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In Ohio, nurse practitioners are authorized to perform many of the same functions as physicians, though under rigorous restrictions. Still, the state is a popular one for those who are considering or pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice, or DNP, degree.
We wanted to understand the state of employment in Ohio for those who have this degree, including what they can expect to earn in the state and in several of its largest communities, as well as how available job openings may be. To create our analysis, we studied data published in April 2020 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for a total of six jobs commonly held by those with DNP degrees — nurse practitioner, registered nurse, nurse anesthetist, nurse administrator, nurse midwife and postsecondary nursing instructor.
SEE ALSO: Ohio DNP Programs with Online Options
Average Doctor of Nursing Practice DNP Salaries in Ohio
For four of the six DNP jobs we analyzed, the average annual salary in Ohio is upwards of $100,000, and the highest-paying DNP job in Ohio, nurse anesthetist, has an average salary that approaches $200,000. Both nurse anesthetists and nursing instructors in Ohio earn wages that are higher than the overall national averages, and registered nurses (RNs) have the lowest average annual wage in Ohio. Still, these nursing professionals can expect to earn far more than the average worker in Ohio, who earns just under $50,000 per year.
How Much Does a DNP Make in Ohio?
The average salary ranges from $68,220 to $184,380 in Ohio.
Average annual Ohio salary
| Nurse Anesthetists | $184,380 |
| Nurse Midwives | $103,930 |
| Nurse Practitioners | $103,780 |
| Nurse Administrators | $102,860 |
| Postsecondary Nursing Instructors | $79,360 |
| Registered Nurses | $68,220 |
In Ohio, as in the rest of the U.S., RN jobs are the most common with employment rates that are exponentially higher than any of the other jobs on the list. Nurse midwife jobs will be the most challenging to come by, with nurse anesthetist roles not far behind that.
Ohio employment per 1,000 jobs
| Registered Nurses | 23.031 |
| Nurse Administrators | 2.66 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 1.643 |
| Postsecondary Nursing Instructors | 0.627 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | 0.45 |
| Nurse Midwives | 0.06 |
Zooming into the city level, several metro areas in the state are also home to six-figure wages on average for DNP jobs. Toledo has the highest average across the six jobs, joining Columbus and Dayton with overall average DNP wages that exceed Ohio’s average.
Average salary by city, top 5
| Toledo | $123,697 |
| Columbus | $112,905 |
| Dayton | $107,250 |
| Cleveland-Elyria | $106,597 |
| Youngstown-Warren-Boardman | $103,843 |
Jump to a Career
- Nurse Practitioner
- Registered Nurse
- Nurse Administrator
- Post Secondary Nurse Instructor
- Nurse Anesthetist
- Nurse Midwife
Ohio Nurse Practitioner
Based on the title of the job, the most obvious role for a person with a DNP is nurse practitioner, and most people who earn a DNP degree will likely become nurse practitioners, or NPs. Several specialty areas exist within that umbrella, though the salary figures we studied apply to all NPs. In nine of the 10 metro areas with the highest wages across Ohio, NPs can expect to make at least $100,000 per year. Additionally, five of the 10 have average NP wages that are higher than Ohio’s statewide average, led by Akron.
Average annual nurse practitioner wage by city/metro area, top 10
| Akron | $114,030 |
| Dayton | $109,190 |
| Canton-Massillon | $107,580 |
| Toledo | $106,330 |
| Weirton-Steubenville | $106,160 |
| Columbus | $102,980 |
| Mansfield | $102,920 |
| Lima | $102,620 |
| Cleveland-Elyria | $101,430 |
| Cincinnati | $98,790 |
NPs are most likely to find job opportunities in Lima, followed by the Weirton-Steubenville metro area, which is partially in West Virginia. All but three of the cities with the highest concentration of NP jobs offer more job opportunities than the state’s overall average.
Nurse practitioner employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area, top 10
| Lima | 2.959 |
| Weirton-Steubenville | 2.518 |
| Huntington-Ashland | 2.091 |
| Dayton | 1.867 |
| Akron | 1.793 |
| Cincinnati | 1.725 |
| Toledo | 1.652 |
| Cleveland-Elyria | 1.431 |
| Columbus | 1.334 |
| Youngstown-Warren-Boardman | 1.181 |
Ohio Registered Nurse
While most RN positions don’t require a DNP degree, those who do have that level of education likely will be able to demand even higher wages than what is listed here. Among the cities and metro areas for which data was available, the average annual wage for RNs was highest in the Cleveland-Elyria metro area, while several other cities have average salary figures for RN that exceed the state’s average. That includes Cleveland as well as Cincinnati, Dayton, Springfield, Lima and Columbus.
Average annual registered nurse wage by city/metro area, top 10
| Cleveland-Elyria | $71,650 |
| Cincinnati | $70,370 |
| Dayton | $69,730 |
| Springfield | $69,330 |
| Lima | $68,770 |
| Columbus | $68,280 |
| Akron | $67,740 |
| Mansfield | $67,420 |
| Toledo | $65,540 |
| Canton-Massillon | $65,090 |
In Ohio, as in the rest of the United States, RN jobs are the most plentiful of the six DNP positions we analyzed. A few areas of the state may be epicenters of RN employment, with several communities having even higher concentrations of RN jobs than the state as a whole. The list is led by the Huntington-Ashland metro area, which covers portions of West Virginia and Kentucky, followed closely by Lima.
