You’ve made the decision to work as a Licensed Practical Nurse. You probably already know that your salary will be affected by your location (or city). But where do you go next when you want to know how much money you can expect to make? Where do you find the average salary for a lpn in your region? Which states pay the most?
The average salary for a LPN is $56,000.
Average salary for a lpn
Becoming a licensed practical nurse (LPN) is a smart career move. LPNs can get into the nursing field more quickly than those who opt for RN degrees. With the right program, you can be in your new career in less than two years. While LPN salaries are lower than RN salaries, they’re certainly not small potatoes! In this post, we’ll break down the factors impacting what kind of salary you might be able to earn as an LPN and look at data on average salaries by state and experience level.
Factors impacting the average salary for a LPN
The average salary for a LPN varies depending on many factors, including:
- Geographic location. The cost of living in your area impacts the average salary for a LPN.
- Work experience. As you gain more experience, your pay will increase as well.
- Education level. Your level of education will impact how much you are paid, especially if you earn a master’s degree or higher.
- Specialty type and work type (such as community health nurse vs psychiatric nurse). Specialty type is another factor that affects salary range; some specialties will pay more than others based on demand and competition within the field itself (for example, an orthopedic surgeon may have a higher starting salary than other types of doctors). Work type refers to whether someone works in direct patient care versus administration or research; direct care nurses often receive higher salaries since there can be more risk involved with this type of job versus being an administrator who sits behind a desk all day.”
Geographic location
What you make as a LPN can vary depending on where you live. The average salary for a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) varies across states, cities, counties and zip codes, so it’s important to research your particular area before accepting any job offer.
To get an idea of the range that LPNs earn in each state, we used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from May 2016 and calculated the average annual wage for Licensed Practical Nurses in every state by dividing total wages by total number of workers employed in this field.
Work experience
If you have a lot of experience in a particular field, it’s likely that your salary will reflect that. If you’re working as an LPN and have several years under your belt, it’s reasonable to expect to see a higher salary than someone who is just beginning their career.
As your experience grows and progresses, so too does the potential for promotion and higher-level positions, which can lead to even greater earnings potential.
Education level
If you have a bachelor’s degree, you’re likely to make more than an LPN with just an associate’s degree. The same goes for master’s degree holders.
A nurse practitioner (NP) is someone who practices independently outside of hospitals and offers the same kind of medical services as a physician, but they don’t necessarily have to be a licensed doctor themselves. Instead, they can earn national certification through their training and education alone. NPs may choose to specialize in certain areas like pediatrics or gerontology—or they may choose to do it all!
You don’t have to be a nurse for years and years to earn a good living.
As a licensed practical nurse (LPN), you can make a great living right out of school. You don’t have to work your way up the nursing ladder for years and years before earning a decent salary. LPNs work in hospitals, nursing homes and clinics to care for patients who need help with daily tasks such as bathing or eating meals. They also take vital signs like temperature, pulse rate and blood pressure; administer medications; monitor IV lines; change dressings on wounds; perform simple lab tests like taking blood samples or urine specimens; assist doctors during examinations or surgeries by applying sterile gloves and gowns; as well as perform other duties based on their employer’s needs.
As an LPN you’ll be working directly under the supervision of registered nurses (RNs). This means RNs will teach you what they know about patient care—from administering medications safely to following infection control procedures—so that when they’re not around you can continue providing the best possible care for your patients’ needs without having any interruption in service delivery.
Conclusion
You don’t have to be a nurse for years and years to earn a good living. I hope you found this information helpful and that it will help you decide if becoming an LPN is right for you.
