Nurse Anesthetist Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 2,346 US job postings by 381 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for nurse anesthetists: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 2,346 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for nurse anesthetists in US job postings is $279,000 a year (599 postings from 130 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $240,000 to $320,000.
- The skills that most set nurse anesthetist postings apart are airway management, anesthesia, pain management.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 2 years of experience.
Nurse Anesthetist job postings in the US, October 2026
- $279,000
- Median advertised pay (599 postings)
- $240,000–$320,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 2,346
- US job postings from 381 employers
- 2 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a nurse anesthetist make?
The median advertised pay is $279,000 a year, from 599 US job postings by 130 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $416,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 599 US nurse anesthetist job postings: median $279,000 a year, middle half $240,000 to $320,000.
- Median: $279,000
- 25th percentile: $240,000
- 75th percentile: $320,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $30K–$40K | 0.2% |
| $40K–$50K | 0.2% |
| $60K–$70K | 0.6% |
| $70K–$80K | 3.0% |
| $80K–$90K | 1.0% |
| $90K–$100K | 1.2% |
| $100K–$110K | 0.8% |
| $120K–$130K | 1.2% |
| $140K–$150K | 0.6% |
| $150K–$160K | 0.2% |
| $160K–$170K | 0.2% |
| $170K–$180K | 1.0% |
| $180K–$190K | 0.2% |
| $190K–$200K | 0.4% |
| $200K–$210K | 3.4% |
| $210K–$220K | 2.6% |
| $220K–$230K | 2.2% |
| $230K–$240K | 5.4% |
| $240K–$250K | 6.2% |
| $250K–$260K | 7.2% |
| $260K–$270K | 3.2% |
| $270K–$280K | 9.0% |
| $280K–$290K | 5.0% |
| $290K–$300K | 7.6% |
| $300K–$310K | 5.4% |
| $310K–$320K | 6.4% |
| $320K–$330K | 0.2% |
| $330K–$340K | 2.0% |
| $340K–$350K | 1.2% |
| $350K–$360K | 2.4% |
| $360K–$370K | 1.4% |
| $370K–$380K | 2.2% |
| $380K–$390K | 1.6% |
| $390K–$400K | 1.8% |
| $400K–$410K | 0.6% |
| $410K–$420K | 3.8% |
| $430K–$440K | 0.4% |
| $440K–$450K | 0.4% |
| $450K–$460K | 0.8% |
| $460K–$470K | 1.2% |
| $470K–$480K | 0.4% |
| $480K–$490K | 0.8% |
| $490K–$500K | 0.4% |
| $520K–$530K | 1.4% |
| $540K–$550K | 0.4% |
| $560K–$570K | 0.2% |
| $570K–$580K | 0.2% |
| $620K–$630K | 0.2% |
| $630K–$640K | 0.2% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $259,000 | $228K–$292K | 337 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $279,000 | $240K–$320K | 599 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Nurse Anesthetists (29-1151) at $237,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a nurse anesthetist?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying nurse anesthetist jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRNA | $280,000 | 584 | 124 |
Skills employers ask for in nurse anesthetist job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 25% |
| Airway management | 18% |
| Interpersonal skills | 9% |
| Work independently | 8% |
| Anesthesia | 8% |
| Teamwork | 6% |
| Pain management | 5% |
| Clinical judgment | 5% |
| Professionalism | 5% |
| Computer skills | 4% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set nurse anesthetists apart
- Airway management263.9× as often as in all postings · 18%
- Anesthesia246.6× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Pain management72.1× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Clinical judgment14.9× as often as in all postings · 5%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a nurse anesthetist job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a nurse anesthetist do?
Employers post these jobs as CRNA, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), Chief CRNA, Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and other titles. The largest specializations are CRNA (97%).
The closest official occupation is Nurse Anesthetists (29-1151.00). Its most important tasks:
- 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.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a nurse anesthetist?
Among 335 postings that state a minimum, the median is 2 years. 7% say 0 years and 41% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 335 US nurse anesthetist job postings: median 2 years, and 41% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 7% |
| 1 yr | 34% |
| 2 yrs | 34% |
| 3-4 yrs | 13% |
| 5-7 yrs | 9% |
| 8-9 yrs | 0% |
| 10+ yrs | 3% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 89%, Part-time 11% of the 456 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a nurse anesthetist: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| CRNA | 197 (51.7%) |
| Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist | 127 (33.3%) |
| Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) | 51 (13.4%) |
| Nurse Anesthetist | 34 (8.9%) |
| Chief CRNA | 10 (2.6%) |
| Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) | 9 (2.4%) |
| REGISTERED NURSE ANESTHETIST | 7 (1.8%) |
| Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) | 4 (1.1%) |
| Per Diem CRNA | 4 (1.1%) |
| Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Anesthetist) | 3 (0.8%) |
| Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist PRN | 3 (0.8%) |
| Chief Nurse Anesthetist | 3 (0.8%) |
| Registered Nurse (RN) | 3 (0.8%) |
| Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (PRN) | 3 (0.8%) |
| Physician | 3 (0.8%) |
| Registered Nurse | 3 (0.8%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Nurse Anesthetist compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetist | $279K | 2 years | 2,346 | – |
| Respiratory Therapist | $41.50/hr | 1 year | 8,120 | 11 |
| Emergency Medical Technician | $26.00/hr | 2 years | 5,134 | 8 |
| Neurodiagnostic Technologist | – | 1 year | 1,106 | 10 |
| Physician Assistant | $150K | 2 years | 2,412 | 9 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Respiratory Therapist | 11 | $41.50/hr |
| Emergency Medical Technician | 8 | $26.00/hr |
| Neurodiagnostic Technologist | 10 | – |
| Physician Assistant | 9 | $150K |
| Physician | 10 | $312K |
| Nurse Midwife | 11 | – |
Applying for nurse anesthetist jobs?
- Nurse anesthetist resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find nurse anesthetist jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a nurse anesthetist make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 20 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.