56.38 an hour, which comes to $9,770 a month or $117,260 a year. Most NPs in the Keystone State don’t achieve this milestone until they’ve worked for more than a decade.

Variations in NP salary from state to state often reflect the cost of living indices. The average nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania is 3 percent less than the average nurse practitioner salary throughout all 50 states, but the average cost of living in the Keystone State is 7 percent lower than the average cost of living throughout the U.S. as a whole. This means that while Pennsylvania NPs may be making less than what they might make in other states, the purchasing power of the dollars they earn may actually be greater.

The five factors that affect average pay as a Pennsylvania NP are education, specialty, certifications, practice setting, and locality. Pennsylvania nurse practitioners who hold Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees—particularly if they’re graduates of one of the best nurse practitioner programs in Pennsylvania—can expect to earn higher salaries on average than nurse practitioners who hold Master of Nursing Science (MSN) degrees.

Pennsylvania NPs who’ve specialized in an area of clinical practice that’s in higher demand will generally earn more than NPs whose clinical specialty is in lower demand. And If you’re certified in a high-demand subspecialty that expands your knowledge base beyond the population focus of your APRN specialty, you may also command a higher average salary for your enhanced expertise. Pennsylvania family nurse practitioners with a certification in hospice, for example, have the potential to earn more than FNPs without this certification.

Different clinical practice settings in Pennsylvania compensate their NPs at a different rate, and different localities pay divergent salaries: In Philadelphia, for example, the average NP salary is 7 percent more than the average throughout the Keystone State, but in Erie, it’s 7 percent less. These differentials most likely reflect variations in the cost of living from locality to locality.

Nurse Practitioner Salary in Pennsylvania by Years of Experience

In the Keystone State, the annual amount you earn as an NP rises the longer you work in the profession. The typical salary jump between levels of experience is just under 20 percent: Pennsylvania NPs with one to four years of experience make 19 percent more than entry-level nurse practitioners; nurse practitioners with five to nine years of experience make 19 percent more than NPs with one to four years of experience; and NPs with 10 to 19 years of experience make 19 percent more than nurse practitioners with five to nine years of experience.

Pennsylvania nurse practitioners with more than two decades of experience, however, make nearly 27 percent more than NPs with 10 to 19 years of experience. This salary differential is more than just a return on experience. Nearly 400 of the 570 employment opportunities that opened up for nurse practitioners in Pennsylvania in 2022 were replacement jobs, meaning they were jobs openings created through workforce turnover. One of the biggest factors in workforce turnover is retirement. Indeed, during the height of the COVID-19 epidemic, Pennsylvania had such an urgent need for healthcare providers that the state’s Board of Nursing relaxed many of the rules for license reactivation so that retired NPs could more easily rejoin the ranks of practicing NPs. High salaries for NPs with 20 plus years of experience are likely an incentive designed to keep these nurse practitioners in the workforce.

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

In addition to nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania, NPs in the Keystone State also receive non-cash compensation called benefits. Some benefits like COBRA, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance are mandated by federal law; others like paid time off, medical insurance, and retirement fund contributions are awarded solely at an employer’s discretion.

Benefits can really increase the total value of a compensation package. For Pennsylvania NPs working in the private sector, benefits add 42 percent to the average annual salary, bringing the total compensation package from $117,360 to $166,942 a year. For Pennsylvania NPs working for state and local governments, benefits add 62 percent to the average annual salary, bringing the total compensation package to $187,544 a year. This analysis underscores the reason why it’s important to review both salary and benefits when you’re thinking about accepting a job as a Pennsylvania nurse practitioner: Though NPs in the Keystone employed by the state and local government make marginally lower salaries, when benefit packages are thrown into the mix, it’s obvious these NPs are coming out way ahead.

Nurse Practitioner Salary in Pennsylvania by Practice Setting

Only 9 percent of Pennsylvania’s 8,150 NPs work in outpatient care centers, but they make higher salaries than nurse practitioners working in other practice settings throughout the state. Why is that? Increasingly, outpatient care centers, which include ambulatory surgical clinics, emergency rooms and urgent care clinics, are major profit centers for the medical chains and corporations that own them. Like hospitals, their revenue model is based on the number of patients treated, but their operational costs are much lower than those of hospitals. In Pennsylvania, NPs employed by outpatient care centers make 5 percent more than NPs employed by hospitals and 11 percent more than NPs employed by private physician practices.

