Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Above-baseline growth SOC 29-1161

Nurse Midwives

Projected +11% employment change leads this card; pay sits next to Cardiologists, Orthodontists, Anesthesiologists, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Nurse Midwives: Cardiologists ($496K) , Orthodontists ($289K) , Anesthesiologists ($391K) , Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons ($352K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Nurse Midwives publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1161 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients
  2. 2. Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimatin…
  3. 3. Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information
  4. 4. Provide patients with direct family planning services, such as inserting intrauterine devices, dispensing oral contraceptives, and fittin…
  5. 5. Prescribe medications as permitted by state regulations
  6. 6. Develop and implement individualized plans for health care management
  7. 7. Explain procedures to patients, family members, staff members or others
  8. 8. Order and interpret diagnostic or laboratory tests
  9. 9. Initiate emergency interventions to stabilize patients
  10. 10. Document findings of physical examinations
  11. 11. Educate patients and family members regarding prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, newborn, or interconception care
  12. 12. Perform physical examinations by taking vital signs, checking neurological reflexes, examining breasts, or performing pelvic examinations

Nurse Midwives: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1161 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Medicine and Dentistry. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.1
  2. 2. Speaking 4.1
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 4.1
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 4.1
  5. 5. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  6. 6. Active Learning 4.0
  7. 7. Monitoring 4.0
  8. 8. Writing 3.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Medicine and Dentistry 4.8
  2. 2. Psychology 4.3
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 4.2
  4. 4. English Language 4.2
  5. 5. Biology 4.1
  6. 6. Sociology and Anthropology 3.8
Projected employment change 2024-2034
↑ +11%
much faster than average (3.1%)
National median $134,040/yr
$134K
National median
500
Annual openings
7,920
Estimated US jobs
Cardiologists
Highest-pay peer · $496K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Nurse Midwives

1. New Jersey $153,970
2. Massachusetts $159,800
3. Vermont $151,030
4. Hawaii $170,110
5. Washington $158,970
6. Arizona $140,960
7. California $203,840
8. Oregon $146,900
9. New York $144,510
10. New Hampshire $142,960

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Anesthesiologists $391,490
  2. 2. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons $352,220
  3. 3. Orthodontists $289,140
  4. 4. Prosthodontists $311,180
  5. 5. Cardiologists $496,010
  6. 6. Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric $358,550

BLS projects +11% employment change for Nurse Midwives (2024-2034), much faster than average vs the all-occupations baseline of 3.1%. Published median pay is $134,040.

BLS assigns Master's degree as typical entry education. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal employer rules. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New Jersey at $153,970. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Cardiologists at $496,010. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Nurse Midwives pay-rank #29 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Nurse Midwives sits at pay-rank #29 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

Projected change +11.1% puts Nurse Midwives ahead of most peers. Open the state map or compare it directly against a slower-growing role.

Nurse Midwives salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1161

New Jersey · top state for Nurse Midwives

$154K published median

Massachusetts · #2 state pay

$160K · behind New Jersey

Cardiologists

Highest-pay peer vs Nurse Midwives · $496K

Orthodontists

Lower-pay peer beside Nurse Midwives · $289K

Compare Nurse Midwives

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Nurse Midwives with another occupation →

Growth and outlook next reads

Fastest-Growing Rankings

National projection leaders

Highest-Paying Careers

Where growth meets pay

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Nurse Midwives mid-table among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #29 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Nurse Practitioners ($132K), Physician Assistants ($136K), Optometrists ($137K), Veterinarians ($130K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do nurse midwives do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Nurse Midwives. Leading ones include: Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients; Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimatin…; Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information; Provide patients with direct family planning services, such as inserting intrauterine devices, dispensing oral contraceptives, and fittin…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for nurse midwives? ▼
For SOC 29-1161, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.1), Speaking (4.1), Critical Thinking (4.1), Social Perceptiveness (4.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Medicine and Dentistry, Psychology, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Nurse Midwives? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $134,040 as the national median for Nurse Midwives. The published 10th-90th range is $93,620 to $188,320. Beside Cardiologists ($496,010), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
How fast is Nurse Midwives projected to grow? ▼
BLS Employment Projections put Nurse Midwives at +11% change for 2024-2034, with about 500 annual openings. Versus the all-occupations baseline (3.1%): much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Nurse Midwives? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Nurse Midwives. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Nurse Midwives? ▼
New Jersey ($153,970), Massachusetts ($159,800), Vermont ($151,030) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Nurse Midwives card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1161. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Nurse Midwives. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics