Occupation salary profile

Nurse Anesthetists

SOC 29-1151 BLS OEWS May 2025

Administer anesthesia, monitor patient’s vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia. May assist anesthesiologists, surgeons, other physicians, or dentists. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.

National median · BLS
$236,590
▲ +5.99% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
—
Too few H-1B filings
Average salary · BLS
$248,320
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
51,840
Jobs (BLS)
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Pay range for Nurse Anesthetists

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS)
10th — entry pay$155,250
25th$206,730
Median (50th)$236,590
75th$294,350
90th — top pay$339,500

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Nurse Anesthetists

BLS projects employment of nurse anesthetists to grow 9.7% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 2,400 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
54,500 → 59,800
+5,300 jobs
Projected change
+9.7%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
2,400
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Master's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
2.8% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a master's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Nurse Anesthetists

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Critical Thinking4.1
  • Reading Comprehension4.1
  • Active Learning4.0
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Complex Problem Solving4.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making4.0
  • Monitoring4.0
  • Speaking4.0
  • Science3.9
  • Service Orientation3.9
Top knowledge areas
  • Medicine and Dentistry4.8
  • Biology4.6
  • Customer and Personal Service4.6
  • Chemistry4.3
  • Education and Training4.3
  • Mathematics4.3
  • English Language4.2
  • Psychology4.0
Software and technology used
Epic SystemsPatient management softwareeClinicalWorks EHR softwareMEDITECH softwareMicrosoft WordAetherPalm InfusiCalcAllscripts Professional EHRAmkai AmkaiChartsBizmatics PrognoCIS EMRCerner MillenniumChartWare EMRDrug database softwaree-MDs softwareEDImis Anesthesia ManagerGE Healthcare Centricity EMRMedscribbler EnterpriseMicroFour PracticeStudio.NET EMRNextGen Healthcare Information Systems EMR

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What nurse anesthetists do

  • Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation.
  • Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques.
  • Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques.
  • Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary.
  • Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics.
  • Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response.
  • Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks.
  • Develop anesthesia care plans.
Also called
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)Nurse AnesthetistStaff Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (Staff CRNA)Staff Nurse Anesthetist
More job titles for this occupation (3)
Anesthesia PhysicianAnesthesia SpecialistCertified Nurse Anesthetist

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.