Nurse Practitioner vs Physician Assistant: pay, jobs and what each takes

Physician assistants, by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025): a median of $65.33 an hour ($135,880 a year), against $63.61 ($132,300 a year) for nurse practitioners, $1.72 an hour more. The open jobs on this board today post medians of $80 an hour for nurse practitioners and $81.12 for physician assistants.

On this board today: 4,305 open nurse practitioner jobs and 1,546 physician assistant jobs, read from each employer's own job board. BLS expects about 29,400 openings a year for nurse practitioners and 11,500 for physician assistants, with employment changing +41.0% and +21.1% over 2025-2035.

Nurse practitioners examine patients, order and read tests, diagnose and prescribe, often with their own panel of patients. They work in primary care, specialty clinics, hospitals, urgent care and telehealth. Physician assistants examine, diagnose and treat patients and prescribe, working in a team with physicians, in every specialty from primary care and emergency medicine to surgery, where many first-assist in the OR.

A registered nurse license, then a master's (MSN) or doctoral (DNP) nurse practitioner program and a national board exam. (BLS: Master's degree.) A master's degree from an accredited PA program, then the PANCE exam and a state license. (BLS: Master's degree.) Each occupation's page lists its credentials and who grants them: Nurse practitioners, Physician assistants.