Nurse Practitioner Salary in Washington 2026,
$156,100 Median | BLS Data by City

Washington nurse practitioners earn a median $156,100 a year, $75.05 an hour, per BLS OEWS May 2025, with the middle half between $129,670 and $169,500 and a full range of $122,420 to $187,240. That is 18.0% above the $132,300 national median, and because Washington levies no state income tax, more of it survives to take-home than in most comparably paying states.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue at $160,090, then Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard at $156,470, Longview-Kelso at $148,960, and Bellingham and Kennewick-Richland both at $147,890. The whole table spans about twelve thousand dollars, which is a narrow geographic spread — Washington health systems compete statewide for ARNPs rather than by metro.

Yes. Washington ARNPs, licensed by the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission within the Department of Health, evaluate, diagnose, order and interpret tests, prescribe and manage treatment independently, with no collaborative or supervisory agreement with a physician required. Prescriptive authority including controlled substances sits with the ARNP. That is a materially different regulatory position from restricted-practice states and it makes independent practice possible here.

Not as income. Washington is one of nine states with no personal income tax, so an ARNP earning the state median of $156,100 pays no state tax on that salary. Employees do pay a Paid Family & Medical Leave premium of roughly 0.81% of wages in 2026 and the WA Cares Fund long-term-care premium of 0.58%, and Washington applies a 7% tax to capital gains above an annual standard deduction — investment income rather than wages.

The Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission issues it to holders of an active Washington RN licence who have completed a graduate nursing programme and hold current national certification in their population focus — family, adult-gerontology, psychiatric-mental health, paediatrics, neonatal or women's health. Washington participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact for RN licensure, but the ARNP credential itself is a Washington licence and is not covered by the compact.

Because a small number of very large health systems set the market. Washington's ARNP employment is dominated by integrated systems and by federally qualified health centres operating on published scales, and full practice authority means the scope of work does not vary much between employers either. The result is a $122,420 tenth percentile — an unusually high floor — and a $169,500 seventy-fifth percentile only about thirteen thousand above the median.

It is a wage figure for an occupation with a real ownership option. Washington's full practice authority allows ARNPs to own and run independent clinics, and OEWS does not capture practice-owner income well. It also blends population foci: psychiatric-mental health ARNPs in Washington command substantially more than family practice ARNPs, and both sit in this one row.

Specialty certification and call. The route from the Washington median of $156,100 to the $169,500 seventy-fifth percentile normally runs through acute care or psychiatric-mental health certification, or a hospital-based service with call obligations attached, rather than through years of service. Rural and eastern Washington districts also pay recruitment premiums and sometimes loan repayment for ARNPs willing to staff sites where physician recruitment has failed — a route that full practice authority makes practical.