Careers / Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$64,400
United States, 2025
Employment
648,410
United States, 2025
Typical education
Some College Courses
Job Zone 3
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
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
- Experience required
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
Typical tasks
- Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
- 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.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$49,740
25th percentile
$59,000
75th percentile
$76,030
90th percentile
$83,440
Most important skills
- Service Orientation4.1
- Coordination4.0
- Social Perceptiveness4.0
- Speaking3.9
- Active Listening3.9
- Monitoring3.9
- Reading Comprehension3.8
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Judgment and Decision Making3.6
- Time Management3.6
- Active Learning3.4
- Complex Problem Solving3.3
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 16 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
16
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.0 | 4.3 | Not selected | 4.3 |
| Service Orientation | 4.1 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Coordination | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Speaking | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.8 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.8 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.6 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Time Management | 3.6 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Active Learning | 3.4 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Writing | 3.3 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.3 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Instructing | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational NursesHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $95,320 | 3,290 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $94,310 | 8,800 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $92,580 | 870 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $85,690 | 3,470 | 2025 |
| Vallejo, CA | $85,430 | 870 | 2025 |
| Mount Vernon, WA | $83,940 | 120 | 2025 |
| Napa, CA | $83,690 | 280 | 2025 |
| Portland, OR | $83,510 | 2,250 | 2025 |
| Bend, OR | $83,260 | 150 | 2025 |
| WA | $83,150 | 6,780 | 2025 |
| Grants Pass, OR | $82,410 | 120 | 2025 |
| Anchorage, AK | $82,330 | 160 | 2025 |
| Boston, MA | $82,190 | 8,410 | 2025 |
| Bremerton, WA | $81,580 | 230 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $81,570 | 4,760 | 2025 |
| Olympia, WA | $81,350 | 330 | 2025 |
| Barnstable Town, MA | $81,250 | 370 | 2025 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $81,000 | 340 | 2025 |
| Salinas, CA | $80,910 | 710 | 2025 |
| AK | $80,800 | 290 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.