Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) salary: $28.67/hr$1,147/wk$59,634/yr median.
Pay range $28.67$1,147$59,634–$34.39/hr$1,376/wk$71,531/yr across the middle 50% of active Direct Care Nursing postings nationwide.
4 unique employers · 18 cities · 7 states.
How Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) pay is distributed.
10% of postings pay under $28.67/hr$1,147/wk$59,634/yr. The top 10% pay above $36.95/hr$1,478/wk$76,856/yr.
How Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) pay has moved month over month.
Median pay moved from $28.67 in Apr 2026 to $28.50 in Oct 2026 (-0.6%). Bars show monthly posting volume; the line tracks the posting-weighted median.
| Month | Median /hr/wk/yr | P25–P75 | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2026 | $28.67$1,147$59,634 | $28.67$1,147$59,634–$32.11$1,284$66,789 | 29 |
| May 2026 | $36.95$1,478$76,856 | $36.95$1,478$76,856–$41.46$1,658$86,237 | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | $29.00$1,160$60,320 | $29.00$1,160$60,320–$29.00$1,160$60,320 | 1 |
| Oct 2026 | $28.50$1,140$59,280 | $28.50$1,140$59,280–$28.50$1,140$59,280 | 1 |
Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) pay across every state with live data.
Showing all 2 states with live data. Bars scale to the highest-paying state.
Where the top of the market is paying for Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN).
| Employer | Median /hr/wk/yr | Range | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| kaiser permanente | $28.67$1,147$59,634 | $28.67$1,147$59,634–$54.99$2,200$114,379 | 32 |
Showing all 1 employer with live pay data.
How Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) pay shifts by schedule and contract type.
How to become a Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN).
Nursing covers the broader nursing workforce when a role doesn't fit neatly into the RN, APRN, LPN/LVN, or nursing support buckets. The licensure path is shared across nursing: pass an NCLEX exam (RN or PN) administered by your state board of nursing. From there, scope, autonomy, and pay diverge sharply by license tier (LPN/LVN vs RN vs APRN).
Pick the license tier first: LPN/LVN for the shortest path (12-18 months), RN for hospital-based bedside nursing (2-4 years), APRN for independent practice with prescriptive authority (BSN + RN experience + 2-4 more years). Every step requires graduation from a state-board-approved nursing program plus passing the appropriate NCLEX exam.
| Degree | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Practical / Vocational Nursing diplomaLPN / LVN | 12-18 months | Shortest nursing route. Eligible for NCLEX-PN. Predominantly long-term care, clinic, and home health employment. |
| Associate Degree in NursingADN | 2-3 years | Eligible for NCLEX-RN. Standard community-college nursing entry. Many ADN graduates pursue RN-to-BSN bridge programs while working. |
| Bachelor of Science in NursingBSN | 4 years | Preferred or required by most hospitals, especially Magnet-designated centers. Standard prerequisite for graduate nursing programs. |
| Master of Science in NursingMSN | 2-3 years post-BSN | Required for APRN roles (NP, CNS, CNM, CRNA) and most nursing leadership tracks. |
| Doctor of Nursing PracticeDNP | 3-4 years post-BSN | Terminal practice degree for APRNs. Required for CRNA programs starting 2025 and increasingly preferred for executive nursing roles. |
Required to practice as an RN. Eligibility requires graduation from an approved ADN, diploma, or BSN program plus passing NCLEX-RN.
Required to practice as an LPN/LVN. Eligibility requires graduation from an approved practical nursing program plus passing NCLEX-PN.
Required at hire for essentially every patient-facing nursing role.
| Credential | Issued by | Pay impact |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty board certifications CCRN, CEN, CNOR, OCN, RNC-OB, etc. Specialty certifications exist for virtually every nursing area and reliably move pay and scope. Standard upgrade after 1-2 years on a specialty unit. | Specialty boards (AACN, BCEN, CCI, ONCC, NCC) | +5-15% |
- 0-1 yearsNew-grad LPN / RN
Newly licensed nurse, often in a residency or supervised orientation period.
- 1-5 yearsStaff nurse
Independent practice in a specialty setting. Many pick up the relevant specialty certification.
- 5-10 yearsSenior or charge nurse
Shift-level or specialty leadership. Common point at which nurses choose between bedside leadership, education, or APRN school.
- 8+ yearsAdvanced practice or leadership
APRN (NP, CNS, CRNA, CNM) practice, nurse education, or nurse manager / director. Requires MSN or DNP.
Schedule. Wide variation. Hospitals run 24/7 with 12-hour shifts. Clinics run business hours. Home health is largely daytime with travel.
Physical demands. Physically and emotionally demanding in acute care; less physical in clinic, telehealth, and ambulatory roles.
Nursing remains one of the largest and fastest-growing US occupations. RN demand is driven by an aging population and a wave of nurse retirements; APRN demand is driven by primary care and specialty access gaps.
What clinicians ask about Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) pay.
What is the average Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) salary in 2026?
The median Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) salary is $28.67/hr (approximately $59,634/yr) based on 35 active job postings.
What is the pay range for Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN)?
Hourly pay ranges from $28.67 at the 25th percentile to $34.39 at the 75th percentile, with the top 10% earning above $36.95/hr.
Which state pays Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) roles the most?
California currently leads with a median of $36.95/hr across 8 postings.
How many employers are hiring Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN)s?
Our dataset shows 4 unique employers posting Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) roles across 7 states.
Where does TrueRounds get Licensed Practical / Vocational Nurse (LPN / LVN) salary data?
All salary figures are computed from active US healthcare job postings with listed pay ranges, collected over a rolling 6-month window and weighted by posting volume.
Active US healthcare postings. Weighted by volume. Refreshed daily.
Pay benchmarks are computed from active job postings with listed pay ranges, collected on a rolling 6-month window. Each role's percentiles are weighted by posting volume so a metro with two postings doesn't outweigh a metro with two hundred. Outliers (postings priced more than 4× the role median) are dropped to avoid contract-line distortion.
Use the data, then push back.
Bring these numbers into your next contract conversation. Recruiters know what the market pays — now you do too.