Just under 50 percent of the Keystone State’s NPs work for or are otherwise affiliated with private physician practices. Nurse practitioners employed by physician practices earn 3 percent less than the average nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania throughout the state. Overhead in a Pennsylvania-based medical practice can easily run 70 percent, and physician owners don’t have access to the same economies of scale that the corporations that run outpatient care centers and hospitals do. Physician owners try to economize by paying nurse practitioners and other staff lower salaries.

Nurse Practitioner Salary in Pennsylvania by Specialty

1. Adult Gerontology-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner:

Adult gerontology-acute care nurse practitioners are specialists in the treatment of severely ill or injured adults across the lifespan. They’re seldom employed outside of hospitals, medical centers, and outpatient clinics. AG-ACNPs have borne the brunt of the care needs for Pennsylvania COVID-19 patients so severely ill they require hospitalization. The average adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner pay in Pennsylvania is $55.70 an hour or $115,850 annually.

Hourly	$55.70
Annual	$115,850

2. Adult Gerontology-Primary Care Nurse Practitioner:

Adult gerontology-primary care nurse practitioners provide wellness promotion, disease prevention and health education to patients ranging in age from adolescence to end of life. In Pennsylvania, they’re employed in many clinical settings, including physician practices, hospitals, emergency rooms, and urgent care clinics. There’s considerable overlap between the scope of AG-PCNPs and family nurse practitioners except for the fact that adult gerontology-primary care nurse practitioners don’t work with patients under the age of 18. The average adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania is $52.68 an hour or $109,560 a year.

Hourly	$52.68
Annual	$109,560

3. Dermatology Nurse Practitioner:

Dermatology is not a recognized APRN specialty, so most dermatology NPs certify as family nurse practitioners or as adult gerontology-primary care nurse practitioners before branching out into their chosen specialty. In Pennsylvania, DNPs work primarily in dermatologists’ offices, cosmetic surgeons’ offices, and medical spas, most frequently located in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other densely populated urban areas in the Keystone State. The average dermatology nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania is $54.93 an hour or $114,270 annually.

Hourly	$54.93
Annual	$114,270

4. Family Nurse Practitioner:

Family nurse practice is the most versatile specialty in the nurse practitioner realm. Pennsylvania NPs work with patients of all ages from newborns to senior citizens, providing treatment for minor diseases and injuries, promoting healthy lifestyles, and educating patients about healthy lifestyles. In fact, Pennsylvania’s family nurse practitioners perform many of the same services as Pennsylvania’s primary care physicians.

Like many other states, the Keystone State is facing a shortage of primary care providers, particularly in the 32 areas identified by the federal government as medically underserved. Although Pennsylvania’s FNPs have the training to help alleviate this shortage, they are hampered in their ability to do so by the state’s restrictive practice laws. Even to maintain its current inadequate coverage, the state will need an 11 percent increase in primary care providers by the year 2030, according to a 2015 report from the commonwealth’s Joint State Government Commission. The average family nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania is $54.63 an hour or $113,650 a year.

Hourly	$54.63
Annual	$113,650

5. Neonatal Nurse Practitioner:

Which specialty is the highest-paid nurse practitioner in Pennsylvania? The neonatal nurse practitioner. The average neonatal nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania is $58.65 an hour or $122,000 a year. Pennsylvania’s NNPs focus on the care and management of vulnerable newborns; they are most often employed in specialized critical care units called Intensive Care Nurseries, affiliated with one of the Keystone State’s eight children’s hospitals.

Hourly	$58.65
Annual	$122,000

6. Pediatric-Acute Care Nurse Practitioner:

Pennsylvania’s pediatric-acute care nurse practitioners have trained in the provision of care to children with critical illnesses and flareups of chronic conditions. They’re employed by hospitals and specialized children’s medical centers throughout the state. Many of them are cross-trained in the care of fragile infants, which means they can pitch in when there’s a shortage of NNPs in Intensive Care Nurseries. The average P-AC nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania is $57.16 an hour or $118,890 annually.

Hourly	$57.16
Annual	$118,890

7. Pediatric-Primary Care Nurse Practitioner:

The average pediatric-primary care nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania is $52.92 an hour or $110,070 a year. P-PCNs specialize in care and preventative health interventions for children, and in this, their practice overlaps with that of FNPs to some degree. Occasionally, pediatric-primary care nurse practitioners manage care for adults affected by chronic conditions that began in childhood. In the Keystone State, they’re employed in pediatricians’ offices, in family practices, and in hospitals.

