NP Fact Sheet
There are more than 325,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) licensed in the U.S.1
- More than 36,000 new NPs completed their academic programs in 2019–2020.2
- 88.9% of NPs are certified in an area of primary care, and 70.2% of all NPs deliver primary care.3
- 81.0% of full-time NPs are seeing Medicare patients and 78.7% are seeing Medicaid patients.3
- 42.5% of full-time NPs hold hospital privileges; 12.8% have long-term care privileges.3
- 96.2% of NPs prescribe medications, and those in full-time practice write an average of 21 prescriptions per day.3
- NPs hold prescriptive privileges, including controlled substances, in all 50 states and D.C.
- In 2020, the median base salary for full-time NPs was $110,000.3
- The majority of full-time NPs (59.4%) see three or more patients per hour.3
- NPs have been in practice an average of 11 years.3
- The average age of NPs is 49 years.3
Distribution of NPs by Primary Certification Area3
Certification* | Percent of NPs |
| Family^ | 69.7 |
| Adult^ | 10.8 |
| Adult–Gerontology Primary Care^ | 7.0 |
| Psychiatric/Mental Health | 4.7 |
| Acute Care | 4.1 |
| Pediatrics–Primary Care^ | 3.2 |
| Adult–Gerontology Acute Care | 2.9 |
| Women's Health^ | 2.9 |
| Gerontology^ | 1.8 |
| Neonatal | 1.0 |
| Pediatrics–Acute Care | 0.7 |
* The sum of all percentages is greater than 100% because some NPs have more than one certification.
^ Indicates a primary care certification.
Updated May 2021
Sources:
1 AANP National Nurse Practitioner Database, 2021.
2 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2021). 2020-2021 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing. Washington, DC: AACN.
3 2020 AANP National Nurse Practitioner Sample Survey.