---
title: These States Pay the Lowest Salaries for Nurse Practitioners | ThriveAP
description: Whether you’re considering entering the nurse practitioner profession or are an experienced NP looking to relocate, salary is certainly a major deciding factor. While a state’s average salary won’t dictate your exact income, it can at least give you a general idea of how much you may be able to make; plus it’s always fun … These States Pay the Lowest Salaries for Nurse Practitioners Read More »
image: https://provider.thriveap.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-5_29_43-AM.png
---

![](https://provider.thriveap.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-5_29_43-AM.png?width=1250&height=625&name=Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-5_29_43-AM.png)

# These States Pay the Lowest Salaries for Nurse Practitioners

Whether you’re considering entering the nurse practitioner profession or are an experienced NP looking to relocate, salary is certainly a major deciding factor. While a state’s average salary won’t dictate your exact income, it can at least give you a general idea of how much you may be able to make; plus it’s always fun to look at the numbers and how they compare across the country. Each year the [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291171.htm)collects salary information for various professions and publishes data for the prior year. While the 2019 NP stats aren’t available quite yet, the 2018 stats are, and these ten states ranked the lowest on the list. 

Keep in mind that although these states have the lowest paying salaries for NPs, many of them have also have a low cost of living; which is something you should take into consideration if you’re serious about relocation. Because other factors like the number of employed NPs in these states, and whether or not there are state income taxes are also pertinent, we’ve included these stats to give you an even better picture of the numbers.

 

**1. Alabama**

 

*Hourly Mean Wage: $46.14*

*Annual Mean Wage: $95,970*

 

*Cost of Living: 89.3%*

*Number of employed NPs: 3,680*

*State income tax: 2% to 5%, the highest rate applies to incomes over $3,000* 

 

 

**2. Tennessee**

 

*Hourly Mean Wage: $46.15*

*Annual Mean Wage: $95,990*

 

*Cost of Living: 88.7%*

*Number of employed NPs: 7,010*

*State income tax: A flat rate of 2% on unearned income only*

 

 

**3. Pennsylvania**

 

*Hourly Mean Wage: $47.24*

*Annual Mean Wage: $98,250*

 

*Cost of Living: 101.7%*

*Number of employed NPs: 7,280*

*State income tax: A flat rate of 3.07%*

 

 

**4. Kansas**

 

*Hourly Mean Wage: $47.80*

*Annual Mean Wage: $99,430*

 

*Cost of Living: 89%*

*Number of employed NPs: 2,270*

*State income tax: 3.1% to 5.7%, the highest rate applies to incomes over $30,000*

 

 

**5. Kentucky**

 

*Hourly Mean Wage: $47.97*

*Annual Mean Wage: $99,790*

 

*Cost of Living: 90.9%*

*Number of employed NPs: 3,160*

*State income tax: Flat rate of 5%*

 

 

**6. South Carolina**

 

*Hourly Mean Wage: $48.03*

*Annual Mean Wage: $99,910*

 

*Cost of Living: 95.9%*

*Number of employed NPs: 2,260*

*State income tax: 1.1% to 7%, the highest rate applies to incomes over $12,250*

 

 

**7. West Virginia**

 

*Hourly Mean Wage: $48.41*

*Annual Mean Wage: $100,690*

 

*Cost of Living: 91.1%*

*Number of employed NPs: 1,080*

*State income tax: 3% to 6.5%, the highest rate applies to incomes $60,000*

 

 

**8. South Dakota**

 

*Hourly Mean Wage: $48.41*

*Annual Mean Wage: $100,690*

 

*Cost of Living: 99.8%*

*Number of employed NPs: 540*

*No state income tax*

 

 

**9. Florida**

 

*Hourly Mean Wage: $48.61*

*Annual Mean Wage: $101,100*

 

*Cost of Living: 97.9%*

*Number of employed NPs: 10,590*

*No state income tax*

 

 

**10. Ohio**

 

*Hourly Mean Wage: $49.02*

*Annual Mean Wage: $101,970*

 

*Cost of Living: 90.8%*

*Number of employed NPs: 7,510*

*State income tax:  1.98% to 4.997%, the highest rate applies to incomes over $217,400*

 

***Which states were you most surprised to see not make the list?***

 

Sources:

[https://worldpopulationreview.com/states/cost-of-living-index-by-state/](https://worldpopulationreview.com/states/cost-of-living-index-by-state/) 

[https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291171.htm#(2)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291171.htm#(2)) 

[https://www.thebalance.com/state-income-tax-rates-3193320 ](https://www.thebalance.com/state-income-tax-rates-3193320)

[General NP Information](https://provider.thriveap.com/blog/tag/general-np-information)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Erin Tolbert, MSN, FNP-C",
    "url" : "https://provider.thriveap.com/blog/author/erin"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2022-05-05T20:55:02.875Z",
  "datePublished" : "2020-04-16T08:25:26.000Z",
  "headline" : "These States Pay the Lowest Salaries for Nurse Practitioners | ThriveAP",
  "image" : [ "https://provider.thriveap.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-5_29_43-AM.png" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://provider.thriveap.com/blog/these-states-pay-the-lowest-salaries-for-nurse-practitioners",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://provider.thriveap.com/hubfs/ThriveAPLogo_cmyk-2.png"
    },
    "name" : "ThriveAP"
  }
}
```