Like the rest of the United States, Michigan has long been dealing with a healthcare crisis. No, not COVID-19, though that’s obviously a problem. But for years now, Michigan and the rest of the states have been experiencing a shortage of qualified, trained healthcare professionals.
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To help combat that shortage, many nursing professionals and students may be considering completing their Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, which in Michigan can help provide the foundation of new career options. That’s because in Michigan, as in many other states, DNP graduates who become nurse practitioners, as well as those in some other DNP jobs, are authorized to perform some of the same functions as a doctor, though it’s worth noting that Michigan has one of the most restrictive practice environments for nurse practitioners in the country.
SEE ALSO: Michigan DNP Programs with Online Options
Average Doctor of Nursing Practice DNP Salaries in Michigan
Still, we wanted to understand what DNP graduates can expect to earn in Michigan and in many of the cities across the state, as well as how available a variety of related jobs are. So, we analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics covering a series of jobs that are commonly held by DNP graduates — nurse practitioner, registered nurse, nurse anesthetist, nurse administrator, nurse midwife and postsecondary nursing instructor.
Three of the six DNP jobs we analyzed in Michigan offer wages of at least $100,00 per year, and a fourth is close to that level. As is the case in every other state, nurse anesthetists are the highest-paid DNP professionals in Michigan. On the flip side, registered nurses (RNs) have the lowest annual wage in Michigan, which is also true across most of the rest of the United States. While they’re on the lower end of the wage scale in Michigan, RNs can expect to earn far more than the average worker in Michigan, who makes about $51,000 per year.
How Much Does a DNP Make in Michigan?
The average salary ranges from $73,200 to $194,640 in Michigan.
Average annual Michigan salary
| Nurse Anesthetists | $194,640.00 |
| Nurse Administrators | $108,740.00 |
| Nurse Practitioners | $108,660.00 |
| Nurse Midwives | $92,790.00 |
| Postsecondary Nursing Instructors | $81,510.00 |
| Registered Nurses | $73,200.00 |
RN jobs are by far the most common among the six in Michigan, and the same is true for every other state, so Michigan is quite representative of the nation in that regard. Nurse administrator jobs are the second most common in Michigan, while nurse midwives will have the most difficult time finding employment in Michigan among the six types of professionals.
Michigan employment per 1,000 jobs
| Registered Nurses | 22.304 |
| Nurse Administrators | 2.833 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 1.113 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | 0.537 |
| Postsecondary Nursing Instructors | 0.378 |
| Nurse Midwives | 0.065 |
Zooming into the local level, the average wage across all six DNP jobs is highest in the Lansing-East Lansing metro area, which is home to Michigan State University, and most of the five cities with the highest wages have salary levels at or near $100,000.
Average salary by city, top 5
| Lansing-East Lansing | $117,374.00 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | $108,830.00 |
| Ann Arbor | $103,290.00 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming | $99,270.00 |
| Flint | $97,270.00 |
Jump to a Career
- Nurse Practitioner
- Registered Nurse
- Nurse Administrator
- Post Secondary Nurse Instructor
- Nurse Anesthetist
- Nurse Midwife
Michigan Nurse Practitioner
Given that it’s referenced in the name of the degree, the most obvious job for someone who has completed a DNP is nurse practitioner, usually abbreviated NP. These tend to be high-paying jobs, both in Michigan and across the country. They reach their peak in the Detroit metro area, though Ann Arbor and Muskegon are not far behind.
Average annual nurse practitioner wage by city/metro area, top 10
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | $111,580.00 |
| Ann Arbor | $111,410.00 |
| Muskegon | $111,030.00 |
| Jackson | $106,960.00 |
| Lansing-East Lansing | $106,320.00 |
| South Bend-Mishawaka | $105,580.00 |
| Battle Creek | $105,430.00 |
| Flint | $104,080.00 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming | $102,790.00 |
| Midland | $100,920.00 |
NP jobs are most plentiful in Ann Arbor, which is far ahead of the Kalamazoo-Portage metro area. Most communities in the top 10 in Michigan also have higher employment rates for NPs than the state overall, though it’s important to note that some of the metro areas listed are partially in other states, including the South Bend-Mishawaka metro area, which lies partially in Indiana.
Nurse practitioner employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area, top 10
| Ann Arbor | 2.556 |
| Kalamazoo-Portage | 1.86 |
| Flint | 1.511 |
| South Bend-Mishawaka | 1.379 |
| Saginaw | 1.375 |
| Jackson | 1.303 |
| Niles-Benton Harbor | 1.204 |
| Muskegon | 1.152 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 1.022 |
| Midland | 0.973 |
Michigan Registered Nurse
While RNs aren’t usually required to obtain DNP degrees, many of those who hold this type of degree will eventually fill an RN role. These professionals tend to be on the lower end of the pay scale, though it’s worth noting that someone who has a DNP degree, even an RN, will certainly command a higher wage. Michigan RN salaries are at their highest level in Ann Arbor, and several other metro areas are home to wages that exceed the state’s average, including Detroit, Lansing and Flint.
