Urology nurse practitioners earn a national average of $125,000–$155,000 per year, with the midpoint across all settings landing around $135,000–$140,000. The BLS all-NP median for May 2025 was $132,300 (SOC 29-1171, Nurse Practitioners), with a 10th-to-90th percentile spread of $101,340 to $174,420 – there is no urology-specific BLS occupational code, as urology NPs are classified within the broader NP category. Salary data in this guide draws from BLS OEWS for the all-NP baseline, plus aggregator and compensation-survey reporting (ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor, MGMA Advanced Practice Provider surveys) for the specialty ranges. No certifying or professional body publishes a urology-specific NP salary survey, so treat every urology-specific range on this page as an aggregate estimate rather than a measured national figure. Subspecialty is the single largest salary lever in urology: urologic oncology and procedural-heavy roles push well above the median, while telehealth urology and VA-employed positions sit closer to the all-NP baseline.
| Metric | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| National median | $132,000–$140,000 | All settings; outpatient-dominant |
| Full range (10th–90th percentile) | $110,000–$165,000+ | Entry through senior specialist |
| Urologic oncology premium | $145,000–$175,000 | High-volume cancer center; procedure assist |
| New graduate (0–2 years) | $105,000–$120,000 | Standard orientation period |
| Senior / lead NP (10+ years) | $148,000–$170,000+ | Department leadership or subspecialty lead |
For the full career pathway, see the companion how to become a urology nurse practitioner guide.
National salary overview
| Percentile | Annual salary | Approximate hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $108,000–$112,000 | $52–$54 |
| 25th percentile | $118,000–$125,000 | $57–$60 |
| Median (50th) | $132,000–$140,000 | $63–$67 |
| 75th percentile | $148,000–$158,000 | $71–$76 |
| 90th percentile | $165,000–$180,000+ | $79–$87+ |
The 10th-to-90th spread of approximately $55,000–$70,000 reflects the wide variation in setting, state, and subspecialty – not a wide variation in role type. A urology NP at a rural private practice in Mississippi and a urology NP at a high-volume cancer center in California hold essentially the same job description, but their compensation structures and market rates produce dramatically different W-2 totals.
Salary by work setting
| Setting | Typical salary range | Compensation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Private urology group practice | $120,000–$155,000 | Often productivity-based (wRVU); procedural assist bonuses common in high-volume stone or surgical groups |
| Academic medical center / urology department | $130,000–$165,000 | Base salary often supplemented by wRVU production; benefits and research time may partially substitute for top-line salary |
| Hospital-employed urology NP | $125,000–$155,000 | Salaried; more predictable but less upside than private group; includes benefits package typically valued at $20,000–$35,000 |
| Urologic oncology center | $140,000–$175,000 | Highest-compensated urology NP setting; BCG instillation, surveillance cystoscopy coordination, and immunotherapy monitoring carry additional procedural value in wRVU models |
| Outpatient ambulatory surgery center | $115,000–$145,000 | Pre-operative assessment, surgical checklist coordination; some per-procedure bonuses at high-volume centers |
| VA / federal urology clinic | $110,000–$148,000 | Paid under Title 38, not the General Schedule – VA nurses and NPs sit on the Nurse I–V grade structure with facility-set locality adjustments that can add 17% or more over base, so two identical roles at different duty stations can differ by tens of thousands; exceptional benefits package (pension, healthcare, 26 days leave); consistent hours; no production pressure |
| Telehealth urology | $115,000–$145,000 | Growing segment: overactive bladder (OAB) management, testosterone therapy optimization, ED workup, post-vasectomy follow-up, low-risk hematuria triage; platforms include virtual-first urology startups and integrated health system telehealth divisions |
How the wRVU model works in urology
In private and academic urology groups, many NPs are compensated via a base salary plus a work relative value unit (wRVU) production model. Each clinical service – new patient visit, established visit, procedure assist, in-office cystoscopy, urodynamics testing – carries a CMS-assigned wRVU value. The practice multiplies the NP’s total annual wRVUs by a conversion factor (typically $42–$58 per wRVU in urology, above the all-specialty NP median).
