Certified Nurse-Midwife Salary

When you look at job postings, you may find that the nurse-midwife salary range for a nurse in your city varies somewhat from the same position in another part of the country. In addition to job location, the following factors can have an impact on midwifery salary ranges.

• Employer – Certified nurse-midwives work in a variety of settings, from hospitals to private clinics, and the midwifery salary range will differ depending on the employer type. As an example, PayScale.com shows that the midwife salaries at non-profit organizations typically are higher than the nurse-midwife salary that local government agencies pay.
• Education – In order to practice, certified nurse-midwives must hold a Master of Science degree in Nursing (MSN), meaning they have advanced training in their specialty area and engage in ongoing educational opportunities to stay abreast of their field. All of these aspects of the profession contribute to strong nurse-midwife salary potential.
• Previous Work Experience – The nursing profession generally rewards practitioners for experience. PayScale.com shows that after just five years in the field, CNMs can earn a midwifery salary of over $80,000 annually. What's more, nurse-midwife salaries continue to go up from as nurses gain experience.
• Area of Specialty – As a rule, advanced practice nursing jobs pay exceptional salaries. In comparing AP nursing wages, nurse-midwife salaries certainly fall on the higher end of the scale, with Salary.com showing that the median nurse-midwife salary comes in second for AP professions, behind certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs).

Along with providing critical nursing care during labor and the delivery of a baby, nurse-midwives can also serve as primary care givers to women, nursing educators and researchers. According to Salary.com, the median certified nurse-midwife salary in the U.S. is $90,119. Take a closer look at how midwifery salaries break down—from earners in the lowest percentiles to those in the top:

In equating the percentiles to work experience, job location and other factors that influence midwifery salary ranges, you can see that the median nurse-midwife salary looks pretty good from the starting end of the scale to the top end.

The BLS reports that registered nurses can anticipate a 22 percent increase in employment through 2018. And AP nurses, like certified nurse-midwives, can look forward to an even stronger growth rate due to the fact that their advanced clinical training and expertise prepares them to perform many of the same functions as medical doctors.

Inner cities, rural areas and underserved communities create the strongest demand for certified nurse-midwives who can offer medical services at a lower cost for employers, which means lower costs for patients without sacrificing quality of care.

Caring for women through a life-changing time that can brings significant physical trials and a myriad of emotions—from anguish to joy—carries with it many rewards. Whether a woman is delivering her first child or her fifth, the job of a nurse-midwife remains crucial to ensuring the health of each mother and her baby. Clearly, the job carries with it significant responsibilities matched by an excellent midwifery salary potential.

Learn more about nurse-midwife degrees and programs, and request more information from the nurse-midwifery schools that interest you most.

_{Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010
Payscale.com, 2010
Salary.com, 2010}