Average Licensed Practical And Licensed Vocational Nurses Salary in the United States
The national median salary for Licensed Practical And Licensed Vocational Nurses is $64,400 per year. The middle 50% earn between $59,000 and $76,030, with 648,410 workers employed nationally.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates . Data covers 51 states and 393 metro areas.
Pay distribution
Here is how Licensed Practical And Licensed Vocational Nurses pay is distributed across workers nationally. The 10th percentile typically reflects entry-level or early-career pay, the median is the midpoint, and the 90th percentile represents the top earners in the field.
- 10th
- $49,740
- 25th
- $59,000
- Median
- $64,400
- 75th
- $76,030
- 90th
- $83,440
All values are percentiles of annual wages.
Licensed Practical And Licensed Vocational Nurses earn close to the national median for all US workers. Solidly middle-income.
Pay is tightly clustered around the median. Most licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses earn within a narrow band, with less variation than many other occupations. That is often a sign of standardized roles or union and public-sector pay scales.
Job outlook
BLS projects employment for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses from 2024 to 2034. Growth is roughly in line with the US average of about 4% across all occupations.
- Projected growth
- +2.6%
- 17,100 net jobs over the projection period.
- Annual openings
- 54,400
- Includes growth plus replacements for workers who leave. Annual openings reflect typical replacement demand alongside any growth.
- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Postsecondary training beyond high school is typically required, but a full four-year degree is not always necessary.
Where Licensed Practical And Licensed Vocational Nurses earn the most
Location matters a lot. The gap between top-paying and bottom-paying states is large, so where licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses work can reshape their total compensation. Right now, the top-paying state is Washington at $83,150, about 29.1% above the national median. At the metro level, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA leads with a median of $95,320.
Top-paying states
| State | Median salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | $83,150 | 6,780 |
| Alaska | $80,800 | 290 |
| Oregon | $80,470 | 4,260 |
| Massachusetts | $80,220 | 13,210 |
| Rhode Island | $80,090 | 1,290 |
| California | $79,750 | 82,850 |
| New Hampshire | $77,110 | 2,220 |
| Arizona | $77,070 | 6,530 |
Top-paying metros
| Metro area | Median salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $95,320 | 3,290 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $94,310 | 8,800 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $92,580 | 870 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $85,690 | 3,470 |
| Vallejo, CA | $85,430 | 870 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $83,940 | 120 |
| Napa, CA | $83,690 | 280 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $83,510 | 2,250 |
Compare two locations side by side
Pick two states or metros to see licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses pay in each, along with a cost-of-living adjusted view.
Salary trend and related occupations
Between 2019 and 2025, the national median salary for Licensed Practical And Licensed Vocational Nurses rose from $47,480 to $64,400, a gain of +35.6% in nominal dollars.
Over the same period, US consumer prices rose by +25.9%. Just to keep pace with inflation, the 2019 median of $47,480 would need to be worth $59,790 in 2025 dollars.
The actual 2025 median of $64,400 is $4,610 above that inflation-adjusted benchmark, a real change of +7.7% in purchasing power.
Real wages have outpaced inflation by 7.7%, a modest but real gain in purchasing power.
- Nominal change
- +35.6%
- 2019–2025
- Cumulative inflation
- +25.9%
- US CPI, 2019–2025
- Real change
- +7.7%
- After adjusting for inflation
Median salary over time
Licensed Practical And Licensed Vocational Nurses median pay by year, going back through the available BLS releases.
- 2025
- $64,400
- 2024
- $62,340
- 2023
- $59,730
- 2022
- $54,620
- 2021
- $48,070
- 2020
- $48,820
- 2019
- $47,480
BLS did not publish a median for 2000–2018, so those years are omitted.
Related occupations
Other occupations in the same field, with median pay for comparison.
- Surgical Technologists
- $64,650
- Hearing Aid Specialists
- $65,160
- Paramedics
- $60,600
- Medical Records Specialists
- $51,140
Common salary questions for Licensed Practical And Licensed Vocational Nurses
What does the median salary mean? +
The median is the midpoint of all wages. Half of Licensed Practical And Licensed Vocational Nurses workers earn more and half earn less. It is a better measure of typical pay than the average, which can be skewed by very high or very low earners.
Why does pay vary so much by location? +
Local labor markets, cost of living, industry concentration, and employer competition all affect wages. High-cost metros like San Francisco and New York often pay more in nominal terms, though some of that premium is offset by higher living costs.
How current is this salary data? +
This page uses the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. BLS publishes OEWS data once per year, typically in the spring for the previous May reference period.
What do the percentile ranges tell me? +
The 10th and 90th percentiles show the full pay band. The 25th to 75th percentile range, the middle 50%, is where most workers fall. A wide spread usually means experience, specialization, or location matter a lot for this occupation.