Hourly	$52.92
Annual	$110,070

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

Pennsylvania is ranked among the best states so far as access to mental health services is concerned, but like all states, the mental health of Pennsylvania residents has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. P-MHNPs often affiliate with psychiatric practices or clinics run by community agencies throughout the state.

Twenty-four localities in Pennsylvania have been designated Mental Health Care Health Professional Shortage Areas, which means that they don’t have enough care providers to meet their residents’ demands for care. In these areas, rates of suicide, depression, addiction, alcoholism, homelessness and untreated illnesses like bipolar disease and schizophrenia are significantly higher than the state average. The Keystone State’s psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners have the training to meet these needs as well as the management skills to help coordinate the additional support services these clients may need. The average psychiatric nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania is $57.54 an hour or $119,690 annually.

Hourly	$57.54
Annual	$119,690

9. Women's Health Nurse Practitioner:

Pennsylvania’s women’s health nurse practitioners are providers of primary gynecological, reproductive, and obstetric care. They do contraceptive counseling, fertility evaluations, Pap smears, breast cancer screenings, and a whole lot more. They work throughout all parts of the Keystone State, primarily in physicians’ offices and community clinics rather than in hospitals. WHNPs in Pennsylvania can anticipate earning $52.92 an hour or $110,070 a year.

Hourly	$52.92
Annual	$110,070

Nurse Practitioner Salary in Pennsylvania by City

1. Philadelphia:

Thirteen percent of Pennsylvania’s population lives in the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. With a poverty rate of 23 percent—more than twice the poverty rate of the U.S. as a whole—the City of Brotherly Love is the poorest of America’s major metropolises, and the incidence of health conditions like diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure, which are strongly correlated with poverty, is high. Leading hospitals in Philly include Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian, Jefferson Health-Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, and Lankenau Medical Center. The average nurse practitioner salary in Philadelphia is $58.35 an hour or $121,370 a year, which is 7 percent higher than the state average.

Hourly	$58.35
Annual	$121,370

2. Pittsburgh:

After the U.S. steel industry collapsed in the 1970s, Pittsburgh turned itself around. Poverty continues to be an issue. though: At 20 percent, the city’s poverty rate is 9 percent higher than the national poverty rate, and the health status of many Pittsburgh residents demonstrates the negative impact poverty can have on wellness. Three out of every four senior citizens in Alleghany County are either overweight or obese, and this trend is most prevalent among African Americans and women. Nurse practitioners have the training in the types of primary care that’s a cost-effective intervention for these types of health problems, but Pennsylvania’s current scope of practice laws is holding them back. The average salary of a nurse practitioner in Pittsburgh, PA, is $60.22 an hour or $125,270 a year.

Hourly	$60.22
Annual	$125,270

3. Allentown:

Allentown is the largest city in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. In 2021, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America named Allentown as the worst place to live in the entire U.S. if you have asthma because of Allentown’s high air pollution index. Other chronic health conditions that the city’s residents grapple with include diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. These are health issues that have proven amenable to primary care interventions such as those that nurse practitioners are trained to provide. The average salary of a nurse practitioner in Allentown is $55.56 an hour or $115,550 a year.

Hourly	$55.56
Annual	$115,550

4. Erie:

Erie’s poverty rate is nearly twice Pennsylvania’s poverty rate. This once bustling, industrial city faces a host of toxic environmental challenges, including air pollution and exposure to lead. Nearly one out of every three Erie adults is overweight or obese; excess body weight puts these adults at risk for developing diabetes, cardiac problems, and hypertension. Primary healthcare providers like nurse practitioners are trained to manage these types of issues and help individuals affected by them live healthier lifestyles. The average NP salary in Erie, PA, is $51.68 an hour or $107,500 annually.

Hourly	$51.68
Annual	$107,500

5. Reading:

Not so long ago, Reading’s poverty rate was more than 40 percent. While the city’s economic outlook has improved over the past decade, more than one in every three residents still lives below the federal poverty line. Poverty is linked to a number of negative health outcomes such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. Primary healthcare providers such as nurse practitioners have been instrumental in helping residents in impoverished areas make better lifestyle choices that improve their overall health. The average NP salary in Reading, PA, is $57.52 an hour or $119,650 a year.