Average annual registered nurse wage by city/metro area, top 10
| Ann Arbor | $79,340.00 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | $75,810.00 |
| Lansing-East Lansing | $75,630.00 |
| Flint | $75,300.00 |
| Niles-Benton Harbor | $71,440.00 |
| Battle Creek | $70,320.00 |
| Muskegon | $68,770.00 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming | $68,220.00 |
| Monroe | $68,040.00 |
| Saginaw | $67,250.00 |
RN positions are without a doubt the most common of the six DNP jobs we studied, and that holds true across the state as well as the country. Ann Arbor sets the pace for the state with an employment rate that’s considerably higher than every other city, as well as the state overall. The rate is also high enough to vault Ann Arbor to No. 4 when compared to the nearly 400 American cities and metro areas for which data is available.
Registered nurse employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area, top 10
| Ann Arbor | 41.682 |
| Saginaw | 32.64 |
| Battle Creek | 31.131 |
| Flint | 30.712 |
| Bay City | 27.195 |
| Jackson | 25.329 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming | 22.578 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 20.901 |
| South Bend-Mishawaka | 18.366 |
| Lansing-East Lansing | 18.058 |
Michigan Nurse Administrator
While some DNP graduates will seek jobs where they continue working directly with patients, those who aspire to leadership roles may instead seek employment as nurse administrators or healthcare managers. These jobs are often high-level positions within medical facilities, and wages tend to be quite high. In Michigan, they reach a peak in Ann Arbor, while several other Michigan metro areas have wages for nurse administrators that exceed the state’s average, including Lansing, Flint and Detroit.
Average annual nurse administrator wage by city/metro area, top 10
| Ann Arbor | $128,250.00 |
| Lansing-East Lansing | $112,910.00 |
| Flint | $112,430.00 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | $112,020.00 |
| Niles-Benton Harbor | $107,630.00 |
| Saginaw | $107,480.00 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming | $103,950.00 |
| Jackson | $100,890.00 |
| Monroe | $99,290.00 |
| Kalamazoo-Portage | $91,850.00 |
While nurse administrator jobs are typically among the most common DNP jobs outside of registered nurse positions, they reach a major peak in the Midland area of Michigan, with the city ranking No. 2 overall in the United States for nurse administrator employment.
Nurse administrator employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area, top 10
| Midland | 6.46 |
| Ann Arbor | 4.146 |
| Battle Creek | 4.058 |
| Bay City | 3.488 |
| Jackson | 3.284 |
| Saginaw | 3.174 |
| Kalamazoo-Portage | 3.027 |
| Flint | 2.904 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 2.881 |
| Lansing-East Lansing | 2.45 |
Michigan Postsecondary Nursing Instructor
Helping to tackle the shortage of trained medical professionals are postsecondary nursing instructors, and teaching at higher levels is a common pursuit for those who have earned DNP degrees. While less data is available for the job in cities around the state, nursing instructors can expect to earn high wages in Detroit and Ann Arbor, cities that both offer average wages in excess of the state’s overall average.
Average annual postsecondary nursing instructor wage by city/metro area
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | $87,600.00 |
| Ann Arbor | $85,700.00 |
| Lansing-East Lansing | $80,540.00 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming | $66,980.00 |
Of the four cities for which data was available, Ann Arbor and Lansing, homes to the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, respectively, are tied for No. 1 in the availability of postsecondary nursing instructor jobs.
Postsecondary nursing instructor employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area
| Ann Arbor | 0.871 |
| Lansing-East Lansing | 0.871 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 0.341 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming | 0.151 |
Michigan Nurse Anesthetist
Across the country and in Michigan, nurse anesthetists have the highest average wage, with salary levels in the Lansing metro area setting the pace within the state of Michigan, though not as much data is available for cities in the state for this job as compared to others.
Average annual nurse anesthetist wage by city/metro area
| Lansing-East Lansing | $211,470.00 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | $182,440.00 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming | $154,410.00 |
Nurse anesthetist employment reaches a peak in Michigan in the Detroit metro area, though the level is just over the state’s average, while the other two areas for which data is available have below-average employment rates.
Nurse anesthetist employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 0.578 |
| Lansing-East Lansing | 0.38 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming | 0.194 |
Michigan Nurse Midwife
Many DNP programs offer a track in midwifery, which is the practice of assisting women through pregnancy, labor and after birth. As a result, nurse midwives generally can expect pretty high wages, and those who find jobs in Ann Arbor have the highest average baseline in Michigan. It’s important to note, though, that sample sizes are small here as most cities did not have available data.
Average annual nurse midwife wage by city/metro area
| Ann Arbor | $111,750.00 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | $83,530.00 |
Nurse midwife employment data was available for only two Michigan cities, with Ann Arbor having a far higher concentration of these jobs than Detroit, though the small sample size makes comparisons a bit unfair.
Nurse midwife employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area
| Ann Arbor | 0.262 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 0.039 |
Conclusion
Whether they decide to continue working directly with patients, or pursue an educational path that takes them in a new direction, for nursing professionals and students considering a DNP degree, practicing in Michigan could be a wise investment, given the state’s large and diverse population.
Sources
Our analysis included six jobs that are commonly available with a DNP degree, though that’s not meant as a complete listing of all possible jobs. We used the May 2019 data that the BLS published in April 2020.