Best PMHNP Programs
By city · 2026

PMHNP Programs by City

Metro guides for the cities where accredited psychiatric NP programs actually cluster. Each one answers the three questions a state page cannot: which programs are close enough to commute to, who is responsible for finding your clinical preceptor, and what nurse practitioners earn in that specific metro rather than across the whole state.

11 metro guides 46 verified in-metro programs New York City pays most at $163,340
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Every metro guide, by program count

Counts are verified, accredited programs physically based in the metro. Programs delivered 100% online from elsewhere are covered inside each guide's online section instead, so these numbers are not padded.

New York City

9 programs

New York

Full practice $163,340 median

Boston

7 programs

Massachusetts

Full practice $142,440 median

Los Angeles

5 programs

California

Restricted practice $161,470 median

Chicago

4 programs

Illinois

Reduced practice $131,740 median

Miami

4 programs

Florida

Restricted practice $131,340 median

Philadelphia

4 programs

Pennsylvania

Reduced practice $130,140 median

Baltimore

3 programs

Maryland

Full practice $131,990 median

Seattle

3 programs

Washington

Full practice $160,090 median

Washington, D.C.

3 programs

District of Columbia

Full practice $134,840 median

Atlanta

2 programs

Georgia

Restricted practice $132,500 median

Houston

2 programs

Texas

Restricted practice $134,560 median
Side by side

Metros compared

Pay is the BLS OEWS May 2025 median for nurse practitioners (SOC 29-1171) in that metropolitan area, against a national median of $132,300. Practice authority is the AANP classification for the state the metro sits in, and it is the state, not the city, that sets it.

Metro Programs Practice authority Metro median
New York City New York 9 Full $163,340+23.5% vs U.S. View guide
Boston Massachusetts 7 Full $142,440~8% above U.S. View guide
Los Angeles California 5 Restricted $161,470+22.0% vs U.S. View guide
Chicago Illinois 4 Reduced $131,740-0.4% vs U.S. View guide
Miami Florida 4 Restricted $131,340-0.7% vs U.S. View guide
Philadelphia Pennsylvania 4 Reduced $130,140~2% below U.S. View guide
Baltimore Maryland 3 Full $131,990-0.2% vs U.S. View guide
Seattle Washington 3 Full $160,090+21.0% vs U.S. View guide
Washington, D.C. District of Columbia 3 Full $134,840+1.9% vs U.S. View guide
Atlanta Georgia 2 Restricted $132,500+0.2% vs U.S. View guide
Houston Texas 2 Restricted $134,560+1.7% vs U.S. View guide

BLS does not publish a separate psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner wage, so these cover nurse practitioners generally. Psychiatric-mental health is among the higher-paying NP specialties nationally, so read them as a floor rather than a ceiling for the specialty.

Keep researching

Related pages

PMHNP Programs by State

Every state, with verified counts and licensure.

Best PMHNP Programs

The flagship national ranking.

Best Online PMHNP Programs

Accredited online options for any state.
Common questions

PMHNP programs by city, answered

Which city has the most PMHNP programs?+
New York City, by a wide margin. Nine verified accredited programs sit in the tri-state metro, from Columbia and NYU in Manhattan out to Stony Brook on Long Island, plus Rutgers and Fairleigh Dickinson in New Jersey. Los Angeles is next with five, then Miami with four. Most metros in the country have one or none.
Does it matter which city I study a PMHNP in?+
Less than you would expect for the coursework, and more than you would expect for everything else. Most PMHNP programs are delivered largely online, so the city rarely determines what you learn. What the city does determine is who finds your clinical preceptor, what the state lets you do once licensed, and what the local market pays. Those three vary enormously and are what each metro guide covers.
Why do these pages show metro pay instead of state pay?+
Because a state median can hide a large gap between its cities. Every metro figure on these pages comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for that specific metropolitan area, for nurse practitioners (SOC 29-1171), rather than a state number standing in for a city. BLS does not publish a separate psychiatric-mental health NP wage, so these cover nurse practitioners generally.
My city is not listed. What should I do?+
Start with the state guide, which covers every verified program in your state along with licensure and pay. Most students study through an accredited online program and complete supervised clinical hours locally, so a thin local list is rarely a barrier. See our state directory and our online PMHNP ranking.