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More RNs in Arizona are taking advantage of the opportunities afforded to advanced practice registered nurses and obtaining an MSN as a way to improve their career prospects, specialize and earn higher salaries.
The magnitude of the increase in salary for nurses with MSNs is shown by comparing the median salary among nurse practitioners to that of BSN and ADN educated RNs in Arizona (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014):
Salaries of MSN-Educated Specialists in Arizona
The Arizona Office of Employment & Population Statistics provides the range of salaries for different types of MSN-educated nurses as of 2014. The median salary among nurse anesthetists in Arizona was significantly higher than that of other APRNs, although nurse midwives and nurse practitioners had higher entry-level salaries:
The US Department of Labor provided data on salaries for nursing instructors in Arizona as of 2014, revealing that the median salary among nurse educators in Arizona was $69,030 that year. This value was 4.4% higher than the national median salary among nursing instructors. Nurse educators on the high end of the salary range earned an average of $103,010, while nurse educators on the low end of the scale earned an average of $43,440.
The Number of MSN-Educated Nurses in Arizona Increased Dramatically in Recent Years
The Journal of Nursing Regulation’s Environmental Scan for 2015 reported an increase of 1,574 in the number of APRNs in Arizona between 2009 and 2013. This document reported that 5,371 APRNs practiced in Arizona in 2013. By 2015, the number of APRNs had increased by 28.4% according to data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), which indicated that 6,896 advanced practice nurses were licensed in Arizona that year.
As of 2015, the overwhelming majority of Arizona’s MSN-educated nurses were nurse practitioners according to the AACN:
Salaries for Arizona’s Nurse Practitioners
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a detailed analysis of nurse practitioner salaries in Arizona’s major cities and the nonmetropolitan area of North Arizona as of 2014. The median salary among NPs in Yuma was substantially higher than the median salary among nurse practitioners in other parts of the state:
Nurse Anesthetist Salaries in Tucson and Phoenix
The median salary among nurse anesthetists in Tucson in 2014 was more than 87% higher than the median salary among nurse anesthetists in the Phoenix area according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:
*This value is equal to or greater than $90/hour or $187,199 a year. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics does not report salary data beyond these values.