Nurse midwife (CNM) salary calculator
Annualize your certified nurse midwife base pay against the May 2025 BLS Nurse Midwives series, then compare top state medians and California metros for SOC 29-1161.
BLS OEWS May 2025 · SOC 29-1161 · About 8,600 employed · Inputs stay in your browser
Ready when you are
Your benchmark will appear here
Enter your CNM base pay to see an annual estimate, national percentile, and the latest nurse midwife wage range. Inputs stay in your browser.
Know the CNM range. Then shop roles that fit.
After you place your base pay against national nurse midwife wages, browse openings that match your practice model, setting, and call expectations.
CNM pay context
A small APRN workforce with sharp state pay gaps
This calculator uses the BLS Nurse Midwives occupation (SOC 29-1161), the series that covers certified nurse midwives (CNMs). It is not an NP wage table and it is not a CRNA wage table. National median pay is close to NPs, but employment is tiny and state medians can sit far above or below the U.S. figure.
- About 8,600 nurse midwives were employed in 2024 (BLS Employment Projections via O*NET), with roughly 500 openings per year projected through 2034.
- California's median ($203,840) is more than 50% above the national median of $134,040.
- Ask employers separately about call pay, hospital privileges, birth-center vs office schedules, and benefits. Midwifery packages often hinge on call more than base alone.
- NPs should use the NP salary calculator. CRNAs should use the CRNA salary calculator.
The national picture
Nurse midwife (CNM) salary range
BLS wage percentiles for nurse midwives across industries in the United States. Benchmarks only, not recommended rates or guarantees.
| Percentile | Hourly wage | Annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $45.01 | $93,620 |
| 25th | $56.01 | $116,510 |
| 50th | $64.44 | $134,040 |
| 75th | $75.67 | $157,400 |
| 90th | $90.54 | $188,320 |
Pay by geography
Highest-paying nurse midwife states
Top published state median wages for nurse midwives compared with the national median of $134,040. CNM OEWS coverage is thinner than RN or NP coverage, so this table is limited to states with clean May 2025 rows.
| State | Median annual | 10th | 90th | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $203,840 | $140,970 | $227,590 | +52.1% vs national |
| Hawaii | $170,110 | $125,720 | $193,780 | +26.9% vs national |
| Massachusetts | $159,800 | $120,230 | $204,000 | +19.2% vs national |
| Washington | $158,970 | $73,320 | $175,100 | +18.6% vs national |
| New Jersey | $153,970 | $134,400 | $193,760 | +14.9% vs national |
| Vermont | $151,030 | $126,090 | $169,170 | +12.7% vs national |
| Oregon | $146,900 | $129,910 | $161,180 | +9.6% vs national |
| New York | $144,510 | $104,860 | $177,240 | +7.8% vs national |
| New Hampshire | $142,960 | $78,680 | $164,930 | +6.7% vs national |
| Arizona | $140,960 | $101,160 | $258,680 | +5.2% vs national |
Large-market contrast
Not every busy market is a high-pay market
Florida, Texas, and Georgia publish lower CNM medians than the top-ten set, even though they are major maternity markets. Colorado sits near the national median. Use these rows as context when an offer looks "national average" but the state table says otherwise.
| State | Median annual | 10th | 90th | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | $137,610 | $124,970 | $161,460 | +2.7% vs national |
| Florida | $127,460 | $49,780 | $146,590 | -4.9% vs national |
| Texas | $123,380 | $90,260 | $153,100 | -8% vs national |
| Georgia | $105,510 | $86,290 | $164,300 | -21.3% vs national |
California metro spotlight
Where California CNM medians land by metro
California is the clearest high-pay CNM state in this dataset. These metros publish usable May 2025 medians. Many other U.S. metros suppress nurse midwife wages because employment counts are small, so we do not invent a national metro grid.
| Metro area | Median annual | vs CA state median |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $218,760 | +7.3% vs state |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $212,630 | +4.3% vs state |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $202,850 | -0.5% vs state |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $191,220 | -6.2% vs state |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $181,450 | -11% vs state |
Practice authority
CNM rules are state-specific
Midwifery practice authority varies by state. Some environments support independent practice; others require collaboration or supervision for some or all services, including prescribing or intrapartum care. That can change privileges and job design. BLS does not publish a pay premium by practice-authority category, so treat authority as a market constraint, not a wage formula.
View ACNM state practice mapsSetting and call
Birth-center, office, and hospital work are not the same package
BLS groups nurse midwives with other APRNs for some industry employment shares, and public HTML profiles do not always expose a clean CNM-only May 2025 industry median table. What is clear from the Occupational Outlook Handbook: CNMs work in physicians' offices, hospitals, outpatient care centers, and related settings, and some nurse midwives work in birthing centers (a type of outpatient care center). Call schedules for labor and birth can dominate total compensation even when base looks average.
- Ask whether the posted number is base only or includes estimated call.
- Confirm hospital privileges, collaborative agreements, and malpractice coverage.
- Read the BLS OOH APRN profile for setting context: Nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners.
How the math works
Transparent by design
- 1
Annualize your CNM base pay
Hourly pay is multiplied by hours per week and weeks per year. Weekly uses weeks per year; monthly uses 12 months.
- 2
Place it on the nurse midwife BLS vector
We compare annualized pay with published nurse midwife percentiles for SOC 29-1161.
- 3
Label the approximation
Gaps between published points use linear interpolation. Outside the 10th-90th range, results are labeled only as below or above the published threshold. State and metro tables are separate context, not calculator inputs.
Primary sources
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and ACNM
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Nurse Midwives (29-1161), May 2025. Published May 15, 2026; verified August 11, 2026. Employment and openings: BLS Employment Projections via O*NET. Practice-authority maps: American College of Nurse-Midwives.
Common questions
Nurse midwife salary FAQ
How much do nurse midwives make?
The national median annual wage for nurse midwives was $134,040 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half earned less and half earned more. State markets swing hard: California's median was $203,840, while several large southern markets publish lower medians. Practice setting, call expectations, and state midwifery practice authority can change take-home pay further.
Is nurse midwife salary the same as NP salary?
No. Nurse Midwives are a separate BLS occupation (SOC 29-1161) from Nurse Practitioners (SOC 29-1171). National medians are close ($134,040 vs $132,300 in May 2025), but the CNM workforce is much smaller (about 8,600 vs about 320,400 employed). Use this page for CNM wages and the NP salary calculator for NP wages.
Which states pay nurse midwives the most?
Among published May 2025 state medians, the highest in this tool's top-ten set are California ($203,840), Hawaii ($170,110), Massachusetts ($159,800), Washington ($158,970), and New Jersey ($153,970). Always confirm local OEWS rows, because not every state publishes a full CNM table.
How is my nurse midwife salary percentile estimated?
The calculator annualizes the base pay and schedule you enter, then linearly interpolates between the BLS 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile wage thresholds for SOC 29-1161. Values outside that published range are labeled only as below the 10th or above the 90th threshold. State and metro tables below are separate benchmarks, not inputs to the calculator.
Does practice authority change CNM pay?
State midwifery practice authority can affect prescribing, hospital privileges, and whether you practice independently or under collaboration or supervision. That can change which jobs are available and how packages are structured, but BLS does not publish a wage premium tied to practice-authority category. Check the current ACNM state practice maps before assuming any pay effect.
Does this include CNM vs CM title differences?
BLS publishes one Nurse Midwives occupation series. It does not publish separate national percentile tables for every midwifery credential title. Use this tool for national nurse midwife occupation wages, then verify credential and practice-model differentials with employers.
Does the comparison include call pay, overtime, or benefits?
No. Enter base pay only. The comparison excludes overtime, call pay, productivity bonuses, stipends, insurance, retirement contributions, and other benefits. Midwifery call burden is often a large part of the real package.
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