Licensed Practical Nurse Salary in 2026: What LPNs Earn
Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) are one of the largest entry points into clinical healthcare in the United States. They held about 651,400 jobs in 2024, working alongside registered nurses and physicians to deliver basic patient care in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and private residences. The two titles describe the same job — "LVN" is used in California and Texas, "LPN" everywhere else — and BLS reports them together. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the role pays well above the national median for jobs that require roughly a year of postsecondary training.
This guide breaks down what LPNs actually earn in 2026 — the national median, how pay shifts with work setting and experience, and how location changes the number. All figures come from the most recent BLS data (the May 2024 release).
What the typical LPN earns
The median annual wage for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses was $62,340 in May 2024. Median means half of all LPNs earned more than that figure and half earned less. For comparison, the median wage across all U.S. occupations was $49,500.
The full range is wide:
- The lowest-paid 10% of LPNs earned less than $47,960.
- The highest-paid 10% earned more than $80,510.
That spread — roughly $48,000 to $80,500 — is the most important thing to understand about LPN pay. "LPN salary" is not a single number; it depends heavily on where a nurse works, how long they have been working, and the state in which they are licensed.
LPN pay by work setting
Where an LPN works is one of the biggest factors in pay. BLS reports these median wages by employer type:
| Work setting | Median LPN pay (2024) |
|---|---|
| Government (excluding state and local education and hospitals) | $66,370 |
| Nursing & residential care facilities | $64,170 |
| Home healthcare services | $61,300 |
| Hospitals (state, local & private) | $59,200 |
| Offices of physicians | $57,660 |
The highest-paying setting is government work outside hospitals, where federal and other public-sector employers tend to pay more than private clinics for comparable nursing roles. Nursing and residential care facilities are the single largest employer of LPNs — about 37% of the workforce — and pay close to the top of the range, reflecting the heavy reliance of long-term care on practical nurses for day-to-day patient management. Hospitals employ a smaller share of LPNs (16%) than they do registered nurses, because hospital nursing has shifted steadily toward RN-staffed floors over the past two decades. Offices of physicians sit at the lower end of the table, where shorter shifts and predictable hours often substitute for higher pay. The gap between the top and bottom setting in the table is more than $8,000 a year for the same core credential.
Experience and specialty
The other major factor is experience. New-graduate LPNs typically start near the lower end of the range, while LPNs with several years on the floor — especially in long-term care, home health, or specialty units where they can supervise nursing assistants and other unlicensed staff — earn toward the top. Certifications in areas such as IV therapy, gerontology, or wound care can also lift pay, and many states broaden what an experienced LPN is permitted to do (for example, administering medication or starting IV drips) once specific training is documented. CPR or basic life support (BLS) certification is a common employer requirement and is sometimes treated as a baseline for any clinical hire.
Many LPNs also use the role as a stepping stone. LPN-to-RN bridge programs let working nurses earn an associate or bachelor's degree in nursing and sit for the NCLEX-RN, which moves them into a different pay band entirely — registered nurses had a median wage of $93,600 in 2024, roughly $30,000 above the LPN median. That is a separate career step, but it is the most common reason an LPN's pay trajectory eventually breaks through the top of the LPN range. For nurses who prefer to stay at the LPN level, the path to higher pay usually runs through specialty certifications, a move into long-term care management, or relocation to a higher-paying state or setting.
Where LPNs earn the most
LPN wages vary widely from state to state, and even between metro areas within the same state. Two forces drive that: local cost of living and local demand for nurses. A median wage in a high-cost coastal metro can sit several thousand dollars above the same role in a lower-cost rural area, and states with strong unionization or large public-sector employers tend to pull the median up. Travel LPN roles, which BLS notes are used to fill shortages in places without enough healthcare workers, can also pay above the local median in exchange for short-term assignments and frequent moves.
Because those figures are updated every year and differ for all 50 states, the most reliable source for a location-specific number is the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, which publishes median LPN wages for every state and metropolitan area. Anyone weighing an LPN job offer should check the figure for their specific state and city rather than relying on the national median.
The job outlook for LPNs
Pay is only half the picture; job security is the other. BLS projects employment of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses to grow 3% from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations, with about 54,400 openings every year over the decade. Most of those openings come from the need to replace nurses who move into other roles or retire rather than from net new positions. An aging population and the rising prevalence of chronic conditions such as diabetes and obesity drive the underlying demand, especially in residential care and home-health settings where LPNs already make up a large share of the staff. For a credential that takes about a year to earn, the combination of a five-figure median wage and tens of thousands of openings a year is an unusually steady outlook.
How LPNs qualify
Licensed practical nurses reach the role through a state-approved practical nursing program — typically a certificate or diploma offered by a community college, technical school, or some high schools — that takes about one year to complete. Coursework covers nursing fundamentals, anatomy and physiology, and pharmacology, and every program includes supervised clinical experience in a real care setting. After finishing, prospective LPNs must pass the NCLEX-PN licensing exam and hold an active license in the state where they intend to work; state boards of nursing publish the list of approved programs and the specific requirements for licensure. In California and Texas the title is "licensed vocational nurse" (LVN), but the credential and exam are the same, and an LPN who relocates can usually transfer their license to another state through endorsement.
A note on your nursing diploma
A nursing diploma is a credential many LPNs want to display once they have earned it. If your original has been lost or damaged, your nursing program can issue an official replacement for any formal purpose. For a framed copy to hang at home or in an office, DiplomaCraft also offers replica nursing school diplomas for display and novelty use.
Sources
- Wage, employment, and outlook data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, reflecting the May 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release.
- State and metro wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS).
All wage figures are medians and reflect the most recent BLS data available as of 2026. Actual pay varies by employer, location, experience, and specialty.