What is the Average LPN Salary?
Generally speaking, because an LPN has to engage in a shorter training period than RNs, the LPN salary will be lower. However, in general, LPN salaries are very good for the work that you do. Overall many people have said that the salary of an LPN, as compared to other jobs, is much better and those professionals who already work as LPNs have reported in general that they are satisfied with the money that they earn. As jobs go, becoming an LPN is one of the better choices that you could make.
Where You Work
Your LPN salary depends to quite a large degree on where you work. There are different job duties and requirements in different nursing settings, and, as these requirements differ in terms of their difficulty, and the skill required performing them, your LPN salary will consequently also vary in line with these differences.
You Will Most Likely Be Paid Less If You
- Are just starting out in your LPN career
- Don’t have a great deal of experience in the field
- Are working in a small clinic or town
- Work in one of the states that is known to pay less (see below)
- Don’t work in a metropolitan area
Many nurses choose to go into private practice. This is because, on average, an LPN salary in private practice is higher, although this is not always guaranteed. Basically this involves working on your own, and may be less stable as you may experience long breaks between jobs, and jobs tend to be short term and temporary. However, this can be a very lucrative option if you are hoping to work for yourself.
Outlook
You will be happy to hear that a career as an LPN is a very stable one indeed. As compared to many other careers that are currently available, being an LPN is one of your better options as LPNs are rarely without work. If you want job security at a good salary, and if you are interested in caring for others, then becoming an LPN may be the answer for you.
There has been a rising demand of late for medical professionals, and this trend can also be seen in the nursing arena. This rising demand has recently led to a rise in pay, and at the moment LPNs are better paid then they ever have been before. With this LPN salary information in mind, it may be well worth your while to begin a career in this field.
Weighing Tuition Fees With Salary
Depending on where you choose to study for your LPN qualification, you may find that you have to pay quite a lot. If finances are a big problem for you, then you need to weigh up the salary you are most likely to earn in your state with the costs you will have to pay in order to get your qualification in the first place to ascertain whether or not it is worth your while. Student loans will need to be repaid, so being aware of the average LPN salary you are likely to earn in order to see what your repayment options are and whether or not you are likely to be able to repay them.
Salaries for LPNs by State
There are many different parameters to consider when it comes to ascertain what LPN salary you are likely to get once you are qualified. Once of these parameters is the state in which you work. Different states provide different average salaries, as outlined below. As different states also have different requirements for working as an LPN, it is very important to decide well ahead of time which state you are most likely to end up working in, and what that means for both your studies and your LPN salary.
| State |
Hourly Rate |
Annual |
| Alabama | $13.82 | $28760 |
| Alaska | $18.01 | $37990 |
| Arizona | $16.60 | $34920 |
| Arkansas | $13.52 | $28140 |
| California | $18.84 | $39570 |
| Colorado | $17.27 | $35990 |
| Connecticut | $22.58 | $46890 |
| Delaware | $19.89 | $41460 |
| District of Columbia | $21.85 | $45450 |
| Florida | $19.03 | $39520 |
| Georgia | $14.91 | $24940 |
| Hawaii | $17.35 | $32590 |
| Idaho | $15.50 | $32160 |
| Illinois | $16.90 | $35010 |
| Indiana | $15.89 | $33020 |
| Iowa | $14.66 | $29890 |
| Kansas | $14.71 | $29870 |
| Kentucky | $15.19 | $31250 |
| Louisiana | $13.68 | $28120 |
| Maine | $15.05 | $31090 |
| Maryland | $19.55 | $40600 |
| Massachusetts | $22.80 | $48180 |
| Michigan | $17.11 | $37100 |
| Mississippi | $13.01 | $27280 |
| Missouri | $14.58 | $30280 |
| Montana | $13.54 | $28120 |
| Nebraska | $14.77 | $30610 |
| Nevada | $18.02 | $37480 |
| New Hampshire | $16.72 | $34850 |
| New Jersey | $19.98 | $41270 |
| New Mexico | $15.86 | $32890 |
| New York | $16.78 | $34380 |
| North Carolina | $15.72 | $32830 |
| North Dakota | $13.87 | $27900 |
| Ohio | $16.28 | $33860 |
| Oklahoma | $13.67 | $27880 |
| Oregon | $17.27 | $35900 |
| Pennsylvania | $16.91 | $34950 |
| Rhode Island | $20.21 | $43460 |
| South Carolina | $16.81 | $34270 |
| South Dakota | $13.02 | $27470 |
| Tennessee | $14.49 | $29810 |
| Texas | $16.18 | $34830 |
| Utah | $15.18 | $31330 |
| Vermont | $15.02 | $31440 |
| Virginia | $15.66 | $31990 |
| Washington | $17.92 | $35680 |
| West Virginia | $12.93 | $26050 |
| Wisconsin | $16.78 | $34120 |
| Wyoming | $15.04 | $32580 |
| Guam | $18.89 | $39230 |
| Puerto Rico | $7.68 | $16160 |
| Virgin Islands | $12.11 | $25170 |
The overall average is $34,000, and the salary range is $32,000 to $40,000.