In-office procedures generate significantly higher wRVUs per unit of time than evaluation and management visits alone. A urology NP who performs flexible cystoscopies and urodynamics studies independently adds meaningful wRVU volume above a pure outpatient clinic NP. This procedural premium is one of the primary reasons urology NP salaries run above non-procedural specialty NPs. Candidates negotiating their first urology NP contract should clarify whether the wRVU threshold is set to include or exclude procedural volume, and whether procedure assist at surgeon-performed cases earns separate wRVU credit.
Subspecialty salary premiums
| Subspecialty | Salary range | Premium driver |
|---|---|---|
| Urologic oncology (bladder, kidney, prostate, testicular) | $142,000–$175,000 | Procedure intensity (BCG, surveillance cystoscopy), oncology complexity, cancer center demand |
| Male sexual health / andrology | $128,000–$160,000 | High visit volume, cash-pay components at some men's health clinics, bonus-heavy compensation models |
| Female pelvic medicine (FPMRS / urogynecology) | $128,000–$165,000 | Urodynamics procedures, pessary management, botulinum toxin administration; shared urogynecology billing premium |
| Stone disease / endourology (high-volume) | $125,000–$155,000 | Procedure assist bonuses at lithotripsy and laser stone centers; high patient throughput |
| Reconstructive urology | $125,000–$150,000 | Complex post-surgical management; smaller subspecialty market but high acuity |
| General outpatient urology (all-comers) | $118,000–$148,000 | Baseline; BPH, LUTS, hematuria, stone follow-up; high volume, predictable patient mix |
Urologic oncology commands the largest premium for two structural reasons: first, BCG instillation and surveillance cystoscopy are procedure codes with wRVU values above standard E&M visits; second, urologic oncology APPs are in short supply relative to demand at NCI-designated cancer centers. The AUA has flagged urology NP workforce shortages as a strategic concern, particularly in subspecialty oncology services.
Geographic salary variation
State-by-state salary variation for urology NPs mirrors the all-NP geographic differential, adjusted upward for urology’s specialty premium. High cost-of-living states with high NP demand lead. Rural states and low-cost markets lag, though demand in underserved markets can partly offset market rate disadvantages.
| State | Estimated annual salary range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| California | $145,000–$185,000+ | Restricted practice (physician supervision required); high COL; academic centers (UCSF, UCLA, USC) pay at top of range |
| New York | $138,000–$175,000 | Full practice, with the sunset extended to July 1, 2030 – see below; NYC metro drives upper range; MSK and NYP/Weill Cornell at premium |
| Washington | $135,000–$170,000 | Full practice; Seattle market and UW Medicine |
| Massachusetts | $135,000–$168,000 | Boston academic hub; Dana-Farber/MGH GU oncology positions premium |
| Oregon | $130,000–$162,000 | Full practice authority; OHSU urology program |
| Colorado | $128,000–$158,000 | Full practice; UCHealth and SCL Health systems |
| Texas | $125,000–$160,000 | Collaborative practice; MD Anderson GU oncology at top end; large private group market |
| Illinois | $125,000–$155,000 | Chicago metro drives range; Northwestern and UChicago GU programs |
| Florida | $122,000–$152,000 | Collaborative practice; high retiree population drives urology demand; Moffitt Cancer Center GU oncology |
| Pennsylvania | $122,000–$152,000 | Penn Medicine, Jefferson Health urology; Philadelphia metro at upper end |
| Arizona | $120,000–$150,000 | Full practice; Mayo Clinic Scottsdale; large retired population base |
| Minnesota | $120,000–$150,000 | Full practice; Mayo Clinic Rochester urology fellowship; strong union-influenced compensation |
| Michigan | $118,000–$148,000 | U-M Health urology; collaborative practice |
| Ohio | $118,000–$148,000 | Cleveland Clinic, Ohio State Wexner GU programs; collaborative practice |
| Virginia | $118,000–$148,000 | Restricted practice; UVA and VCU urology programs; federal market (VA hospitals) contributes |
| North Carolina | $118,000–$148,000 | UNC and Duke urology; collaborative practice; Research Triangle hub |
| Wisconsin | $118,000–$146,000 | Reduced practice (collaborative agreement required); UW Health |
| Maryland | $118,000–$150,000 | Full practice; Johns Hopkins urology at premium |
| New Jersey | $118,000–$150,000 | NYC adjacent; collaborative practice; Rutgers Cancer Institute GU |
