Licensed practical and vocational nurses saw the highest annual mean pay jump in 2024, while nurse practitioners had the highest growth in number of employed nurses across all settings, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The bureau gathered employment data for seven nursing positions in 2025, including the number of people employed in that position in the U.S., annual mean wage and hourly wage. The data was released May 13. Becker’s collected data on the annual mean wage and number of employed nurses to compare changes between 2024 and 2025.
Overall, two nurse positions saw small pay drops in 2025, but five nurse positions saw employment drops. Nursing instructors had the greatest decrease at 14.9%.
Here are the seven nursing positions by annual wage and the number of employed nurses.
| Nursing profession | 2025 annual mean pay | Percent change in pay vs. 2024 | 2025 number employed | Percent change in employed vs. 2024 |
| Nurse anesthetists | $248,320 | 3.7% | 51,840 | -3.6% |
| Nurse practitioners | $137,300 | -1% | 323,040 | 0.8% |
| Nurse midwives | $136,980 | -0.4% | 7,920 | -7.9% |
| Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary | $86,410 | 2.9% | 77,960 | −14.9% |
| Registered nurses | $101,420 | 0.3% | 3,379,720 | -0.3% |
| Licensed practical and vocational nurses | $67,050 | 7.6% | 648,410 | -0.5% |
| Nursing assistants | $42,700 | 1.2% | 1,448,910 | 0.5% |
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