CRNA Salary: Why Nurse Anesthetists Are the Top-Paid APRN

Reviewed May 22, 2026 by the ScrubScope editorial team.

CRNA salary averages around $214,000 in the BLS May 2024 data, the highest of any advanced-practice nursing role. BLS reports the broad occupational group that includes nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, and nurse anesthetists sit firmly at the top of it, well above the figures for nurse practitioners and nurse midwives ^[1]. This page sources that number and explains what it costs, in time and competitiveness, to reach it.

The short answer

CRNA is the top-paying APRN role, and the gap over the other advanced-practice routes is large. In the BLS May 2024 data, the combined occupational group of nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners had a median annual wage of $132,050, with the highest tenth of that group earning above $217,270 ^[1]. Nurse anesthetists populate the top of that range; reported averages for the role land near $214,000, far above the roughly $129,210 nurse practitioners earn ^[1].

The pay is real, and so is the cost of reaching it. The CRNA route is a doctoral program, it requires critical-care experience before you can even apply, and admission is the most competitive in nursing. The salary is the reward for clearing a high bar, not a reason to assume the bar is low.

How BLS reports nurse-anesthetist pay

One detail shapes how to read every CRNA salary figure: BLS reports nurse anesthetists inside a combined occupational group, alongside nurse midwives and nurse practitioners. The Occupational Outlook Handbook gives the group a median of $132,050 for May 2024 and breaks the three roles out, with nurse anesthetists clearly the highest-paid of the three ^[1].

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, or OEWS, publishes the nurse-anesthetist code, 29-1151, separately, and that file is where the role-specific national and state means live ^[2]. The figures on this page are the May 2024 release, the most recent complete vintage. When BLS publishes a newer one, the dollar figures will move, but the structural fact, CRNA at the top of the APRN pay ladder, has been stable for years.

The sourced figures

The headline takeaway is the gap between rows three and four. A nurse anesthetist's reported average sits roughly $85,000 above a nurse practitioner's, and the highest-paid CRNAs clear the top of the group's range above $217,270 ^[1]. That gap is the genuine financial case for the CRNA route over other advanced-practice options. The NP salary page carries the nurse-practitioner side of the comparison if you want both numbers in front of you.

What moves the CRNA number

The reported average is a center point, not a fixed salary. Three things move where an individual CRNA lands.

State is the first, and as with every nursing role, the state gap is large. CRNA means vary widely across states, and the highest-paying states sit well above the national average while the lowest sit well below it ^[2]. As with NPs, the highest-paying state is rarely the cheapest to live in, so adjust any state figure down for cost of living before comparing.

Setting is the second. BLS reports nurse-anesthetist wages by industry, and a CRNA in a hospital, an outpatient surgical center, or an office-based practice does not sit at the same point on the distribution. Years in the role is the third: a newly graduated CRNA is rarely at the reported average, and the people at the top of the range are typically experienced and often in high-acuity or independent-practice settings.

What the salary costs to reach

The CRNA salary is the highest in advanced-practice nursing, and the route to it is the longest and most selective.

A CRNA reaches the role through a doctoral nurse anesthesia program, which by accreditation standard now runs a minimum of 36 months full-time and awards a doctoral degree. The route also requires at least a year of critical-care experience before you can apply, and CRNA admission is widely regarded as the most competitive in nursing, with scarce cohort seats and a strong applicant pool. The CRNA pathway guide lays out that route in full, including the prerequisites and the realistic timeline.

This is the honest framing of the salary. The roughly $214,000 average is not a number you walk into; it is the outcome of a doctoral program, a competitive admissions process, and years of full-time work in the role ^[2]. The right way to weigh it is against the all-in cost of the program, the income you give up during a full-time doctoral program, and the years it takes to break even. The salary is excellent; the path is demanding, and both halves belong in the decision.

Demand context

One supporting factor: BLS projects the broad occupational group that includes nurse anesthetists to grow much faster than the average occupation through the decade, which supports wages across all three APRN roles ^[1]. The NP job outlook page covers the demand picture in detail. Strong demand is a healthy backdrop; it is not a reason to expect the top of the range without the doctoral degree and the experience behind it.

Bottom line

The CRNA is the highest-paid advanced-practice nursing role, with a reported average around $214,000 in the BLS May 2024 data, well above the roughly $129,210 for nurse practitioners and at the top of an occupational group whose highest tenth clears $217,270 ^[1]. State, setting, and experience move where an individual CRNA lands inside that range. Weigh the salary against the doctoral program's cost, the lost income during full-time study, and the most competitive admissions bar in nursing. The pay is real; so is the path.

Reported wages are averages, not promises; individual outcomes vary by state, setting, and experience. ScrubScope routes inquiries to the schools you choose and does not make admissions or financial-aid decisions; see our full disclosure.

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