Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN)
The national median wage for licensed practical nurses (lpn) is $55,860 across 658K jobs. After cost of living, San Francisco goes furthest at $67,881, and 40 of 78 metros beat the national median once prices are counted.
What the job pays, metro to metro
Each line runs from the lowest metro to the highest. The mark is the national median.
BLS OES, latest release
78 metro areas tracked
Best value: top metros by cost-adjusted wage
Wages adjusted for local cost of living. A longer blue bar means the salary goes further there.
All metro areas
Sorted by cost-adjusted wage. Tap a column head to re-sort; metro names link to the city page where we track one.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | CA | $76,705 | $67,881 | 6,853 | 15.2 |
| 2 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | VA | $67,028 | $66,364 | 8,938 | 14.9 |
| 3 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | NY | $70,226 | $65,024 | 14,451 | 11.6 |
| 4 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | IL | $64,175 | $64,823 | 8,745 | 10.9 |
| 5 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | CT | $66,901 | $64,328 | 1,249 | 16.6 |
| 6 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $62,001 | $63,266 | 6,087 | 11.1 |
| 7 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | TX | $61,313 | $63,209 | 2,434 | 9.7 |
| 8 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $58,777 | $62,529 | 1,999 | 13.3 |
| 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | GA | $60,614 | $62,489 | 6,558 | 11.9 |
| 10 | Anchorage, AK | AK | $63,166 | $61,927 | 754 | 15.1 |
| 11 | Madison, WI | WI | $57,440 | $61,763 | 863 | 11.5 |
| 12 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | TX | $59,791 | $61,640 | 10,417 | 16.0 |
| 13 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $66,992 | $61,461 | 4,418 | 11.0 |
| 14 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ | DE | $60,415 | $61,025 | 689 | 13.8 |
| 15 | St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $56,038 | $60,911 | 3,180 | 12.7 |
| 16 | Kansas City, MO-KS | MO | $56,008 | $60,878 | 2,338 | 11.7 |
| 17 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | MA | $65,746 | $60,876 | 7,740 | 15.5 |
| 18 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $59,386 | $60,598 | 3,534 | 10.1 |
| 19 | Columbus, OH | OH | $55,435 | $60,255 | 3,341 | 16.7 |
| 20 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | OH | $55,155 | $59,951 | 1,453 | 9.7 |
| 21 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | IN | $55,089 | $59,879 | 2,866 | 14.3 |
| 22 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $55,588 | $59,772 | 2,558 | 17.1 |
| 23 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | TX | $57,971 | $59,764 | 9,153 | 13.1 |
| 24 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | CO | $59,961 | $59,367 | 4,852 | 16.2 |
| 25 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | MI | $55,802 | $59,364 | 6,027 | 15.1 |
| 26 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | RI | $59,716 | $59,125 | 1,584 | 10.6 |
| 27 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN | TN | $54,777 | $58,900 | 2,535 | 12.7 |
| 28 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $66,026 | $58,430 | 14,897 | 14.9 |
| 29 | Boise City, ID | ID | $52,421 | $57,605 | 1,116 | 14.9 |
| 30 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $53,942 | $57,385 | 4,114 | 16.5 |
| 31 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | KY | $51,586 | $57,318 | 1,737 | 11.6 |
| 32 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | NE | $51,327 | $57,030 | 1,170 | 11.7 |
| 33 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $55,146 | $56,852 | 294 | 11.8 |
| 34 | Pittsburgh, PA | PA | $55,479 | $56,611 | 2,164 | 10.8 |
| 35 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $59,376 | $56,549 | 2,350 | 9.4 |
| 36 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $50,290 | $56,506 | 956 | 12.8 |
| 37 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $59,304 | $56,480 | 490 | 9.8 |
| 38 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $56,931 | $56,367 | 4,216 | 9.4 |
