Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses pay in the U.S.
$67,050avg. a year
$32.24 an hour · 648,410 employed
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses in the U.S. earn an average of $67,050 a year and a median of $64,400. Pay is highest in Washington ($83,900) and lowest in Mississippi ($51,450).
$64,400Median pay
$32.24Average hourly
+34%Avg. pay since 2020
648,410Jobs in the U.S.
Top-paying states for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
Average pay by state. Swipe to see the top 10.
16,780 jobs
Washington
$83,900
$40.34 an hour
282,850 jobs
California
$82,340
$39.59 an hour
34,260 jobs
Oregon
$81,420
$39.15 an hour
41,290 jobs
Rhode Island
$80,120
$38.52 an hour
5290 jobs
Alaska
$80,000
$38.46 an hour
613,210 jobs
Massachusetts
$79,270
$38.11 an hour
72,220 jobs
New Hampshire
$76,570
$36.81 an hour
86,530 jobs
Arizona
$76,120
$36.60 an hour
917,410 jobs
New Jersey
$74,600
$35.86 an hour
103,350 jobs
Nevada
$74,470
$35.81 an hour
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses pay, charted
Pay over time
United States, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian
Where the jobs are
Employment by state, May 2025
Average pay by state
May 2025 · tap a state
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Under $62k$62k–$65k$65k–$73k$73k+
Top-paying metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 (areas with 100+ jobs)
| Metro area | Avg. pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $94,420 | $45.40 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $93,470 | $44.94 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $90,480 | $43.50 |
| Napa, CA | $89,950 | $43.25 |
| Vallejo, CA | $87,980 | $42.30 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $87,360 | $42.00 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $85,030 | $40.88 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $84,440 | $40.60 |
Related jobs
Average U.S. pay, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses pay in every state
States without a figure had too few jobs or too little survey data for BLS to publish.
| State | Avg. pay | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $55,310 | $57,030 | 11,580 |
| Alaska | $80,000 | $80,800 | 290 |
| Arizona | $76,120 | $77,070 | 6,530 |
| Arkansas | $55,690 | $56,620 | 10,010 |
| California | $82,340 | $79,750 | 82,850 |
| Colorado | $70,820 | $73,880 | 4,920 |
| Connecticut | $72,580 | $73,690 | 8,540 |
| Delaware | $69,500 | $68,710 | 2,240 |
| District of Columbia | $74,030 | $75,740 | 1,040 |
| Florida | $62,150 | $61,770 | 38,620 |
| Georgia | $61,640 | $62,030 | 21,060 |
| Hawaii | $71,560 | $71,140 | 840 |
| Idaho | $63,860 | $63,800 | 1,880 |
| Illinois | $73,430 | $75,000 | 17,440 |
| Indiana | $65,840 | $65,720 | 14,480 |
| Iowa | $63,420 | $62,630 | 5,510 |
| Kansas | $62,660 | $61,760 | 7,530 |
| Kentucky | $60,460 | $60,460 | 8,570 |
| Louisiana | $56,590 | $57,470 | 17,600 |
| Maine | $72,110 | $73,200 | 760 |
| Maryland | $74,170 | $74,660 | 9,560 |
| Massachusetts | $79,270 | $80,220 | 13,210 |
| Michigan | $67,340 | $65,460 | 10,880 |
| Minnesota | $64,900 | $63,750 | 12,840 |
| Mississippi | $51,450 | $50,220 | 9,850 |
| Missouri | $62,410 | $61,530 | 14,700 |
| Montana | $62,350 | $62,210 | 1,620 |
| Nebraska | $64,560 | $62,660 | 4,580 |
| Nevada | $74,470 | $76,160 | 3,350 |
| New Hampshire | $76,570 | $77,110 | 2,220 |
| New Jersey | $74,600 | $75,160 | 17,410 |
| New Mexico | $58,630 | $59,330 | 2,460 |
| New York | $69,170 | $67,180 | 39,400 |
| North Carolina | $63,720 | $63,270 | 18,010 |
| North Dakota | $62,230 | $62,300 | 1,920 |
| Ohio | $62,020 | $61,950 | 39,900 |
| Oklahoma | $56,800 | $58,320 | 11,540 |
| Oregon | $81,420 | $80,470 | 4,260 |
| Pennsylvania | $65,930 | $63,940 | 38,260 |
| Rhode Island | $80,120 | $80,090 | 1,290 |
| South Carolina | $63,170 | $61,820 | 9,400 |
| South Dakota | $54,990 | $52,750 | 2,050 |
| Tennessee | $56,470 | $58,870 | 20,830 |
| Texas | $62,770 | $62,240 | 57,560 |
| Utah | $62,110 | $63,230 | 1,680 |
| Vermont | $70,110 | $69,930 | 1,130 |
| Virginia | $66,300 | $64,920 | 15,550 |
| Washington | $83,900 | $83,150 | 6,780 |
| West Virginia | $56,190 | $55,360 | 6,050 |
| Wisconsin | $65,870 | $63,760 | 7,390 |
| Wyoming | $63,300 | $63,460 | 480 |
Metro areas with the most jobs
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
$80,810
33,590 jobsNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$75,020
32,410 jobsPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$70,900
15,920 jobsDallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$66,110
12,590 jobsChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$77,430
11,420 jobsHouston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX$65,290
10,730 jobsAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA$64,890
9,710 jobsMiami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL$63,610
8,900 jobsQuestions and answers
How much do licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses make?
The average is $67,050 a year across the U.S. Half earn more than $64,400 and half earn less (the median).
What is the hourly pay?
The average hourly wage is $32.24, and the median is $30.96 an hour.
Which state pays licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses the most?
Washington, with an average of $83,900 a year. The best-paying metro area is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $94,420.
What is the pay range?
The lowest-paid 10% earn under $49,740 a year, and the top 10% earn over $83,440.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 29-2061. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.