Anesthesiologist Nurse Salary: Everything You Need to Know

Can you imagine today's medical world without anesthesia? Unbearable to even think of, right? That's why people who work with anesthesia are crucial to healthcare. As such, they possess some of the highest salaries in the field. 

One of these workers is the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist-CRNA nurse. If you're considering pursuing a career as a nurse anesthetist or would like to know more about this profession's salary, or both, you've chosen the right article.

Read on as we go through the anesthesiologist nurse's salary in detail, including how much they get paid in a year, factors that affect these earnings, and the highest paying states for this job. Furthermore, to analyze everything from a different perspective, we compare the CRNA nurse's salary to what other nurses earn.

Let’s dive in. 

What Is a Nurse Anesthetist?

A nurse anesthetist is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) who is in charge of administering anesthesia to patients during surgeries or other medical procedures so that they don't feel pain. These nurses are also known as certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) or nurse anesthesiologists.

CRNA nurses undergo several years of training to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge for the job. They have at least graduate-level education and possess an average of 9,369 hours of clinical experience by the time they are certified.

Nurse anesthetists work alongside anesthesiologists, surgeons, physicians, and dentists to offer their services to patients. Part of their job is assessing the patient's response to anesthesia, administering the right amount, and monitoring the patient during and after surgery.

Average Salary for Nurse Anesthetist

The responsibility that comes with this position is rewarded with a significantly high income. The annual salary of an anesthetist nurse ranges from $167,500 to $238,500, with an average of $202,804 per year

or $98 per hour. 

However, a nurse anesthetist's salary depends on many factors, including work setting, location, and years of experience. Let’s get into the detail and explain how each factor affects an anesthesiologist nurse's salary.

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Anesthetist salary by years of experience

What if we tell you that the CRNA nurses can earn more than $250,000 per year? As mentioned above, experience is among the factors that can significantly affect a nurse anesthetist's salary. That is why experienced nurse anesthesiologists reportedly make up to $266,500 annually across the United States!

According to the latest data, entry-level CRNA nurses can earn an average of $167,500 per year, moving to $238,500 for the 75th percentile, while professionals make $266,500 per year. Of all the reported salaries, 5% surpass the $266,000 mark and go as high as $287,500 per year, showing the advancement opportunities that come with this position.

Anesthetist salary by workplace

An anesthesiologist nurse's earnings can also vary depending on the workplace. As a CRNA nurse, you can work in various environments, including hospitals, doctors' offices, surgical clinics, emergency rooms, psychiatric institutions, the military, outpatient care centers, etc., but be prepared for a change in salary if you decide to switch work settings.

According to compiled data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from all the workplaces mentioned above, outpatient care centers offer the highest salary of $254,180, followed by specialty hospitals with $219,540 annually. Offices of physicians offer the lowest pay on this list, at $194,210 per year. 

The list below shows different CRNA nurse workplaces and their annual salaries, starting from the highest one:

  • Outpatient Care Centers - $254,180;

  • Specialty Hospitals - $219,540;

  • General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - $212,340;

  • Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools - $200,340;

  • Offices of Physicians - $194,240;

  • Offices of Other Health Practitioners - $179,220.

CRNA Nurse Salary Compared to Other Nurses

To understand how high CRNAs rank in terms of salary, let's compare their annual salary of $202,804 per year with the average for other popular nursing positions:

As you can see, generally, nursing jobs have fair salaries. However, the CRNA position is among the best compensated jobs, as the national average salary for such professions is almost double that of most other nursing roles.

Best-Paying States for CRNA Nurses

As already established, location is another aspect that plays a major role in dictating CRNA nurse salaries. Data shows that depending on the state where they practice, the wage of an anesthetist nurse can differ by more than 50,000 dollars. This number is way too high for you not to consider the practicing location when working as a nurse anesthetist.

To help you with that, we compiled a list containing the ten best paying states where you can practice as a nurse anesthesiologist and benefit from their high salaries.

Massachusetts's highest-paying state has an annual salary of $212,652, followed by  New Jersey, Hawaii, and Connecticut, providing wages above $200,000  for CRNA nurses. Let's go through the list for more

  1. Massachusetts - $212,652

  2. New Jersey - $211,338  

  3. Hawaii - $209,171          

  4. Connecticut - $206,624

  5. Washington - $202,956

  6. Wisconsin - $202,455

  7. New York - $201,682

  8. Tennessee - $201,386

  9. Rhode Island - $201,199

  10. Minnesota - $200,717

Ten highest paying cities for nurse anesthetists

Besides, the city you live in can impact the wage you get. For example, Lakes, Alaska, offers the highest salary for CRNA nurses with an annual salary of $247,979. San Francisco and Santa Clara in California follow suit with around $243,000 per year. Below you have a complete list of the best cities to work as a CRNA nurse:

  1. Lakes, AK - $247,979

  2. San Francisco, CA - $243,734

  3. Santa Clara, CA - $243,385

  4. Fremont, CA - $234,183

  5. San Buenaventura, CA - $233,936

  6. Centennial, CO - $229,840

  7. San Jose, CA - $229,270

  8. Alexandria, VA - $226,967

  9. Oakland, CA - $226,799

  10. Tanaina, AK - $226,271

Wrapping Up

CRNA nurses are among the highest-paid nursing jobs, so if you're interested in a high-paying nurse position, you should consider the nurse anesthetist role. 

This salary can vary based on location, years of experience, and workplace. Thus, as high as the average anesthesiologist nurse's salary is, it can get higher when you make the right choices. We hope this article can help you decide and benefit from the best-paying settings and locations for a CRNA nurse.

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