Nurse practitioner salary in the Lexington area
In the BLS May 2025 snapshot, nurse practitioners in Lexington-Fayette, KY have a $123,070 median annual employee wage alongside a $127,400 mean. These are wage estimates, not a promised offer or total compensation.
Lexington area wage snapshot
| Measure | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Mean annual wage | $127,400 |
| Median annual wage | $123,070 |
| Employment estimate | 540 |
| Wage relative standard error | 2.4% |
Employee wages annualized at 2,080 hours. Not total compensation, guaranteed pay or a salary range. RSE measures estimate uncertainty, not your pay spread.
View official BLS wage data for this areaWhat the Lexington area row can tell you
BLS covers Lexington-Fayette, KY as one metropolitan area. The published mean is $127,400, which is above the median of $123,070; BLS does not say why. The employment estimate of 540 counts employee jobs, not open positions. The wage relative standard error is 2.4%, which describes how uncertain the estimate is. It is not a pay percentile.
The Kentucky state mean for nurse practitioners is $125,010, so this metro mean is 1.9% above the state figure. The metro is part of the state estimate, so the two overlap.
Metro figures cover wage and salary employees only. Locum, 1099 and per diem pay can look very different, and benefits, call pay and bonuses are not included. Compare a written offer on hours, scope and benefits instead of reading these two wages as a salary range.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. How Saile salary pages work.
Keep comparing
Browse all salary guides · Physician side-gig guides · Report your pay
See how much your staffing agency is making off you
Compare what the facility pays your agency with what the agency pays you. Then report your rate privately so we can look into the gap.
See the agency spread
Bill rate (hospital pays agency) - Pay rate (agency pays you) = Agency spread
These calculator inputs stay in your browser and are not submitted.Hiring clinicians for your facility? Book a Demo
More ways to work. One Saile profile.
Explore telemedicine, AI-lab clinician work, consulting, per diem, locums and full-time opportunities. Matching depends on specialty, credentials and location.
How Lexington compares
Rank within this role group
Mean wage rank: 40 of 50; employment rank: 50 of 50. Rank = one plus metros with a larger estimate; ties share rank. This site’s group, not all US metros.
Versus highest-mean Los Angeles ($163,610): $36,210 (22.1%) below; versus lowest-mean Knoxville ($112,460): $14,940 (13.3%) above.
Dollar gap = metro mean minus comparator mean; percent = difference divided by comparator, times 100. Absolute gaps shown.
National comparison
BLS OEWS national mean: $137,300; Lexington is $9,900 (7.2%) below it, using the same gap formulas.
Same-state context
Kentucky mean: $125,010; employment: 4,770. Metro share = 540 divided by 4,770, multiplied by 100 = 11.3%. Overlapping estimates; multi-state ratios are not resident shares.
Same metro, other roles
Family medicine physician mean in Lexington: $289,780; Internal medicine physician mean in Lexington: $220,790; Physician assistant mean in Lexington: $118,940
What to check before using this number
Read $127,400 beside $123,070: the mean is $4,330 (3.5%) above the median, not evidence of why wages differ.
The group median wage RSE is 1.8% versus 2.4% here; higher RSE means different relative uncertainty, not a negotiation band.
Employment of 540 is below the 1,790 group median; these are employee jobs, not vacancies.
Mean–median = mean minus median. Group median = middle sorted value (average of middle pair); unavailable RSE excluded.
Licensing in Kentucky: physician state licensing guidance; NP licensing guide. Check the relevant board and facility for your role.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 metro/state rows; wages, not total compensation.
Nurse practitioner salary questions in the Lexington area
What is the average nurse practitioner salary in the Lexington area?
BLS May 2025 estimates a mean annual employee wage of $127,400 and a median of $123,070 for nurse practitioners in Lexington-Fayette, KY. The mean is the average; the median is the midpoint. These are employee wages, not total compensation, a guaranteed offer or a salary range.
What is the hourly pay equivalent in the Lexington area?
Dividing the annual wage estimates by 2,080 hours gives about $61.25 per hour for the mean and $59.17 for the median, rounded to cents. This is an arithmetic equivalent, not a quoted locums, per-diem or telemedicine rate.
How many nurse practitioners work in the Lexington area?
BLS estimates 540 nurse practitioners employed as wage and salary employees in Lexington-Fayette, KY. This counts employee jobs, not open positions or current vacancies.
How does the Lexington area pay compare with Kentucky?
The Kentucky state mean for nurse practitioners is $125,010, so this metro mean is 1.9% above the state figure. The metro is part of the state estimate, so the two overlap.
How reliable is this metro estimate?
The wage relative standard error for this row is 2.4%. RSE describes how uncertain the estimate is. It is not a pay percentile or a negotiating band.
Where does Lexington rank for nurse practitioner mean wages?
Lexington ranks 40 of 50 by mean wage and 50 of 50 by employment in this site's role group. Rank = one plus metros with larger estimates; ties share rank. This is not every US metro.
Which other Kentucky metros can I compare with Lexington?
Louisville: $126,690 mean wage. Mapped to Kentucky; metro/state estimates overlap.
Find nurse practitioner gigs on Saile
Supplement your income or find a full-time job. Explore telemedicine, AI-lab clinician work, consulting, local per-diem, locums and full-time opportunities in Saile. Free to download and search; matching depends on your specialty, credentials and location.
Download Saile Medical