| Connecticut | $118,000–$150,000 | Full practice; Yale urology; high COL premium |
| Indiana | $115,000–$142,000 | IU Health urology; collaborative practice |
| Tennessee | $115,000–$145,000 | Vanderbilt urology; collaborative practice |
| Georgia | $115,000–$145,000 | Emory urology; collaborative practice; growing Atlanta market |
| Utah | $115,000–$144,000 | Full practice; University of Utah urology |
| Nevada | $115,000–$145,000 | Full practice; Las Vegas healthcare expansion |
| Iowa | $112,000–$138,000 | Full practice; University of Iowa urology |
| Kansas | $112,000–$138,000 | Full practice; KU Medical Center |
| Louisiana | $112,000–$138,000 | Collaborative practice; Tulane and LSU urology programs |
| Arkansas | $110,000–$135,000 | Collaborative practice; rural demand high but market rate lower |
| Mississippi | $108,000–$133,000 | Collaborative practice; lowest COL state; rural urology shortage drives demand |
| Alabama | $110,000–$136,000 | Collaborative practice; UAB urology |
Regional pattern: California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Northeast run 15–25% above national median. The Midwest and Southeast run 10–15% below. However, rural urology NP demand in states like Mississippi, Arkansas, and Kansas is high, and some systems offer loan forgiveness, rural stipends, or premium starting salaries to attract candidates to underserved markets – narrowing the effective compensation gap.
Experience and career stage
| Career stage | Experience | Salary range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-level | 0–2 years NP practice | $105,000–$120,000 | New graduate; orientation period; productivity bonuses typically not triggered until panel is established |
| Mid-career | 2–6 years | $120,000–$145,000 | Independent panel; full procedural scope; wRVU production begins contributing meaningfully |
| Senior specialist | 6–10 years | $140,000–$162,000 | Subspecialty depth; CUNP credential; possible procedural privileges expansion; mentoring new NPs |
| Lead NP / department leadership | 10+ years | $150,000–$180,000+ | APP team lead, director of urology APPs, quality improvement responsibilities; academic appointment may add teaching supplement |
How to increase your urology NP salary
Earn the CUNP credential
The Certified Urologic Nurse Practitioner (CUNP) credential is awarded by the Certification Board for Urologic Nurses and Associates (CBUNA), the certifying arm of the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates (SUNA). It is worth naming the issuer precisely, because urology NP salary content frequently credits the credential to a non-existent “American Association of Urologic Nurses” – CBUNA is the only national body certifying urologic nursing practice, and it also awards the CURN credential for registered nurses.
Eligibility runs to two years of NP practice in a urologic care setting with at least 800 clinical practice hours in the preceding three years, active NP recognition from your state board, and current board certification from a national NP certifying body. The exam is 175 multiple-choice questions and the credential is valid for three years. Registration is $350 for SUNA members and $445 for non-members, with a one-time retake at $250 member / $345 non-member.
No published survey isolates a CUNP salary premium, and CBUNA reports roughly 600 certificants across all its credentials, so any specific dollar figure you see attached to the credential is an estimate. The verifiable value is eligibility: employers in high-volume urology groups and cancer centers use specialty certification as a hiring and promotion filter, and the credential becomes reachable roughly two years into a urology NP role.
Expand your procedural privileges
Procedural volume is the primary wRVU driver in urology. NPs who are credentialed and privileged for flexible cystoscopy, urodynamics, in-office lithotripsy assist, and BCG instillation generate substantially more wRVU per clinical session than NPs performing evaluation and management visits only. When negotiating your first contract, ask specifically about procedural training support, the timeline for independent privilege application, and whether procedure assist at surgeon-performed cases earns separate wRVU credit.
Position in urologic oncology
High-volume cancer centers compensate urology NPs above the outpatient baseline for good reason: the caseload is complex, the procedural volume is high, and the workforce supply is tight. If oncology interests you, reading the oncology NP guide will help you understand what training background makes candidates competitive for GU oncology positions.
