Nurse practitioner tops list of best jobs

Editor's Note: 

Nurse practitioners (NPs) have the best jobs not only in the US healthcare industry, but across all others as well, according to rankings released January 9 by US News & World Report.

Divided into 17 categories, the Best Jobs rankings are designed to help job seekers make informed career decisions based on factors such as salary, growth potential, work-life balance and more.

NP wasn’t the only healthcare role to rank high. Physician assistant was ranked second in healthcare and fifth overall. Financial manager, software developer, and IT manager rounded out the rest of the top 5.  

"Health care workers are critical to our overall well-being," says Erika Giovanetti, Money expert at U.S. News. "Nurse practitioner rose to the No. 1 spot as this year's best job. The 10-year outlook for the occupation is strong with one in three of the top 100 jobs being in health care – an increase from one in four in the 2023 rankings. Future growth and a high median salary make this career sector appealing as well."