Registered nurse employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area, top 10
| Huntington-Ashland | 37.385 |
| Lima | 36.293 |
| Dayton | 31.801 |
| Wheeling | 27.993 |
| Akron | 25.769 |
| Weirton-Steubenville | 25.533 |
| Cleveland-Elyria | 24.443 |
| Cincinnati | 22.595 |
| Columbus | 21.94 |
| Canton-Massillon | 21.919 |
Ohio Nurse Administrator
While most DNP graduates will continue working directly with patients, it’s common for those with a nursing doctorate to pursue administrative roles that could take them out of frontline nursing situations and allow them to contribute to the overall operations of a medical center or healthcare facility. These positions generally will offer relatively high wages, and they reach their Ohio peak in the Cleveland area, with Mansfield closely behind.
Average annual nurse administrator wage by city/metro area, top 10
| Cleveland-Elyria | $114,930 |
| Mansfield | $113,100 |
| Dayton | $109,590 |
| Wheeling | $106,540 |
| Columbus | $104,570 |
| Lima | $101,800 |
| Akron | $99,000 |
| Huntington-Ashland | $98,580 |
| Cincinnati | $98,160 |
| Toledo | $94,150 |
Nurse administrator jobs are most common in the Canton-Massillon metro area, with Dayton, Toledo and Lima not far behind. All four have higher nurse administrator employment rates than Ohio as a whole, as do Springfield, Akron and Columbus.
Nurse administrator employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area, top 10
| Canton-Massillon | 3.155 |
| Dayton | 2.898 |
| Toledo | 2.897 |
| Lima | 2.812 |
| Springfield | 2.756 |
| Akron | 2.73 |
| Columbus | 2.722 |
| Cincinnati | 2.59 |
| Mansfield | 2.565 |
| Cleveland-Elyria | 2.554 |
Ohio Postsecondary Nursing Instructor
Helping prepare the next generation of nursing professionals means having an ample supply of qualified nursing instructors at the postsecondary level. For DNP graduates, passing along their expertise through teaching is quite a popular option, and those working in Ohio will have their highest wage potential in the Cleveland area, though Columbus and Toledo nursing professor jobs also offer higher-than-average wages, though data is somewhat limited.
Average annual postsecondary nursing instructor wage by city/metro area
| Cleveland-Elyria | $86,790 |
| Columbus | $81,040 |
| Toledo | $80,540 |
| Huntington-Ashland | $77,910 |
| Cincinnati | $77,570 |
| Dayton | $69,680 |
| Mansfield | $58,300 |
It’s not exactly a buyer’s market for postsecondary nursing jobs in Ohio, but employment rates are highest in Wheeling, West Virginia, which includes portions of Ohio, as well as the Toledo area. Several other cities also have employment rates for nursing professors that are higher than the state’s rate.
Postsecondary nursing instructor employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area
| Wheeling | 1.176 |
| Toledo | 1.122 |
| Dayton | 0.981 |
| Cleveland-Elyria | 0.705 |
| Cincinnati | 0.703 |
| Akron | 0.7 |
| Canton-Massillon | 0.675 |
| Columbus | 0.304 |
Ohio Nurse Anesthetist
In Ohio and the nation as a whole, nurse anesthetist jobs are the highest-paying among the six jobs we analyzed. Toledo leads Ohio and the nearly 400 U.S. cities and metro areas for which data was available when it comes to the average annual salary for nurse anesthetists. These professionals can expect to make upwards of a quarter-million dollars per year in Toledo, far higher than any other city in the U.S. Several other cities and metro areas that are entirely or partially in Ohio also have higher-than-Ohio-average salaries for the role, including Columbus, Canton and Wheeling.
Average annual nurse anesthetist wage by city/metro area
| Toledo | $266,260 |
| Columbus | $211,000 |
| Canton-Massillon | $210,180 |
| Wheeling | $194,480 |
| Cincinnati | $182,290 |
| Dayton | $178,060 |
| Youngstown-Warren-Boardman | $174,590 |
| Huntington-Ashland | $169,650 |
| Cleveland-Elyria | $161,930 |
Nurse anesthetist jobs will probably be difficult to come by in Ohio, though four of the five cities and metro areas for which data was available have higher employment rates for the role than Ohio as a whole. The Youngstown-Warren-Boardman metro area’s rate is the highest, and this community includes portions of West Virginia as well as Ohio. Not far behind is Wheeling, which is mostly in West Virginia.
Nurse anesthetist employment per 1,000 jobs by city/metro area
| Youngstown-Warren-Boardman | 0.875 |
| Wheeling | 0.862 |
| Cleveland-Elyria | 0.682 |
| Cincinnati | 0.549 |
| Columbus | 0.394 |
Ohio Nurse Midwife
One of the most popular specialty areas within DNP education is nurse midwifery, which involves providing support through the pregnancy and birth journey. These jobs aren’t all that common, but those who are able to find employment in Ohio cities will likely enjoy relatively high wages. Salaries are highest in Toledo, while the average wage in Columbus is also higher than the state’s average.
Average annual nurse midwife wage by city/metro area
| Toledo | $129,360 |
| Columbus | $109,560 |
| Cleveland-Elyria | $102,850 |
| Cincinnati | $94,790 |
There was insufficient data available to make geographic comparisons about employment rates for nurse midwives in cities and metro areas that are entirely or partially within the state of Ohio.
Conclusion
As the population of Ohio continues to expand, and we keep on getting older, the need for trained, qualified nursing care professionals will become increasingly dire. The good news for those with a DNP degree, or who are considering pursuing one, is that wages in the state are relatively high, and several cities offer even better chances to earn a good living.
Sources
Our analysis of BLS data covered six jobs that are commonly available with a DNP degree, though that’s not meant as a complete listing of all possible DNP jobs. We used the May 2019 data, which was published in April 2020.