Improved nitrogen (N) use is key to future food security and environmental sustainability. While many regions still experience N shortages, agriculture is the leading global emitter of N₂O due to losses exacerbated by N surpluses in other regions. In order to sustainably maintain or increase food production, farmers and their advisors need a comprehensive and actionable understanding of how nutrient management affects both yield and N₂O emissions, particularly in tropical and subtropical agroecosystems. We performed a meta‐analysis to determine the effect of N management and other factors on N₂O emissions, plant N uptake, and yield. Our analysis demonstrates that performance indicators—partial N balance and partial factor productivity—predicted N₂O emissions as well as or better than N rate. While we observed consistent production and environmental benefits with enhanced‐efficiency fertilizers, we noted potential trade‐offs between yield and N₂O emissions for fertilizer placement. Furthermore, we observed confounding effects due to management dynamics that co‐vary with nutrient application practices, thus challenging the interpretation of the effect of specific practices such as fertilization frequency. Therefore, rather than providing universally prescriptive management for N₂O emission reduction, our evidence supports mitigation strategies based upon tailored nutrient management approaches that keep N balances within safe limits, so as to minimize N₂O emissions while still achieving high crop yields. The limited evidence available suggests that these relationships hold for temperate, tropical, and subtropical regions, but given the potential for expansion of N use in crop production, further N₂O data collection should be prioritized in under‐represented regions such as Sub‐Saharan Africa.