Remember that these are the averages for each state and that salaries can vary from city to city within these states as well as merely varying at state level. This is very important to keep in mind when deciding which area of the country you would like to work in.
The regions Where You Should Be Able to Get The Best LPN Salary Are
- Connecticut
- New Jersey
- Rhode Island
- California
- New Mexico
- Massachusetts
- District of Columbia
You LPN salary will be controlled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Career Advancement
The average salary for LPN is not as god as some people seem to expect it to be. If you’re not in it for the LPN pay, then remember that there is room for career advancement in this industry. There are several LPN related jobs that come with a salary that is higher than the LPN salaries mentioned above. If you are looking to advance in this career, then here are the annual pay figures:
- LPN Geri UP – $71,000
- LVN LPN – $55,000
- Flu Shot Nurse – $53,000
- LPN Obgyn – $51,000
- LPN Paediatric – $51,000
- LPN Urgent Care – $51,000
- LPN Urology – $51,000
- LPN Primary Care – $51,000
- LPN Family Practice – $51,000
- Nurse LPN – $46,000
- LPN healthcare nurse – $43,000
- Clinical Nurse LPN – $41,000
- RN OT Slp UP – $33,000
- CMA LPN – $29,000
- Nar Nursing Assistant – $24,000
What Am I Being Paid To Do?
An important thing to know when considering the average LPN salary is what exactly you will be required to do as an LPN. A good salary is all very well, but if do not have the skills or personality required to perform the basic duties of an LPN, then the knowing the salary is pointless.
Basic Duties of a LPN
Providing Emotional Support: There is more to being an LPN than just having the necessary nursing knowledge and qualifications. You also have to have the right personality, and in this case, the right personality is a compassionate one. Your patients will be working through illnesses, and this can be highly emotional. You will need to provide them with support through this difficult time through such acts as attempting to alleviate their loneliness. We all know that lying in a hospital bed can be a very lonely experience, so it is important to make it easier whenever possible.
Personal Hygiene: Often ill people are unable to care for themselves efficiently. In these situations it will be your job as an LPN to bathe those patients and to help them with basic hygiene needs. In some cases patients are permanently bedridden, making this part of a LPNs job extremely important. These patients may suffer from bedsores if not moved and kept clean, and this will be your primary responsibility in these cases. On top of that you will also be required to do such things as change bandages and administer alcohol swabs, very important things to do with regard to the maintenance of cleanliness.
Taking Vital Signs
The primary job of a LPN is to take the vital signs of a patient. This includes:
- Monitoring the patient’s urination patterns
- Monitoring the patient’s pulse
- Monitoring the patient’s blood pressure
- Monitoring the patient’s temperature
- Monitoring the patient’s respiration
- Drawing blood
- Inserting a catheter
- Administering pills
- Administering intravenous drugs
Keeping Records:
It is not enough to take note of the above vital signs. It is also your job as an LPN to record these vital signs, as well as any other patient information that may be relevant. Noting the food and drink consumption of the patient also falls under this category.
Working with the family:
As an LPN you will also have to work with the families of patients. This may involve offering them the emotional support necessary to deal with the emotions that come with having a sick relative. It may also involve teaching those families how to care for your patient once he or she is able to return to his or her home. This is a very important duty requiring good interpersonal skills.
