Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
Median $62,930
Occupation · SOC 29-2061
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses: pay and where the jobs are
What licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$64,400 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $67,050
- Median hourly wage
- $30.96
- Mean hourly wage
- $32.24
- Employment
- 648,410
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 29-2061.
Check your pay
See where your pay falls among licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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Use these numbers
How much do licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses make?
The median annual wage for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses was $64,400 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $49,740 and the highest-paid 10% more than $83,440. As an hourly rate, the median is $30.96. About 648,410 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Washington ($83,150), Alaska ($80,800) and Oregon ($80,470). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Alaska.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $49,740 | $23.91 | $4,145 | $3,512 |
| 25th percentile | $59,000 | $28.37 | $4,917 | $4,132 |
| Median | $64,400 | $30.96 | $5,367 | $4,494 |
| 75th percentile | $76,030 | $36.55 | $6,336 | $5,193 |
| 90th percentile | $83,440 | $40.12 | $6,953 | $5,628 |
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses: pay by state
54 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$63,895 take-home in national prices
2
$62,422 take-home in national prices
3
$61,836 take-home in national prices
Where a median licensed practical and licensed vocational nurse paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 6,780 | $83,150 | $64,230 | $100,950 | $66,173 | $61,836 |
| Alaska | 290 | $80,800 | $62,400 | $96,700 | $65,402 | $63,895 |
| Oregon | 4,260 | $80,470 | $64,000 | $98,990 | $59,519 | $57,584 |
| Massachusetts | 13,210 | $80,220 | $61,690 | $93,980 | $61,105 | $57,778 |
| Rhode Island | 1,290 | $80,090 | $65,650 | $94,540 | $61,906 | $60,526 |
| California | 82,850 | $79,750 | $64,390 | $100,450 | $60,726 | $54,846 |
| New Hampshire | 2,220 | $77,110 | $59,860 | $93,660 | $63,077 | $60,555 |
| Arizona | 6,530 | $77,070 | $61,050 | $89,850 | $61,516 | $61,102 |
| Nevada | 3,350 | $76,160 | $61,750 | $89,420 | $62,409 | $62,422 |
| District of Columbia | 1,040 | $75,740 | $62,880 | $87,470 | $58,636 | $53,354 |
| New Jersey | 17,410 | $75,160 | $63,210 | $85,400 | $58,594 | $53,852 |
| Illinois | 17,440 | $75,000 | $58,880 | $89,810 | $58,025 | $58,049 |
| Maryland | 9,560 | $74,660 | $60,720 | $90,010 | $58,173 | $55,424 |
| Colorado | 4,920 | $73,880 | $50,820 | $84,440 | $57,937 | $56,221 |
| Connecticut | 8,540 | $73,690 | $62,610 | $81,060 | $57,000 | $55,014 |
| Maine | 760 | $73,200 | $56,160 | $82,600 | $56,697 | $58,420 |
| Hawaii | 840 | $71,140 | $59,620 | $88,340 | $54,918 | $49,948 |
| Vermont | 1,130 | $69,930 | $50,230 | $84,710 | $55,914 | $57,080 |
| Delaware | 2,240 | $68,710 | $59,210 | $77,580 | $53,699 | $53,802 |
| New York | 39,400 | $67,180 | $54,480 | $81,530 | $52,739 | $48,868 |
| Indiana | 14,480 | $65,720 | $50,550 | $77,220 | $53,077 | $56,871 |
| Michigan | 10,880 | $65,460 | $56,160 | $77,780 | $52,246 | $54,300 |
| Virginia | 15,550 | $64,920 | $50,580 | $79,170 | $51,424 | $50,863 |
| Virgin Islands | 50 | $64,660 | $53,310 | $78,100 | — | — |
| Pennsylvania | 38,260 | $63,940 | $51,500 | $77,750 | $51,548 | $52,831 |
| Idaho | 1,880 | $63,800 | $47,890 | $77,850 | $51,170 | $53,585 |
| Wisconsin | 7,390 | $63,760 | $51,820 | $78,490 | $51,135 | $54,344 |
| Minnesota | 12,840 | $63,750 | $51,700 | $77,380 | $50,311 | $51,015 |
| Wyoming | 480 | $63,460 | $46,700 | $77,000 | $53,170 | $57,363 |
| North Carolina | 18,010 | $63,270 | $50,480 | $74,730 | $51,002 | $54,070 |
| Utah | 1,680 | $63,230 | $37,480 | $77,540 | $50,552 | $51,133 |
| Nebraska | 4,580 | $62,660 | $50,890 | $77,940 | $50,556 | $56,109 |
| Iowa | 5,510 | $62,630 | $50,550 | $77,710 | $50,775 | $57,855 |
| North Dakota | 1,920 | $62,300 | $50,950 | $74,130 | $52,238 | $58,721 |
| Texas | 57,560 | $62,240 | $48,910 | $76,140 | $52,190 | $53,772 |
| Montana | 1,620 | $62,210 | $49,230 | $74,330 | $49,999 | $52,827 |
| Georgia | 21,060 | $62,030 | $46,010 | $76,690 | $49,674 | $51,587 |
| Ohio | 39,900 | $61,950 | $50,030 | $74,120 | $50,697 | $54,645 |
| South Carolina | 9,400 | $61,820 | $50,370 | $76,420 | $50,069 | $53,408 |
| Florida | 38,620 | $61,770 | $50,450 | $74,320 | $51,812 | $50,102 |
| Kansas | 7,530 | $61,760 | $49,780 | $77,290 | $49,158 | $54,578 |
| Missouri | 14,700 | $61,530 | $48,580 | $77,120 | $49,665 | $54,687 |
| Kentucky | 8,570 | $60,460 | $48,420 | $73,220 | $48,761 | $54,083 |
| New Mexico | 2,460 | $59,330 | $38,090 | $78,110 | $48,229 | $52,302 |
| Tennessee | 20,830 | $58,870 | $41,110 | $67,540 | $49,482 | $53,861 |
| Oklahoma | 11,540 | $58,320 | $45,440 | $66,410 | $46,961 | $53,460 |
| Louisiana | 17,600 | $57,470 | $45,810 | $66,150 | $47,019 | $53,306 |
| Alabama | 11,580 | $57,030 | $39,880 | $69,120 | $45,625 | $51,367 |
| Arkansas | 10,010 | $56,620 | $44,670 | $65,020 | $46,067 | $52,989 |
| West Virginia | 6,050 | $55,360 | $45,690 | $70,960 | $44,991 | $50,271 |
| South Dakota | 2,050 | $52,750 | $40,770 | $67,700 | $44,565 | $50,307 |
| Mississippi | 9,850 | $50,220 | $39,320 | $60,910 | $41,255 | $47,445 |
| Guam | 90 | $42,870 | $36,600 | $58,980 | — | — |
| Puerto Rico | 2,990 | $30,760 | $23,120 | $62,170 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 29-2061. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.