Salary Ranges

• Nurse midwives can expect a starting salary between $60,000 and $80,000 according to a 2009 report by the Vermont based Champlain Valley Area Health Education Center. The average salary for all nurse midwives is $105,777, according to June 2011 data compiled by CareerBuilder. The job listing website says the average salary range for all nurse midwives is $84,267 to $172,750.
  
  

Compared to All Nurses

• The median salary for all nurses was $68,160 in May 2008 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau said the middle 50 percent of nurses earned between $51,640 and $76,570, with the top 10 percent earning over $92,240. CareerBuilder reported the average salary for a registered nurse at $71,692, with an average range from $54,536 to $97,303.
  
  

Duties

• Nurse midwives deliver babies, however they offer many other services before and after childbirth. Midwives are considered primary care providers, which means they treat a variety of women's health issues. Some of the services nurse midwives offer include gynecological exams and Pap smears, prenatal care and postnatal follow-ups, newborn health exams and provide women with family planning advice.
  
  

Job Outlook

• The outlook for nurse midwives is excellent. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that all nurses will see job opportunities increase by 22 percent during the 10-year period from 2008 to 2018. The growth is expected from a growing and aging U.S. population. Also, many procedures that were once done only in hospitals are now offered in outpatient facilities and doctors offices and nurses are needed to staff these facilities. The BLS cited nurse midwives as one of several nursing disciplines that will see better than average opportunities, especially in rural and inner-city areas.