Licensed Practical Nurses Salary: $81,239 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 632,430 licensed practical nurses nationally earn a mean of $81,239. Projections imply about 1.5% annual growth; CA accounts for about 74,730 jobs in our geographic extract.
Key Statistics
Licensed Practical Nurses: what the data shows
Common questions about licensed practical nurses careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a licensed practical nurses?
Licensed Practical Nurses is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 29-2061.
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 632,430 workers.
What does a licensed practical nurses do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Assisting and Caring for Others, Documenting/Recording Information, Getting Information, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a licensed practical nurses make?
BLS national median annual wage: $62,340 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $81,239 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $64,086 |
| 25th percentile | $70,834 |
| Median (50th) | $79,267 |
| 75th percentile | $88,029 |
| 90th percentile | $102,553 |
What education do you need?
For Licensed Practical Nurses, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Service Orientation, Coordination, Social Perceptiveness, Monitoring, Speaking, Active Listening, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Psychology, Medicine and Dentistry. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is licensed practical nurses in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.5% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 7.8%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 16.2%.
Current U.S. headcount: 632,430.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do licensed practical nursess work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 632,430 | 17.9% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 558,170 | 15.8% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 543,940 | 15.4% |
| Nursing and Residential Care Facilities | 235,290 | 6.7% |
| Hospitals | 205,500 | 5.8% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 195,600 | 5.5% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Licensed Practical Nurses in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Assistants | 793,460 | $44,200 |
| Physician Assistants | 155,540 | $133,260 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 307,390 | $129,210 |
| Pharmacy Technicians | 487,920 | $43,460 |
| Registered Nurses | 3,282,010 | $93,600 |
| Dental Hygienists | 200,000 | — |
| Occupational Therapists | 152,280 | $98,340 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Licensed Practical Nurses workforce.
Employment Over Time
632,430 Workforce in 2023
The Licensed Practical Nurses workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$81,239 Average Wage
In 2023, Licensed Practical Nurses earned an average of $81,239.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Salary distribution for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Employment Growth Projections
1.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
340,831 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 7.8%
367,382 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 16.2%
This occupation is projected to grow at 1.5% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Licensed Practical Nurses and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Licensed Practical Nurses employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Wage Trends by Industry
3.3% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 74,730 employees, $81,366 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 25,520 employees, $79,045 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 8,460 employees, $76,484 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 6,800 employees, $80,510 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 6,640 employees, $80,048 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 5,110 employees, $92,692 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 4,350 employees, $84,722 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 2,930 employees, $94,141 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 2,690 employees, $94,235 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 2,380 employees, $75,600 avg wage
- Bakersfield-Delano MSA: 1,480 employees, $76,545 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Diversity
Demographic information on Licensed Practical Nurses in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Licensed Practical Nurses in 2023 was 632,430 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Licensed Practical Nurses in 2023 were Practical Nursing, Health Sciences, Biology.
Common majors for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Licensed Practical Nurses workers.
Education level distribution for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Skills
Licensed Practical Nurses need many skills, but most especially Service Orientation, Coordination, Social Perceptiveness, Monitoring, Speaking.
Required skills for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Licensed Practical Nurses include Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Psychology, Medicine and Dentistry, Administration and Management.
Knowledge areas required for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Licensed Practical Nurses include Written Comprehension, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Speech Clarity.
Required abilities for Licensed Practical Nurses.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Licensed Practical Nurses.
Daily Activities
Licensed Practical Nurses spend their time on activities such as Assisting and Caring for Others, Documenting/Recording Information, Getting Information, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Making Decisions and Solving Problems.
Most important work activities for Licensed Practical Nurses.
About
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
The average yearly wage for Licensed Practical Nurses was $81,239 in 2023.
SOC Code
29-2061 - Licensed Practical Nurses
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Licensed Practical Nurses reports an average salary of $81,239.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 632,430 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 1.5%, which should inform long-term career planning.
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 Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.