In Chicago, IL, nurse practitioners earn a median of $131,740 a year, according to the latest BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. That is roughly in line with the national median of $129,030 for the same role across all U.S. metros in the dataset. The middle 50% land between $118,710 and $149,150 — a 30,440 range that reflects differences in seniority, employer type, and specialization. The average (mean) of $133,040 comes in higher than the median, which usually means a share of high earners is pulling the average up. The catch: Chicago is roughly in line with the national cost of living (cost index 100 against a 100 baseline), so that headline number buys less than it would elsewhere. On an hourly basis that is about $63.34, useful for comparing contract or part-time offers.

For context, the national median for nurse practitioners across all U.S. metros in our data is $129,030.