Nurse Midwives: Salary, Job Outlook & How to Become One (2026 Parent Guide)
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · SOC 29-1161 · O*NET 29-1161.00
Diagnose and coordinate all aspects of the birthing process, either independently or as part of a healthcare team. May provide well-woman gynecological care. Must have specialized, graduate nursing education.
Nurse Midwives fall under the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical category in the U.S. occupational classification. Nurse Midwives earn a median salary of $128,790 per year, ranking in the top 5% of all U.S. occupations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects +11.1% job growth through 2034, projected to grow faster than the US average. Entry into this field typically requires a bachelor's degree followed by a master's or doctoral degree, with specific licensing or certification depending on the state and employer. For parents whose teenager is exploring this path, the most actionable step is mapping the education requirements to specific colleges and majors before junior year — not waiting until application season.
What parents should know about nurse midwives right now
If your teen is drawn to hands-on healthcare and wants to walk alongside women through pregnancy, birth, and newborn care, nurse midwifery is one of the most rewarding advanced-practice nursing paths, and it pays like it. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurse midwives earned a median wage of $128,790 in May 2024, with the lowest tenth around $74,670 and the top tenth above $177,040, and the field is projected to grow about 11.1 percent, much faster than average. Be clear-eyed with your student, though: this is a genuinely long, licensed ladder. No one becomes a Certified Nurse-Midwife on a bachelor's alone. They first become a registered nurse and pass the NCLEX-RN, then hold a BSN, then complete a graduate degree (MSN or DNP) from a program accredited by ACME, then pass the American Midwifery Certification Board national exam, and finally earn a state APRN license. Plan on roughly eight to ten years from high school. On the technology front, reassure your teen that artificial intelligence is augmenting midwives, not replacing them. A 2025 systematic review covering studies from January 2022 through February 2025 identified 64 studies applying AI and machine learning across pregnancy risk assessment, fetal monitoring, postpartum hemorrhage control, and antenatal care, with clinical decision support systems flagging risk earlier so clinicians can intervene sooner. The consensus is that these tools will improve human work, not replace the midwife at the bedside. For high-school preparation, steer your student toward biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology, statistics, and psychology, and toward strong writing and communication since midwifery is deeply relational. Encourage volunteering or shadowing in a hospital, clinic, or birthing center, becoming a certified nursing assistant, and pursuing health-focused clubs or a certified nursing aide credential. Above all, keep grades and science fundamentals solid, because competitive nursing programs and later graduate admission both hinge on them.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Obstetrics and Midwifery: A 2025 Systematic Review (PMC11895402)
- How to Become a Certified Nurse-Midwife (AMCB / ACME credential pathway)
What do nurse midwives earn?
The median annual wage for nurse midwives is $128,790. That puts nurse midwives at #39 on the BLS ranked list of all U.S. occupations by median pay. Pay at this level is well above the U.S. median household income, signaling sustained demand and meaningful credential requirements. Actual pay varies meaningfully by state, employer type, and years of experience — entry-level salaries are typically 30–40% below the median, while top-decile earners often exceed it by 50% or more.
| 10th percentile (entry-level) | $74,670 |
| 25th percentile | $104,260 |
| 50th percentile (median) | $128,790 |
| 75th percentile | $146,520 |
| 90th percentile (top earners) | $177,040 |
| Median hourly wage | $61.92/hr |
Is nurse midwives a growing career?
The 10-year outlook for nurse midwives is +11.1%, projected to grow faster than the US average. Employment is projected to move from approximately 8K positions in 2024 to 9K in 2034, a net change of 1K. Faster-than-average growth means hiring is consistently outpacing the labor market overall. New entrants generally find their first roles faster than peers in stable fields.
What do nurse midwives do every day?
According to O*NET task surveys of working nurse midwives, these are the core responsibilities most professionals perform. This is what your teen would actually be doing in this role.
- 1.Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients.
- 2.Monitor fetal development by listening to fetal heartbeat, taking external uterine measurements, identifying fetal position, or estimating fetal size and weight.
- 3.Document patients' health histories, symptoms, physical conditions, or other diagnostic information.
- 4.Provide patients with direct family planning services, such as inserting intrauterine devices, dispensing oral contraceptives, and fitting cervical barriers, including cervical caps or diaphragms.
- 5.Prescribe medications as permitted by state regulations.
- 6.Develop and implement individualized plans for health care management.
- 7.Explain procedures to patients, family members, staff members or others.
- 8.Order and interpret diagnostic or laboratory tests.