Consider locum tenens urology NP contracts
The locum tenens market for urology APPs has expanded significantly. Urology practices in underserved and rural markets pay $90–$130 per hour for locum NPs who can run outpatient clinic independently, including cystoscopy. Locum contracts avoid the benefits overhead and often carry completion bonuses. Experienced urology NPs (4+ years, full procedural scope) who can travel are well-positioned to supplement or replace a permanent employed salary with locum income.
Practice in a full-practice authority state
AANP’s 2026 State Practice Environment map classes 27 states plus the District of Columbia as full practice authority, meaning NPs evaluate, diagnose, order and interpret tests, and initiate treatment under the exclusive licensure authority of the state board of nursing – no physician supervisory or collaborative agreement required. Twelve states are reduced practice and eleven are restricted.
New York’s inclusion in the full practice column carried a caveat until late May 2026. The state’s 2022 NP Modernization Act waived the collaborative-relationship requirement for NPs with 3,600 or more practice hours, but that waiver carried a July 1, 2026 sunset, and the standalone renewal bill (S2360) never left the Senate Higher Education Committee. The extension came through the budget instead: Governor Hochul signed A10007C, the FY2027 budget legislation, on May 28, 2026, moving the sunset to July 1, 2030. Urology NPs in New York with 3,600+ practice hours remain exempt from the written collaborative-agreement requirement through that date. Verify the current requirement with the New York State Education Department Office of the Professions before making a relocation decision.
One correction worth making explicitly, because urology salary content gets it backwards: California is a restricted-practice state, not a full-practice one, and so are Texas, Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Michigan. Practice authority and pay do not track each other. California is the highest-paying urology NP market in the country and is restricted; several full-practice states in the Mountain West and upper Midwest sit in the bottom half of the wage table. So treat autonomy and compensation as two separate reasons to prefer a state rather than assuming one implies the other. What full practice authority does reliably change is your ability to run an independent panel, own a practice, and negotiate without a collaborating physician’s overhead sitting between you and the revenue you generate.
Negotiate an RVU-based production model
If your employer offers a choice between salary-only and a base-plus-production model, the latter typically rewards productive procedural urology NPs more favorably. Negotiate the wRVU conversion rate (aim for $45–$55 per wRVU as a starting point), the productivity threshold before bonuses kick in, and whether wRVUs from procedure assist count. For high-volume urology practices, the production component can add $15,000–$40,000 annually above base salary.
Urology NP salary vs other NP specialties
| NP specialty | National salary range | Relative to urology |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiology NP | $130,000–$165,000 | Comparable; procedural cardiology (EP lab) exceeds urology at top end |
| Oncology NP | $130,000–$165,000 | Comparable; GU oncology NPs overlap substantially with urologic oncology |
| Urology NP | $125,000–$155,000 | – |
| Orthopedic NP | $120,000–$155,000 | Comparable; procedural orthopedic (surgical first-assist) overlaps at upper end |
| Neurology NP | $118,000–$148,000 | Slightly below; tele-neurology premium at specialized centers narrows gap |
| Pulmonology NP | $118,000–$150,000 | Comparable; critical care subspecialty pushes pulmonology NP above median |
| Family NP (generalist) | $110,000–$138,000 | Below; specialty premium of $10,000–$20,000 for urology vs general FNP practice |
| CRNA (anesthesia) | $207,000–$294,000 (BLS P25–P75, median $236,590) | Substantially above; different scope and training (DNAP, three-year post-BSN). Unlike the NP rows above, CRNAs have their own BLS occupation code (SOC 29-1151), so this row is survey data rather than an aggregator estimate |
Urology sits in the $125,000–$155,000 midrange – firmly competitive with other procedural specialties, above the generalist FNP average by a meaningful margin, and well below CRNA and top acute care NP roles. The CRNA gap is larger than most specialty comparison tables show: the median CRNA earns $236,590, roughly $100,000 above the all-NP median, and that is a different occupation with a separate licensing pathway rather than a step up within NP practice. The procedural volume and specialty credential structure (CUNP, wRVU model) give motivated urology NPs above-average income growth trajectory within NP practice.
