Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses pay in the United States

Goes furthest in Alaska
·Healthcare Practitioners·
648k jobs
Figures from US Bureau of Labor StatisticsOccupational Employment and Wage Statistics
$30.96/hr median
648,410 employed
+3% to 2035
38% AI exposure
Postsecondary nondegree award
54 states reported
and more...

What this work is

Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.

Where the money actually goes furthest

Washington pays the highest headline figure at $83,150. Adjusted for what things cost there it is worth $77,703 — less than Alaska, where $80,800 is worth $78,937.

Pay by state

54 states and territories publish a median for this occupation. Switch the ranking to see how much the order changes.

Adjusted for what things cost in that state.

Median pay for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses by state, ranked by what it is worth locally
StateHourlyAnnualWorth locallyAfter state taxJobs
Alaska$38.85/hr$80,800$78,937$80,800290
Rhode Island$38.51/hr$80,090$78,304$77,4821,290
Oregon$38.69/hr$80,470$77,854$73,9704,260
Washington$39.98/hr$83,150$77,703$83,1506,780
Arizona$37.05/hr$77,070$76,549$75,5086,530
Nevada$36.62/hr$76,160$76,175$76,1603,350
Massachusetts$38.57/hr$80,220$75,850$76,20913,210
Maine$35.19/hr$73,200$75,425$69,499760
Illinois$36.06/hr$75,000$75,030$71,42417,440
New Hampshire$37.07/hr$77,110$74,023$77,1102,220
California$38.34/hr$79,750$72,028$76,30682,850
Colorado$35.52/hr$73,880$71,693$71,3604,920
Vermont$33.62/hr$69,930$71,386$67,2521,130
Iowa$30.11/hr$62,630$71,365$60,8045,510
Maryland$35.89/hr$74,660$71,131$71,2949,560
Connecticut$35.43/hr$73,690$71,122$70,3878,540
Indiana$31.60/hr$65,720$70,416$63,77814,480
North Dakota$29.95/hr$62,300$70,031$62,3001,920
Nebraska$30.13/hr$62,660$69,544$60,3114,580
New Jersey$36.13/hr$75,160$69,074$72,49817,410
District of Columbia$36.42/hr$75,740$68,917$72,1431,040
Delaware$33.03/hr$68,710$68,840$65,4062,240
Kansas$29.69/hr$61,760$68,568$58,6027,530
Wyoming$30.51/hr$63,460$68,464$63,460480
Michigan$31.47/hr$65,460$68,031$62,91510,880
Wisconsin$30.65/hr$63,760$67,757$61,4787,390
Missouri$29.58/hr$61,530$67,749$59,49414,700
North Carolina$30.42/hr$63,270$67,073$61,12218,010
Kentucky$29.07/hr$60,460$67,058$58,1688,570
Idaho$30.67/hr$63,800$66,813$61,1921,880
Ohio$29.78/hr$61,950$66,778$60,96239,900
Oklahoma$28.04/hr$58,320$66,393$56,03911,540
South Carolina$29.72/hr$61,820$65,941$59,5699,400
Montana$29.91/hr$62,210$65,726$59,6541,620
Pennsylvania$30.74/hr$63,940$65,532$61,97738,260
Louisiana$27.63/hr$57,470$65,151$56,12017,600
Arkansas$27.22/hr$56,620$65,125$54,58810,010
Hawaii$34.20/hr$71,140$64,702$67,176840
Minnesota$30.65/hr$63,750$64,642$60,87812,840
Georgia$29.82/hr$62,030$64,419$59,43321,060
New Mexico$28.52/hr$59,330$64,342$57,5352,460
Virginia$31.21/hr$64,920$64,213$61,93315,550
Alabama$27.42/hr$57,030$64,208$54,36811,580
Texas$29.92/hr$62,240$64,125$62,24057,560
Tennessee$28.31/hr$58,870$64,079$58,87020,830
Utah$30.40/hr$63,230$63,959$60,3531,680
New York$32.30/hr$67,180$62,249$64,09039,400
West Virginia$26.61/hr$55,360$61,854$53,5126,050
Florida$29.70/hr$61,770$59,733$61,77038,620
South Dakota$25.36/hr$52,750$59,543$52,7502,050
Mississippi$24.14/hr$50,220$57,757$48,1119,850
Virgin Islands$31.09/hr$64,660Not publishedNot published50
Guam$20.61/hr$42,870Not publishedNot published90
Puerto Rico$14.79/hr$30,760Not publishedNot published2,990

National median for comparison: $64,400. “Worth locally” divides pay by the area’s price level, so a figure above the headline means money goes further there than the US average.

$64,400/year

$30.96/hr an hour, national median

Across the states

$24,910$93,970

25th to 75th percentile, lowest and highest state

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How much of this job could software do?

38%Low exposure
Hands, places, peopleLanguage and information

The two methods broadly agree.

Method 1 — ability mix47%

Cognitive share of O*NET ability importance (element families 1.A.1–1.A.4), O*NET 31.0

Method 2 — task content30%

Importance-weighted share of O*NET tasks classed as language or information work, O*NET 31.0

What this does and does not mean

Exposure means a model could plausibly do a meaningful share of the tasks in this job. It is not a forecast that the job disappears, and it says nothing about whether any employer will actually automate it.

For what the labour market expects, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment in this occupation to change by +3% between 2025 and 2035, with about 51,800 openings a year.

Which parts are exposed

  • Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
  • Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
  • Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
  • Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
  • Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
  • Provide medical treatment or personal care to patients in private home settings, such as cooking, keeping rooms orderly, seeing that patients are comfortable and in good spirits, or instructing family members in simple nursing tasks.

Amber marks language and information work. Green marks tasks that need a person in a place.

Where licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses move next

Occupations that share most of this one’s skills, with the pay difference and the change in AI exposure.

Location

San Diego, CA, United States of America (SAN-San Diego Intl.)

Photograph by RDNE Stock project.