Hourly	$57.52
Annual	$119,650

NP Pay in Pennsylvania VS. Other Nursing Careers

If nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania is your primary concern, it’s definitely worth pursuing an advanced practice MSN or DNP. Pennsylvania nurse practitioners earn higher salaries than any other nursing specialty except nurse anesthetists. While NPs in the Keystone State earn 49 percent less than nurse anesthetists, they earn 50 percent more than registered nurses. NPs in the Keystone State also earn significantly more than twice as much as licensed practical and vocational nurses and nearly four times as much as nursing assistants, which proves the earning potential of a Bachelors in Nursing Science (BSN) degree as well.

NP Pay in Pennsylvania VS. Other Healthcare Careers

Pennsylvania NPs make significantly less than dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, and pharmacists. This salary discrepancy may be related to the fact that these other professionals are graduates of four-year doctoral programs while most nurse practitioners in the Keystone State are graduates of two- or three-year master’s level programs. This is likely to change if the DNP replaces the MSN as the nursing profession’s terminal degree as the American Association of Colleges of Nursing recommends.

In Pennsylvania, there’s a considerable overlap between nurse practitioner and physician assistant workplace responsibilities, and they work in similar practice settings. Both are most often graduates of a masters-level program. However, in the Keystone State, NP salaries are 4 percent higher than PA salaries on average.

Nurse practitioners earn significantly higher salaries than ancillary healthcare professionals like physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists who primarily focus on rehabilitation rather than treatment.

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

Primary care like that provided by nurse practitioners is one of the cornerstones of successful healthcare. As noted above, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is experiencing a shortage of primary care providers, and that shortage is projected to grow more serious within the next 10 years. The individuals most acutely affected by this shortage are senior citizens, low-income families, and the residents of rural communities.

When demand for services increases, the price that people are willing to pay for those services typically increases too. There’s every reason to believe that nurse practitioner salary in Pennsylvania will continue to rise.

Summing It Up

This article has looked at the many factors that go into determining the average salary of a nurse practitioner in Pennsylvania for 2023. When you’re considering a career as an NP in the Keystone State, however, there are many questions you should be asking yourself that are just as important as, “How much does a nurse practitioner make in Pennsylvania?” What patient populations do you prefer working with? Do you prefer working with inpatients or outpatients? How competitive is the job market for the specialty you’re most interested in? If you want a fulfilling career, these concerns are just as critical as compensation.

TOP QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY OUR EXPERT

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

There are 7,610 nurse practitioners currently employed in Pennsylvania.

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

The average nurse practitioner salary per hour in Pennsylvania is $56.38. NPs typically reach this benchmark after they’ve been working for a decade or more.

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

Nurse practitioners in Pennsylvania make $117,260 a year, which is 1 percent less than the average annual salary for NPs throughout all parts of the U.S.

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

The average FNP salary in Pennsylvania is $54.63 an hour, which multiplies out to $9,470 a month or $113,650 annually.

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

The average PMHNP salary in Pennsylvania is $57.54 an hour, which comes to $9,980 a month or $119,690 a year.

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

Neonatal nurse practitioners in Pennsylvania earn $122,000 a year on average, which makes them the highest-paid nurse practitioners in Pennsylvania. Other high-paying NP specialties in the Keystone State include psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners ($119,690 annually), pediatric-acute care nurse practitioners ($118,890 annually), adult gerontology-acute care nurse practitioners ($115,850 annually), and dermatology nurse practitioners ($114,270 annually).

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

In Pittsburgh, nurse practitioners earn salaries that average $125,270 a year, which is 14 percent more than the average salary for NPs employed throughout all parts of Pennsylvania. Other Pennsylvania cities where nurse practitioners earn high salaries include Philadelphia ($121,370 a year), Reading ($119,650 a year, Harrisburg-Carlisle ($117,200 a year), and Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton ($115,550 a year).

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

There’s quite a bit of variation in nurse practitioner salary from city to city in Pennsylvania. Nurse practitioners in Pittsburgh, PA, earn $125,270 annually, which is 42 percent higher than the average salary earned by nurse practitioners in the Johnstown.

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

Nearly 50 percent of Pennsylvania’s 8,150 nurse practitioners are employed by private physicians’ practices.

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

In 2023, there were 570 employment opportunities for nurse practitioners who want to work in Pennsylvania. Some 172 of these represented newly created jobs; the remainder were replacement jobs for NPs who’d retired, moved away, or left the profession for other reasons.

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

The job outlook for Pennsylvania NPs is strong. Over the next decade, Pennsylvania will need to increase its primary healthcare workforce by 11 percent, and many of those providers will be nurse practitioners.