Job outlook
Demand for urology NPs is growing across all settings. The structural drivers:
Aging male population: NIDDK estimates that benign prostatic hyperplasia affects 5% to 6% of men aged 40 to 64 and 29% to 33% of men aged 65 and older. Those are figures for symptomatic, clinically diagnosed BPH. You will often see much larger numbers quoted – “50% of men in their 50s, 90% of men over 80” – attributed to NIDDK; those come from autopsy studies measuring histologic BPH, which is prostate tissue change that in most men never produces symptoms or requires treatment. The clinical figures are the ones that generate clinic visits, and they still describe a large and growing caseload as the population ages. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in US men other than skin cancer (American Cancer Society).
Rising kidney stone incidence: Kidney stone prevalence in the US has risen substantially over recent decades. Scales and colleagues, analyzing NHANES 2007–2010 data for the Urologic Diseases in America project, found an overall prevalence of 8.8% – 10.6% among men and 7.1% among women – a marked increase over the earlier NHANES III cohort. Stone disease is one of the highest-volume ambulatory urology conditions, and NPs manage stone follow-up, metabolic evaluation, and preventive counseling independently.
Expanded OAB and pelvic floor management: Growing awareness of overactive bladder and female pelvic floor disorders has expanded the pool of patients seeking urological care – a shift that many systems address by deploying NPs in dedicated voiding dysfunction and female pelvic medicine clinics.
Male sexual health destigmatization: Telehealth and direct-to-consumer men’s health platforms have dramatically expanded the addressable market for testosterone deficiency management, erectile dysfunction workup, and fertility assessment – all areas where NPs practice independently in full-practice states.
Urologist shortage: The AUA’s annual Census documents a workforce imbalance that is geographic as much as numeric. Roughly 62% of US counties have no practicing urologist at all, and only about 10% of urologists keep their primary practice outside a metropolitan area. The workforce is also aging: median age 54, with about a third aged 65 or older, and around 41% of practices reporting difficulty filling urologist vacancies. Advanced practice providers have become central rather than supplementary to urologic care delivery under those conditions. For urology NPs this means stronger negotiating leverage and more opportunity in underserved markets – especially for NPs willing to work in rural or suburban settings that cannot recruit or retain a urologist.
Urology NP hiring is strong across hospital systems, private practices, academic centers, and the growing telehealth urology segment. The CUNP credential, procedural competency, and experience in high-demand subspecialties (urologic oncology, stone disease, men’s health) position candidates at the front of the applicant pool.
For the full career pathway and credential requirements, see the how to become a urology nurse practitioner guide. For broader NP salary context, see the family nurse practitioner salary guide and the how to become a nurse practitioner guide.
References
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: Nurse Practitioners (SOC 29-1171),” May 2025 estimates. National median annual wage $132,300; 10th percentile $101,340, 90th percentile $174,420.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Occupational Outlook Handbook: Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners,” 2024–2034 employment projections.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: Nurse Anesthetists (SOC 29-1151),” May 2025 estimates. National median annual wage $236,590; 25th percentile $206,730, 75th percentile $294,350.
- Certification Board for Urologic Nurses and Associates (CBUNA), “About CBUNA” and “Becoming Certified” – CUNP eligibility, examination structure, fees, and three-year certification term. Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates, suna.org/certification.
- American Association of Nurse Practitioners, “State Practice Environment,” 2026 edition. Full practice, reduced practice, and restricted practice classifications by jurisdiction.
- American Urological Association, “The State of the Urology Workforce and Practice in the United States,” AUA Annual Census. Urologist geographic distribution, workforce age profile, vacancy difficulty, and advanced practice provider utilization.
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), “Enlarged Prostate (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia),” National Institutes of Health. Clinical BPH prevalence by age group.
- Scales CD Jr, Smith AC, Hanley JM, Saigal CS; Urologic Diseases in America Project, “Prevalence of Kidney Stones in the United States,” European Urology, Vol. 62 No. 1, 2012, pp. 160–165.
- American Cancer Society, “Key Statistics for Prostate Cancer,” Cancer Facts and Figures.
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, “Physician Fee Schedule: Relative Value Files.” Work relative value unit (wRVU) assignments underlying production-based compensation models.