Nurse Practitioner (NP) is now the best job in America, according to U.S. News and World Report.

The ranking, one up from last year’s, makes NP the top job in both healthcare or in any career in the country, by U.S. News’ reckoning. It also remained the career with the most job security and the Best STEM job.

“The field is expected to see explosive growth over the next few years with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting a 45% growth in the number of roles available between 2022 and 2032 – an increase of 118,600 jobs,” U.S News wrote in explaining why NPs swept the top spots in the four categories. “The median annual salary for nurse practitioners is $121,610, according to the BLS.”

As others have noted, NPs are in demand due to a combination of an aging population and a growing shortage of primary care providers.
“Because 88% of NPs are certified in primary care, NPs are able to help fill these primary care gaps,” Olivia MJ Newby, president of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, told U.S. News.

U.S. News also noted that NPs’ approach to healthcare is patient focused. Kelley Borella, NPWH board member and assistant professor and director of the MSN nurse practitioner pathway at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told U.S. News that her father’s death when she was a child and her mother’s subsequent struggle with health problems exposed her to nurses who had an impact on her.

“Those nurses that made a difference in my mother’s life – as well as my own – inspired me. I wanted to be that person for someone, so I decided that nursing was the career for me,” Borella says. “While in school, I developed a passion for women’s health care. I loved being a nurse but had a strong desire for more autonomy and responsibility. I wanted to be more involved in patient management.”