What a nurse anesthetist earns, by metro
Median pay for nurse anesthetists runs from $124,470 in Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area to $416,000 in Jacksonville — a 3.34× range across 141 metropolitan areas. The national median of $236,590 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
Nurse Anesthetist — nationalBLS OEWS · May 2025
$236,590Median annual
$113.75Median hourly
$155,25010th percentile
$339,50090th percentile
51,840Employed nationally
Median means half earn more and half earn less — it says nothing about
how far. The percentile columns are where the information is.
What the percentile band tells you
Ten per cent of nurse anesthetists earn below $155,250 and ten per cent above $339,500 — a 2.19× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 43%, which is a normal amount of room for experience and specialisation to matter. An offer below the 25th percentile is worth questioning; one above the 75th is worth taking seriously.
Where the money is
Jacksonville (FL) leads and Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area () trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
Highest paying metros
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville FL | $416,000 | $200.00 | 1.34 | 340 |
| Fayetteville NC | $331,760 | $159.50 | 2.07 | 90 |
| Eastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area | $323,490 | $155.53 | 2.26 | 100 |
| Capital/Northern New York nonmetropolitan area | $323,470 | $155.51 | 0.86 | 40 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $321,030 | $154.34 | 0.73 | 2,310 |
| Peoria IL | $310,930 | $149.49 | 1.75 | 100 |
| Columbia MO | $310,170 | $149.12 | 2.44 | 90 |
| Hammond LA | $304,640 | $146.46 | 2.6 | 40 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA | $298,910 | $143.71 | 0.25 | 140 |
| Greensboro-High Point NC | $297,560 | $143.06 | 0.84 | 100 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton NJ | $294,910 | $141.78 | 2.48 | 140 |
| Southwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area | $290,090 | $139.47 | 1.35 | 30 |
| Rochester NY | $286,230 | $137.61 | 0.83 | 140 |
| West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area | $285,340 | $137.18 | 0.7 | 60 |
| Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $285,030 | $137.04 | 0.55 | 40 |
| Madison WI | $283,980 | $136.53 | 1.13 | 150 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha WI | $282,840 | $135.98 | 0.76 | 210 |
| Utica-Rome NY | $282,380 | $135.76 | 0.77 | 30 |
| South Nebraska nonmetropolitan area | $282,260 | $135.70 | 0.98 | 50 |
| Charleston WV | $280,250 | $134.74 | 6.52 | 220 |
| Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach SC | $279,570 | $134.41 | 0.76 | 40 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels TX | $279,410 | $134.33 | 0.53 | 200 |
| South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area | $279,280 | $134.27 | 1.11 | 80 |
| Northern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area | $278,960 | $134.12 | 1.16 | 60 |
| Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area | $278,670 | $133.98 | 1.75 | 110 |
Lowest paying metros
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area | $124,470 | $59.84 | 0.94 | 50 |
| Northwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area | $169,250 | $81.37 | 1.49 | 30 |
| Joplin MO-KS | $170,770 | $82.10 | 1.04 | 30 |
| Salem OR | $174,260 | $83.78 | 0.64 | 40 |
| Birmingham AL | $175,850 | $84.54 | 4.31 | 750 |
| Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area | $178,290 | $85.72 | 0.67 | 30 |
| South Georgia nonmetropolitan area | $186,300 | $89.57 | 2.43 | 160 |
| Dothan AL | $187,980 | $90.37 | 4.41 | 90 |
| Florence-Muscle Shoals AL | $188,760 | $90.75 | 2.82 | 50 |
| Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $190,630 | $91.65 | 1.27 | 110 |
Morgantown is the cluster
Morgantown has 8.82× the national concentration of nurse anesthetists — the densest market in the country for this role, with 200 employed locally. Pay there is $278,530, which does not put it near the top of the pay table. Concentration and compensation are different things — a dense market is easier to get hired in and easier to move around within, but the competition that makes it dense also caps what employers need to offer.
Where the role is most concentrated
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgantown WV | $278,530 | $133.91 | 8.82 | 200 |
| Charleston WV | $280,250 | $134.74 | 6.52 | 220 |
| Winston-Salem NC | $216,140 | $103.91 | 4.91 | 440 |
| Slidell-Mandeville-Covington LA | $217,490 | $104.56 | 4.58 | 150 |
| Dothan AL | $187,980 | $90.37 | 4.41 | 90 |
| Birmingham AL | $175,850 | $84.54 | 4.31 | 750 |
| Huntington-Ashland WV-KY-OH | $264,420 | $127.13 | 4.11 | 190 |
| Sioux Falls SD-MN | $243,560 | $117.10 | 3.85 | 230 |
| Pocatello ID | $268,710 | $129.19 | 3.76 | 50 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton PA-NJ | $211,130 | $101.50 | 3.5 | 440 |
| Lewiston-Auburn ME | $247,470 | $118.98 | 3.49 | 60 |
| Panama City-Panama City Beach FL | $207,470 | $99.74 | 3.48 | 110 |
Largest employers by metro
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $321,030 | $154.34 | 0.73 | 2,310 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $218,650 | $105.12 | 0.96 | 1,290 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $258,570 | $124.31 | 1.92 | 1,250 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $238,540 | $114.68 | 1.23 | 1,190 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MI | $243,130 | $116.89 | 1.84 | 1,170 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL | $206,270 | $99.17 | 2.22 | 1,070 |
| Kansas City MO-KS | $218,080 | $104.85 | 2.68 | 980 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia NC-SC | $277,550 | $133.44 | 2 | 910 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $265,880 | $127.83 | 0.56 | 840 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin TN | $211,450 | $101.66 | 2.27 | 830 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford FL | $214,690 | $103.22 | 1.63 | 770 |
| Birmingham AL | $175,850 | $84.54 | 4.31 | 750 |
Current openings
Remote Nurse Anesthetist
New York-Newark-Jersey CityDallas-Fort Worth-ArlingtonMinneapolis-St. Paul-BloomingtonPhiladelphia-Camden-WilmingtonDetroit-Warren-DearbornTampa-St. Petersburg-ClearwaterKansas CityCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia
About this data
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 29-1151. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 141 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 387 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.