• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

29-2061 Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses

Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.

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National estimates for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Industry profile for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Geographic profile for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses

National estimates for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
630,250	1.1 %	$ 29.23	$ 60,790	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 21.96	$ 24.35	$ 28.72	$ 32.28	$ 37.44
Annual Wage (2)	$ 45,670	$ 50,640	$ 59,730	$ 67,140	$ 77,870

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Industry profile for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	171,290	12.42	$ 30.64	$ 63,730
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	84,870	1.49	$ 26.63	$ 55,380
Home Health Care Services	78,100	4.88	$ 29.35	$ 61,050
Offices of Physicians	74,850	2.63	$ 25.76	$ 53,580
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	41,760	4.52	$ 29.51	$ 61,390

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	171,290	12.42	$ 30.64	$ 63,730
Home Health Care Services	78,100	4.88	$ 29.35	$ 61,050
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	41,760	4.52	$ 29.51	$ 61,390
Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals	8,300	3.54	$ 29.05	$ 60,420
Outpatient Care Centers	32,200	3.03	$ 32.09	$ 66,740

Top paying industries for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	(8)	(8)	$ 34.96	$ 72,720
Employment Services	33,840	0.90	$ 34.71	$ 72,200
Insurance Carriers	620	0.05	$ 34.71	$ 72,190
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)	17,910	0.84	$ 32.13	$ 66,840
Outpatient Care Centers	32,200	3.03	$ 32.09	$ 66,740

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Geographic profile for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	79,150	4.41	1.06	$ 36.82	$ 76,580
Texas	59,170	4.36	1.05	$ 27.16	$ 56,490
New York	38,760	4.13	0.99	$ 30.30	$ 63,020
Florida	37,650	3.94	0.95	$ 27.47	$ 57,140
Ohio	36,430	6.66	1.60	$ 27.72	$ 57,660

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Louisiana	17,900	9.67	2.33	$ 24.85	$ 51,700
West Virginia	6,560	9.52	2.29	$ 24.08	$ 50,090
Arkansas	10,650	8.37	2.02	$ 23.73	$ 49,360
Mississippi	9,380	8.16	1.97	$ 23.58	$ 49,050
Oklahoma	11,860	7.12	1.72	$ 24.94	$ 51,880

Top paying states for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	79,150	4.41	1.06	$ 36.82	$ 76,580
Rhode Island	1,110	2.28	0.55	$ 36.28	$ 75,470
Washington	6,260	1.79	0.43	$ 36.26	$ 75,410
Alaska	320	1.02	0.24	$ 35.70	$ 74,260
Massachusetts	13,890	3.81	0.92	$ 35.29	$ 73,400

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	32,460	3.42	0.82	$ 32.94	$ 68,520
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	31,710	5.13	1.24	$ 36.48	$ 75,880
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	14,020	3.53	0.85	$ 28.64	$ 59,580
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	13,020	4.60	1.11	$ 30.71	$ 63,870
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	12,980	2.88	0.69	$ 32.53	$ 67,670
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	11,440	4.06	0.98	$ 27.95	$ 58,130
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	11,220	3.53	0.85	$ 28.37	$ 59,010
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	9,150	3.31	0.80	$ 36.39	$ 75,690
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	8,640	3.18	0.76	$ 28.05	$ 58,350
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	8,580	3.54	0.85	$ 41.88	$ 87,120

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Monroe, LA	1,070	14.34	3.46	$ 25.64	$ 53,320
Alexandria, LA	840	14.17	3.42	$ 24.65	$ 51,280
Lafayette, LA	2,350	12.25	2.95	$ 22.28	$ 46,340
Hammond, LA	570	12.19	2.94	$ 24.22	$ 50,380
Beckley, WV	480	11.68	2.81	$ 23.14	$ 48,130
Hot Springs, AR	450	11.68	2.81	$ 23.09	$ 48,030
Lake Charles, LA	1,030	11.33	2.73	$ 23.76	$ 49,410
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA	1,900	11.16	2.69	$ 25.49	$ 53,030
Elmira, NY	360	10.85	2.61	$ 25.38	$ 52,790
Jonesboro, AR	640	10.79	2.60	$ 22.22	$ 46,220