Top skills for nurse midwives
O*NET ranks these as the most important skills for this occupation, on a 1–5 importance scale derived from worker surveys.
What education does my child need to become nurse midwive?
Becoming a nurse midwive typically requires a bachelor's degree followed by a master's, doctoral, or professional degree, plus state licensure or board certification depending on specialty. For parents helping a teen prepare, the highest-leverage step before junior year is identifying colleges and programs that feed reliably into this occupation — Solyo's college search lets parents filter by major and admissions data side by side.
Based on O*NET surveys of incumbents — what people in this job actually have, not what employers list as required.
How to become nurse midwive: step by step
The typical education and licensing pathway from high school into this profession. Total time to entry is about 8-10 years from high school; about 2-3 years after an existing BSN and RN license. Steps marked optional are common for advancement but not required to start.
- 1
Become a Registered Nurse (RN)
~4 yearsComplete an accredited pre-licensure nursing program and pass the NCLEX-RN to earn a state RN license. This RN license is required before applying to any nurse-midwifery graduate program.
- •Complete an accredited pre-licensure nursing program (ADN ~2 years or BSN ~4 years)
- •Obtain a state RN license, a hard prerequisite for admission to any nurse-midwifery program
NCLEX-RN - 2
Hold or earn a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing)
~1.5 yearsA bachelor's in nursing is the required foundation for graduate admission. RNs who entered via an ADN complete an RN-to-BSN bridge; those already BSN-prepared satisfy this phase.
- •A BSN is required for graduate-program admission
- •RNs holding only an ADN complete an RN-to-BSN bridge (~1-2 years)
- •Active RN license, typically a 3.0 GPA, and clinical experience
- 3
Complete an ACME-accredited graduate nurse-midwifery program (MSN or DNP)
~2.5 yearsEarn an MSN or DNP from an ACME-accredited nurse-midwifery program. This is the entry-education floor BLS lists (Master's), combining didactic coursework with extensive supervised clinical hours including primary-provider births. Full-time BSN-to-MSN runs ~18-24 months; DNP takes longer.
- •Graduate from a master's-or-higher program accredited by ACME, the only U.S. Dept. of Education-recognized nurse-midwifery accreditor
- •Complete ~600-1,000 supervised clinical hours
- •Perform required births as primary provider
- 4
Pass the AMCB national certification exam
~0.25 yearsPass the AMCB national certification exam to earn the Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) credential. This certification is the gate to state APRN licensure.
- •Pass the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB) nurse-midwife exam to earn the CNM credential
- •Exam fee $500 (as of Oct 2025); up to 4 attempts, all within 24 months of program completion
AMCB Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) exam - 5
Obtain state APRN licensure
~0.25 yearsApply to your state Board of Nursing for an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse license, using AMCB certification as the qualifying credential. Processing is administrative and takes weeks to months.
- •Apply to the state Board of Nursing for an APRN license in the state of practice
- •AMCB certification is the required gate to this license
- 6
Maintain certification and license (ongoing)
~5 yearsKeep the CNM credential and APRN license current on a 5-year cycle through the AMCB Certificate Maintenance Program, continuing education, and state license renewal.
- •CNM certificate expires Dec 31 of the 5th year after issue
- •Renew via the AMCB Certificate Maintenance Program (CMP) plus continuing education
- •Renew state APRN license
Licensing requirements for nurse midwives
Nurse Midwives are regulated at the state level in the United States. Practicing without a current license is not legal in most jurisdictions.
Related careers your child might also consider
How parents help teens explore careers like this
Solyo helps parents map a teen's interests to specific careers, then back to the colleges and majors that lead there. Salary, outlook, and education data come from BLS and O*NET — the same sources high school counselors use — but presented for the parent's planning lens, not the student's exploration view.
Common questions parents ask about nurse midwives
What is the median salary for nurse midwives?
The median annual salary for nurse midwives is $128,790 according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Is nurse midwives a growing career?
BLS projects +11.1% growth for nurse midwives from 2024 through 2034, which is fast growth projected to grow faster than the US average.
What education does my child need to become nurse midwive?
The typical entry path requires a bachelor's degree followed by a master's or doctoral degree, plus any state licensure or certification specific to the role. Programs that align well with this career can be filtered inside Solyo's college search.
What careers are similar to nurse midwives?
Related occupations within the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical category share education paths and skill profiles, so they're a useful starting set when a teen is uncertain. The "Related careers" section below lists nearby options.
Salary data sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics program. Skills, tasks, and education distribution from the O*NET database. Job outlook from the BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 release.