Supervision:
As an LPN you may be required to provide supervision to nursing assistants and aides. You will be in a more advanced position to them and you will be responsible for any mistakes that the aides under your supervision make.
Different locations come with different duties
Doctors Offices:
An LPN working in a doctor’s office will be required to deal with administrative and clerical issues, including:
- Making phone calls
- Answering the phones
- Making appointments with clients for future follow-up sessions
- Data entry
- Assist with the various medical procedures the doctor will perform
Obstetricians Assistant:
An LPN whose duty it is to assist an obstetrician will provide assistance with the actual delivery of babies in the delivery room and care for the infants after they have been born. This includes such things as:
- Cleaning the infants
- Feeding the infants
Operating Rooms: An LPN who works in an operating room will:
Function as a scrub nurse or assistant to the surgeon, performing such tasks as:
- Setting up surgical supplies
- Handing these supplies to the surgeon when they are required
- Creating a sterile section
Patient’s Home:
If you are thinking of working as an LPN in a patient’s home, then these are the duties you will need to be prepared to perform:
- Ensuring that the patient under your care receives sufficient nutrition
- Ensuring that the patient under your care is kept clean
- Ensuring that the patient under your care takes the daily medications that they are required to take
So, when considering the basic LPN salary that you will receive if you successfully complete your LPN qualification, you also need to consider what exactly you will be doing in order to earn that money. The tasks of an LPN are not exactly what you would call glamorous, and many LPNs will tell you that they are not in it for the money, but rather in it for the chance to help other people and make their lives a little bit easier. Take a close look at your priorities when considering this as a career.
What LPNs Cannot Do
LPNs, although valued members of the nursing profession, are nevertheless not allowed to do any of the following:
- Discharge patients
- Perform the advanced duties that are the responsibility of RNs
Advantages of being an LPN
- Employment as compared to RNs. It is very important to note that hospitals hire more LPNs than RNs. This is because LPNs are paid less, but can often perform many of a RNs tasks with the necessary supervision. This paves the way for you to get your foot in the door of nursing and also makes it easier for you to advance your career in the nursing profession.
- Career growth. When you consider how quickly the nursing industry is growing, and when you look at the various options that will be open to you if you decide to take your nursing qualifications further, you will soon realize that as compared to many other industries, there is a lot of room for career growth when it comes to being an LPN. In the right conditions you could move on to become:
- Practical Education As an LPN you will be in the position to learn many different practical interpersonal skills, and you will find that these skills are easily transferable to other domains.
- Always needed. Wherever you go in the world, you will find people who are ill and who need the care of someone with a LPN’s skills. No matter what your standing in society is, there will never be a time when your skills will not be in high demand and needed on a regular basis.
- Quick Employment. Once you have qualified as an LPN, you will find it very quick and easy to get employed, as nursing professionals such as LPNs are currently in very high demand. This also bodes well for your future job security and your chances of finding a new job should you decide to switch locations.
- Travel. There are several countries that you will be able to travel to for work if you have an LPN qualification. This will allow you to work and see a bit more of the world. The countries that will allow you to work with an LPN qualification are America, Canada, Europe and Australia.
- Salary. As we have been discussing at length, an LPN salary is not to be sneezed at. You can earn a very decent salary in this position and you will be able to advance to better positions and better salaries should you wish to put in the work required to do so.
- Less pressure. Registered nurses are under a lot more pressure than LPNs, making becoming an LPN less of headache. The tasks you will have to perform are all related to basic care, so you will not have to deal with the high pressure situations that constantly plague RNs.
- Self Worth. As an LPN you will always carry with a sense of self worth. This is because you have chosen to devote your time and career to helping others. You are achieving something on your own and you will be in a position to make life just that much better for those around you.
- Time. It takes far less time to become an LPN than to earn an associate’s degree in nursing. This means that you will be in a position to enter the nursing field after about a year of training. With the various career advancement opportunities in mind, this may well be the best way to kick start your nursing career.
A registered nurse
A charge nurse (or supervisor)
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