# Nurse Practitioners

US SOC code 29-1171. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/29-1171

Also called: NP, APRN, Advanced practice registered nurse, Family nurse practitioner, FNP.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291171.htm) counted **323,040** US nurse practitioners, with median pay of **$132,300** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2012, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_practitioner) of **7,000** from 1975, not measured the same way as today's count. The current technology era for nurse practitioners: AI clinical decision support + ambient scribes, since 2022.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 41% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=29-1171&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **31.5%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Nurse Practitioners employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1965
- Latest US employment: 323,040 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $132,300 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [11]
- Outlook: +41% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [20]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 31302)
  - Employment, 2020: 6,505. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [6]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 31302 Nurse practitioners, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$118,000. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [13]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 31302 Nurse practitioners, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 17 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1975 | 7,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 1985 | 22,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., American Association of Nurse… [2] |
| 1997 | 63,000 (estimate) | $52,000 (estimate) | Est., Wikipedia [1] |
| 2012 | 105,780 | $89,960 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 113,370 | $92,670 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 122,050 | $95,350 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 136,060 | $98,190 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 150,230 | $100,910 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 166,280 | $103,880 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 179,650 | $107,030 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 200,600 | $109,820 | BLS OEWS May 2019 (employment) [3]; BLS OEWS May 2019 (pay) [9] |
| 2020 | 211,280 | $111,680 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 234,690 | $120,680 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 258,230 | $121,610 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 280,140 | $126,260 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 307,390 | $129,210 | BLS OEWS May 2024 (employment) [3]; BLS OEWS May 2024 (pay) [10] |
| 2025 | 323,040 | $132,300 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (63)

### Employment series

1. [Wikipedia — Nurse practitioner (United States): history and development of the NP role](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_practitioner), Wikipedia (sourcing secondary nursing history literature)
2. [American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) — About NPs: historical development](https://www.aanp.org/about/all-about-nps), American Association of Nurse Practitioners
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip)
4. [BLS OEWS May 2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291171.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

7. [Wikipedia — Nurse practitioner: Medicare reimbursement context (wage estimate for late-1990s NP workforce)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_practitioner), Wikipedia (secondary)
8. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip)
9. [BLS OEWS May 2019 — 29-1171 Nurse Practitioners median annual wage](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes291171.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2024/may/oes291171.htm), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
11. [BLS OEWS May 2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291171.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
12. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
13. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

14. [Wikipedia — Nurse practitioner: history and development (Ford-Silver 1965 program)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_practitioner), Wikipedia
15. [American Association of Nurse Practitioners — All About NPs](https://www.aanp.org/about/all-about-nps), American Association of Nurse Practitioners
16. [O\*NET 29-1171.00 — BLS Occupational Outlook context for NP workforce growth](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1171.00), O\*NET / BLS
17. [American Association of Nurse Practitioners — AANP represents 355,000+ NPs; advocacy history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_of_Nurse_Practitioners), Wikipedia / AANP (secondary)
18. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, occupation.xlsx: Table 1.3 Fastest growing occupations (nurse practitioners listed first, +41.0%) and Table 1.12 Factors affecting occupational utilization (29-1171: team-based care, tasks previously performed by physicians, expanding practice authority)](https://www.bls.gov/emp/ind-occ-matrix/occupation.xlsx), Bureau of Labor Statistics
19. [AHA Center for Health Innovation, "6 Health Systems Enhancing Care Delivery with Ambient AI Scribes" (2026): health system deployments; cites a JAMA study finding modest reductions in documentation time](https://www.aha.org/aha-center-health-innovation-market-scan/2026-04-14-6-health-systems-enhancing-care-delivery-ambient-ai-scribes), American Hospital Association

### Forecasts and exposure studies

20. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 29-1171 Nurse practitioners (2025: 336.3 thousand; 2035: 474.1 thousand; +41.0%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=29-1171&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
21. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 29-1171.00, human-rated β 0.315)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

