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Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses Career, Salary and Skills

Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $64,400 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 648,410. Wage data is published for 447 locations.

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Occupation description

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.

O*NET code

29-2061.00

Job zone

3

Typical education

Some College Courses

Experience

Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years

National salary and employment

Median annual

$64,400

Hourly median

$30.96

Employment

648,410

Data year

2025

National salary distribution

$49,740
10th
$59,000
25th
$64,400
Median
$76,030
75th
$83,440
90th

Top skills

SkillImportanceLevel
Service Orientation4.124.00
Social Perceptiveness4.004.25
Coordination4.004.00
Active Listening3.884.00
Speaking3.884.00
Monitoring3.884.00
Critical Thinking3.754.00
Reading Comprehension3.754.12
Judgment and Decision Making3.623.25
Time Management3.623.25
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Typical tasks

  • Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
  • Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
  • Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
  • Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
  • Supervise nurses' aides or assistants.
  • Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
  • Work as part of a healthcare team to assess patient needs, plan and modify care, and implement interventions.
  • Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
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Technology

  • Diagnostic and procedural coding software
  • eClinicalWorks EHR software
  • Electronic medical record EMR software
  • Epic Systems
  • FaceTime
  • Google Drive
  • Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
  • Infusion management software
  • Inventory tracking software
  • Medical condition coding software
  • Medical procedure coding software
  • MedicWare EMR
  • MEDITECH software
  • Microsoft Excel
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Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses salary by location

Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.

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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.