U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday released its annual list of the "Best Health Care Jobs" in 2023, with nurse practitioners topping the list.

Methodology

For its 2023 list, U.S. News first identified the jobs with the largest number and percentage of projected openings between 2021 and 2031 through the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The jobs that topped these lists were then ranked in an overall top 100 list, a best-paying list, and in 12 separate industry lists, including for healthcare.

Each career was given an overall score based on seven component metrics, which were rated on a scale of zero to 10:

• Median salary
• Unemployment rate
• 10-year growth volume
• 10-year growth percentage
• Future job prospects
• Stress level
• Work-life balance

The best jobs in healthcare

According to U.S. News, the 10 best jobs in healthcare for 2023 are:

1. Nurse practitioner
2. Physician assistant
3. Physical therapist
4. Dentist
5. Veterinarian
6. Physician
7. Orthodontist
8. Registered nurse
9. Oral and maxillofacial surgeon
10. Nurse anesthetist

Several healthcare professions also made the top 10 jobs included on U.S. News' "100 Best Jobs" list, including:

1. Nurse practitioner
2. Medical and health services manager
3. Physician assistant
4. Physical therapist
5. Dentist

In addition, healthcare jobs made up the majority of occupations included on U.S. News' "Best Paying Jobs" list, taking up 14 out of 25 spots:

1. Anesthesiologist ($208,000)
2. Oral and maxillofacial surgeon ($208,000)
3. Obstetrician and Gynecologist ($208,000)
4. Surgeon ($208,000)
5. Orthodontist ($208,000)
6. Physician ($208,000)
7. Psychiatrist ($208,000)
8. Nurse Anesthetist ($195,610)
9. Pediatrician ($170,480)
10. Dentist ($160,370)
11. Podiatrist ($145,840)
12. Prosthodontist ($100,950)
13. Pharmacist ($128,570)
14. Optometrist ($124,300)

Healthcare jobs also made up 11 out of 20 of the most secure careers, according to U.S. News:

• Respiratory therapist
• Cardiovascular technologist
• Epidemiologist/medical scientist
• Registered nurse
• Medical and health services manager
• Medical records technician
• Physical therapist
• Orthodontist
• Physician assistant
• Dentist
• Nurse practitioner

"Of our jobs with the best security, 70 percent of the top 10 jobs on that list are in the healthcare industry," said Janica Ingram, U.S. News' careers editor. "So this is definitely an industry that is not only experiencing fast job growth—nurse practitioners particularly are experiencing 46 percent job growth, which is faster than the average, over the next 10 years—but these jobs are definitely security-rich."

"We know that the healthcare and social services industry is the second-fastest growing industry as far as future job prospects over the next 10 years," Ingram added. "These jobs are continuing to be in demand. There's going to be job growth there. And that's definitely something that people are interested in, especially looking in 2023—the U.S. may go into a recession." (U.S. News & World Report "Best Health Care Jobs" list, accessed 1/11; U.S. News & World Report "100 Best Jobs" list, accessed 1/11; U.S. News & World Report  "Best Paying Jobs" list, accessed 1/11; U.S. News & World Report Best Jobs methodology, accessed 1/11; Kayser, Becker's Hospital Review, 1/10 [1]; Kayser, Becker's Hospital Review, 1/10 [2]; Gooch, Becker's Hospital Review, 1/10)