| 39 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $51,849 | $56,358 | 3,107 | 15.5 |
| 40 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $58,118 | $55,883 | 3,964 | 15.9 |
| 41 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | LA | $49,093 | $55,788 | 1,154 | 11.5 |
| 42 | Richmond, VA | VA | $56,314 | $55,756 | 2,000 | 13.3 |
| 43 | Tulsa, OK | OK | $48,968 | $55,645 | 930 | 9.3 |
| 44 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | CT | $57,868 | $55,642 | 1,123 | 11.2 |
| 45 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | AL | $49,945 | $55,494 | 1,153 | 11.5 |
| 46 | Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $48,826 | $55,484 | 2,153 | 14.3 |
| 47 | Fargo, ND-MN | ND | $49,221 | $55,304 | 520 | 13.0 |
| 48 | Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | MI | $51,889 | $55,201 | 1,158 | 11.6 |
| 49 | Salt Lake City, UT | UT | $52,259 | $55,009 | 2,134 | 14.2 |
| 50 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | AR | $47,826 | $54,972 | 705 | 9.4 |
| 51 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | FL | $56,054 | $54,421 | 6,447 | 11.7 |
| 52 | Columbia, SC | SC | $50,571 | $54,377 | 724 | 9.7 |
| 53 | Albuquerque, NM | NM | $48,729 | $54,143 | 1,177 | 11.8 |
| 54 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | NV | $52,474 | $54,097 | 2,576 | 12.9 |
| 55 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $60,561 | $53,594 | 4,461 | 14.9 |
| 56 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | SC | $49,496 | $53,222 | 1,219 | 16.3 |
| 57 | Sioux Falls, SD | SD | $46,805 | $53,188 | 555 | 13.9 |
| 58 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $59,569 | $52,716 | 2,641 | 13.2 |
| 59 | Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $51,111 | $52,692 | 565 | 14.1 |
| 60 | Honolulu, HI | HI | $57,384 | $52,646 | 923 | 12.3 |
| 61 | Baton Rouge, LA | LA | $46,292 | $52,605 | 880 | 11.7 |
| 62 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | VA | $52,643 | $52,122 | 2,563 | 17.1 |
| 63 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | TN | $48,011 | $51,625 | 1,081 | 10.8 |
| 64 | Cheyenne, WY | WY | $46,674 | $51,290 | 219 | 14.6 |
| 65 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | TX | $49,497 | $51,028 | 3,961 | 15.8 |
| 66 | Jackson, MS | MS | $44,240 | $50,851 | 461 | 9.2 |
| 67 | Billings, MT | MT | $45,614 | $50,682 | 360 | 14.4 |
| 68 | Wichita, KS | KS | $45,535 | $50,594 | 497 | 9.9 |
| 69 | Knoxville, TN | TN | $46,808 | $50,331 | 1,230 | 12.3 |
| 70 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | FL | $51,805 | $50,296 | 3,923 | 13.1 |
| 71 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $51,608 | $50,105 | 3,362 | 13.4 |
| 72 | Jacksonville, FL | FL | $51,008 | $49,522 | 2,268 | 15.1 |
| 73 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | CA | $55,345 | $48,978 | 5,823 | 14.6 |
| 74 | Tucson, AZ | AZ | $49,233 | $48,746 | 1,684 | 16.8 |
| 75 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | NY | $52,115 | $48,255 | 1,531 | 15.3 |
| 76 | El Paso, TX | TX | $46,772 | $48,219 | 834 | 11.1 |
| 77 | Charleston, WV | WV | $42,091 | $46,768 | 304 | 12.2 |
| 78 | Rochester, NY | NY | $49,979 | $46,277 | 1,039 | 10.4 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN)?
The national median annual wage for licensed practical nurses (lpn) is $55,860, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) data.
Where do licensed practical nurses (lpn) earn the most after adjusting for cost of living?
After adjusting for local cost of living, the top-paying metro areas for licensed practical nurses (lpn) are San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA ($67,881), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($66,364), New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($65,024).
How many metro areas have data for licensed practical nurses (lpn)?
We show wage and employment estimates for licensed practical nurses (lpn) across 78 metro areas in the United States. The national median wage is the latest BLS OES figure; individual metro values are modeled from it using local cost of living and regional labor-market patterns rather than taken from the published metro-level OES tables.