Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training maps to BLS occupations averaging about $121,267, with roughly 127,940 workers nationwide in those roles. About 1,111 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median in-state published tuition is about $16,488.
Key Statistics
Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training: what the data shows
Common questions about licensed practical & vocational nurse training degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a licensed practical & vocational nurse training degree?
A Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training program is classified under NCES CIP 51.3902 in the Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants field family (51.39).
A program that prepares individuals to perform routine nursing-related services to patients in hospitals or long-term care facilities, under the training and supervision of a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse.
IPEDS counted 44,550 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
How long does it take to get a licensed practical & vocational nurse training degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.3902 in our file:
- 42 Associate (2.7% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 1,111 Bachelor's (71.4% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 377 Master's (24.2% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 27 Doctorate (1.7% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in licensed practical & vocational nurse training?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Service Orientation, Coordination, Social Perceptiveness, Monitoring, Speaking, Active Listening, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Licensed Practical Nurses (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 51.3902, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a licensed practical & vocational nurse training degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed Practical Nurses | 632,430 | $62,340 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | 50,350 | $223,210 |
| Nurse Midwives | 8,280 | $128,790 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 307,390 | $129,210 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | 75,710 | $155,020 |
| Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | 43,640 | $39,270 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a licensed practical & vocational nurse training degree worth it?
About 50.5% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $16,488 and median net price is $21,042.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$16,488 Median In-State Public
$23,700 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training majors are, on average, $16,488 for in-state public colleges, and $23,700 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training programs.
Institutions awarding the most Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training degrees
| # | Institution | State | Completions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 2,392 |
| 2 | Gateway Technical College | WI | 663 |
| 3 | South Florida Institute of Technology | FL | 612 |
| 4 | College of Lake County | IL | 587 |
| 5 | Madison Area Technical College | WI | 560 |
| 6 | William Rainey Harper College | IL | 535 |
| 7 | Access Careers | NY | 525 |
| 8 | Mountainland Technical College | UT | 495 |
| 9 | Waukesha County Technical College | WI | 476 |
| 10 | Johnson County Community College | KS | 463 |
IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), all award levels for this CIP in our extract.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
44,550 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 68,619 |
| 2 | Liberty University | VA | 50,059 |
| 3 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | MN | 30,469 |
| 4 | Boston University | MA | 17,850 |
| 5 | Texas Christian University | TX | 10,919 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Universidad Pentecostal Mizpa | PR | $4,220 |
| 2 | Huntsville Bible College | AL | $4,730 |
| 3 | Selma University | AL | $4,800 |
| 4 | Southeastern Baptist College | MS | $5,925 |
| 5 | Universidad Central de Bayamon | PR | $5,986 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gods Bible School and College | OH | $3,138 |
| 2 | Luther Rice College & Seminary | GA | $3,935 |
| 3 | Universidad Central de Bayamon | PR | $4,285 |
| 4 | Indian Bible College | AZ | $5,068 |
| 5 | Southeastern Baptist College | MS | $5,603 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training programs.
Graduation Rates
47.46% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
49.17% Average Graduation Rate
437 Institutions Reporting
33.50% - 62.57% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training programs across institutions.
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.3902 in the survey year used in our extract (1,557 total across levels below).
- 42 Associate (2.7% of IPEDS total)
- 1,111 Bachelor's (71.4% of IPEDS total)
- 377 Master's (24.2% of IPEDS total)
- 27 Doctorate (1.7% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $121,267. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed Practical Nurses | $81,239 | 632,430 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | $225,979 | 50,350 |
| Nurse Midwives | $184,512 | 8,280 |
| Nurse Practitioners | $177,897 | 307,390 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | $188,333 | 75,710 |
| Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | $53,312 | 43,640 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants CIP family (n/a programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training graduate.
- $39,305 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 50.5% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$120,625 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training majors is $120,625.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training majors.
Occupations by Share
127,940 2023 Workforce
The number of Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training.
Age distribution for Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
44,550 Total Degrees Awarded
5,197 Male (11.67%)
39,353 Female (88.33%)
Gender distribution of Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
20,135 White (45.20%)
10,529 Hispanic or Latino (23.63%)
7,410 Black or African American (16.63%)
2,025 Asian (4.55%)
1,789 Two or More Races (4.02%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to perform routine nursing-related services to patients in hospitals or long-term care facilities, under the training and supervision of a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse.
In 2023, 44,550 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training.
CIP Code
51.3902 - Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training
What the data shows
About 50.5% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians. That is a program-level mobility signal, not a national underemployment rate.
Women earned 88.3% of 44,550 Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $121,267. The largest mapped role by headcount is Licensed Practical Nurses (632,430 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $16,488 in-state at public colleges and $23,700 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.