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    Salary / PMHNP / Kentucky

    PMHNP salary in Kentucky

    What PMHNP roles are advertised at, and the Kentucky factors that change the number.

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    How much does a PMHNP earn in Kentucky?

    Federal wage data for Kentucky puts the median for nurse practitioners at $122,870 a year, with the middle of the market between $95,710 and $162,960 and about 4,770 people employed in the state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Federal figures cover all nurse practitioners, not psychiatric mental health NPs specifically. Louisville and Lexington carry most centre-based demand; rural districts rely heavily on telehealth supervision. Nationally, the PMHNP roles we recruit are advertised at roughly $125k – $175k; the national PMHNP salary guide sets out the entry, mid-career and senior figures behind that.

    PMHNP advertised pay by experience

    Entry
    $125k
    First role after certification
    Mid-career
    $145k
    Two to five years, full caseload
    Senior
    $175k
    Supervisory scope or specialist skill

    Official Kentucky wage data

    Federal wage data for Kentucky puts the median for nurse practitioners at $122,870 a year, with the middle of the market between $95,710 and $162,960 and about 4,770 people employed in the state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Federal figures cover all nurse practitioners, not psychiatric mental health NPs specifically.

    Median
    $122,870
    Mean
    $125,010
    10th percentile
    $95,710
    90th percentile
    $162,960

    Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. State wage tables

    What changes a PMHNP offer in Kentucky

    • LPCC covers counseling and LCSW covers clinical social work.
    • Setting: Outpatient psychiatry, Telepsychiatry, Community mental health price differently for the same credential.
    • Caseload cap and billable or productivity target, which decide whether a bonus is real.
    • Metro cost of living within the state; a city premium is not the same as a better offer.
    • Scarcity: The scarcest prescriber in behavioral health. Telepsychiatry has absorbed a large share of supply, which makes in-person and hybrid roles harder to fill than the salary alone suggests.

    How to read the KY figures

    The federal estimates above are the official Kentucky picture for nurse practitioners, published annually and lagging the market by about a year. What we publish alongside them is what we actually see advertised on roles we recruit today. Use the federal median as a floor for negotiation and the advertised range as the live signal.

    Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data

    Last reviewed August 2026.

    Live PMHNP roles in Kentucky

    No live PMHNP roles in Kentucky right now. Tell us your license status and target setting and we will contact you when the next Kentucky search opens.

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    Open PMHNP roles elsewhere in the US

    How to work as a PMHNP in Kentucky

    1. 1

      Confirm the credential

      State APRN licensure and PMHNP-BC board certification; DEA registration. This is the baseline every Kentucky employer screens on before anything else.

    2. 2

      Check the KY requirement

      LPCC covers counseling and LCSW covers clinical social work.

    3. 3

      Check the multi-state routes

      PSYPACT: member; Counseling Compact: enacted (privileges not yet live) Compact participation changes, so confirm the current position with the Kentucky board rather than a secondary source.

    4. 4

      Build board processing into your start date

      Processing time, not eligibility, is the usual cause of a delayed start. Agree a start date with the licensing timeline already in it.

    5. 5

      Match the credential to open work

      Compare the advertised range for PMHNP roles, roughly $125k – $175k, against the live Kentucky vacancies on this page, or join the talent network to be contacted when the next Kentucky search opens.

    Continue with PMHNP in Kentucky

    PMHNP pay and licensure in Kentucky: common questions

    Do you need a license to work as a PMHNP in Kentucky?
    LPCC covers counseling and LCSW covers clinical social work. Confirm the current position with the Kentucky board before you accept a start date, as processing time is the usual cause of a delayed start.
    What is the average PMHNP salary in Kentucky?
    Federal wage data for Kentucky puts the median for nurse practitioners at $122,870 a year, with the middle of the market between $95,710 and $162,960 and about 4,770 people employed in the state (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). Federal figures cover all nurse practitioners, not psychiatric mental health NPs specifically. Advertised pay on the PMHNP roles we recruit nationally sits at roughly $125k – $175k, and offers land inside that band according to setting, caseload and metro cost of living.
    Does PMHNP pay in Kentucky differ from the rest of the US?
    We publish advertised pay on the roles we recruit, not a Kentucky average. Across the US those PMHNP roles are advertised at roughly $125k – $175k, and where a Kentucky offer lands inside that band is driven by setting, caseload and metro cost of living. For an official comparison, Kentucky median pay for nurse practitioners is $122,870; treat that as a negotiating floor.
    Where are the PMHNP jobs in Kentucky?
    Louisville and Lexington carry most centre-based demand; rural districts rely heavily on telehealth supervision. The live PMHNP vacancies we hold in Kentucky are listed on this page; when nothing is open there today, the national PMHNP board carries every role we currently hold.
    Who employs PMHNPs in Kentucky?
    The employers hiring this credential are outpatient psychiatry, telepsychiatry, community mental health, inpatient and residential, substance use treatment. Which of those dominates in Kentucky follows the local funding and provider mix rather than any national pattern, and it is the single biggest driver of what an offer looks like: the same PMHNP is priced differently by a center-based provider, a school district and a hospital system.
    What do employers look for when hiring a PMHNP in Kentucky?
    First, the credential and the right to practise: state aprn licensure and pmhnp-bc board certification; dea registration. LPCC covers counseling and LCSW covers clinical social work. After that, hiring managers screen on the specifics of the work — caseload size you have carried, the settings you have worked in, supervision responsibility, and documentation or payer experience. Availability matters too: a realistic start date that accounts for board processing usually beats a stronger resume that cannot start.
    What does the salary range on this page actually mean?
    Two different things, kept separate on purpose. $125k – $175k is what PMHNP roles we recruit are advertised at across the US — a live market signal, not a survey. The federal figures are official Kentucky estimates for nurse practitioners: $122,870 median, with $95,710 at the 10th percentile and $162,960 at the 90th. They cover the whole occupation in the state, are published annually and lag the market by roughly a year, so read the median as a negotiating floor rather than a target. Neither number is an offer; where you land inside a range is set by setting, caseload and metro cost of living.

    PMHNP pay in other states

    A clinical director and a hiring lead shaking hands across a meeting-room table.

    Hiring PMHNPs in Kentucky

    Pay is the last thing that fixes a stalled search

    Panel size, no-show policy, collaborating physician arrangements and call expectations decide PMHNP offers. State practice authority matters as much as pay.

    Join the PMHNP talent networkHire a PMHNP in Kentucky
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    • Behavioral health only
    • Recruiting across all 50 states
    • Pay published on every role
    • Recruitment partnerships, not job spam