22. [Wikipedia — Nurse practitioner: history section (Ford-Silver 1965 program)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurse_practitioner), Wikipedia
23. [American Association of Nurse Practitioners — history and founding context](https://www.aanp.org/about/all-about-nps), American Association of Nurse Practitioners
24. [Wikipedia — American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANPCB founding 1993)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_of_Nurse_Practitioners), Wikipedia

### Predecessors & successors

25. [O\*NET 29-1171.00 — entry requirements and work context](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1171.00), O\*NET / BLS
26. [American Association of Nurse Practitioners — NP practice ownership and full practice authority](https://www.aanp.org/about/all-about-nps), American Association of Nurse Practitioners
27. [AACN — Nursing Workforce Fact Sheet (faculty shortage as pipeline constraint)](https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-data/fact-sheets/nursing-workforce-fact-sheet), American Association of Colleges of Nursing

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Nurse Practitioners (29-1171.00): tasks, work activities, technology skills, employment data](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1171.00), accessed 2026-05-23
- [BLS OOH, Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners (2025-35 projections): nurse practitioners 336,300 jobs in 2025, projected 474,100 in 2035 (+41%); median pay $132,300 (May 2025)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/nurse-anesthetists-nurse-midwives-and-nurse-practitioners.htm), accessed 2026-10-11
- [AANP NP Fact Sheet 2025 — 385,000+ licensed NPs in U.S.; 36% hold DNP/PhD; full practice authority in 27 states + DC; 1B+ prescriptions annually](https://www.aanp.org/about/all-about-nps), accessed 2026-05-23
- [AACN DNP Enrollment and Graduations Report 2025 — 39,151 enrolled in DNP programs; +6.8% YoY; DNP projected to become entry-to-practice standard by 2030](https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-data/fact-sheets/dnp-fact-sheet), accessed 2026-05-23
- [AANP / JAANP 2025 — Integrating AI into NP Practice: NPs must validate AI outputs and maintain accountability for all clinical decisions; AI augments, not replaces, APRN authority](https://www.aanp.org/advocacy/advocacy-resource/position-statements/artificial-intelligence), accessed 2026-05-23
- [ANA OJIN May 2025 — The Ethical Use of AI in Nursing Practice: APRNs must ensure AI validity, transparency, and ongoing reliability; APRN clinical judgment cannot be supplanted](https://ojin.nursingworld.org/table-of-contents/volume-30-2025/number-2-may-2025/the-ethical-use-of-artificial-intelligence-in-nursing-practice/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [JAMA 2025 multi-site RCT — ambient AI scribes reduced after-hours EHR documentation by 62%; cohort includes APPs (NPs and PAs); note quality rated equivalent or better](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2826592), accessed 2026-05-23
- [AANP Telehealth Report 2025 — NP telehealth utilization up 38% vs. 2022; 30+ states enacted permanent NP telehealth authority; HHS flexibilities permanent for FQHCs and RHCs](https://www.aanp.org/advocacy/advocacy-resource/position-statements/telehealth), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): occupational LLM exposure framework](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Suki AI — 72% reduction in documentation time (JAMIA peer-reviewed study 2025); 150+ health systems; NP-specific note templates; integrates with Epic, Oracle Health, Athenahealth](https://www.suki.ai/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [KLAS First Look Report Apr 2026 — Abridge for APPs: 94.3/100 score; Best in KLAS Ambient AI 2025+2026; NP and PA workflow coverage at UPMC, Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins](https://klasresearch.com/report/abridge-2026-ambient-ai-enhancing-physician-workflows/3997), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Surescripts 2025 Annual Impact Report — Prior Authorization Automation: 18-second median approval time; 34% automated approval rate; 68,000+ active prescribers at 42 health systems enabled](https://surescripts.com/insights/2025-annual-impact-report), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Hippocratic AI — chronic disease management agents for diabetes, hypertension, CHF; NP/physician-ordered via EHR; post-call summaries filed to chart (Becker's Hospital Review Jan 2026)](https://hippocraticai.com/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Notable Health — 80+ health systems; conversational AI pre-visit intake auto-populates EHR, triggers clinical protocols; primary care NP clinics among primary deployment settings (HIMSS 2025)](https://www.notablehealth.com/), accessed 2026-05-23

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.