JobsCalifornia
LVN jobs in California
California employs 82,850 licensed vocational nurses at a median of $79,750, which is $38.34 an hour. California is one of only two states that call the licence "vocational" rather than "practical", so search for LVN here and LPN almost anywhere else.
Open roles
The live listings feed is not connected on this deployment yet. In the meantime these searches are already filtered to LVN and licensed vocational nurse roles here:
What the job pays here
Half of California’s 82,850 licensed vocational nurses earn more than $79,750 and half earn less. The bottom tenth are on $64,390 and the top tenth on $100,450, a spread of $36,060. Setting and shift matter more than the state does: nursing homes, clinics and home health pay very differently from one another.
Where in California
| Metro area | Employed | Median | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 33,590 | $79,310 | $96,630 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 8,800 | $94,310 | $109,120 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 8,200 | $76,970 | $93,180 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 6,610 | $79,720 | $96,390 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 4,760 | $81,570 | $104,880 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 3,290 | $95,320 | $113,220 |
| Fresno, CA | 2,360 | $75,580 | $94,420 |
| Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 1,480 | $76,130 | $91,460 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA | 1,430 | $77,830 | $96,150 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 1,230 | $79,020 | $95,270 |
| Modesto, CA | 1,120 | $78,200 | $102,830 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 870 | $92,580 | $110,300 |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
LVN jobs in California: common questions
- What does an LVN earn in California?
- The median is $79,750 a year, or $38.34 an hour, across the 82,850 licensed vocational nurses employed in California. The bottom tenth are on $64,390 and the top tenth on $100,450. Figures are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- Is an LVN the same as an LPN in California?
- California is one of only two states that call the licence vocational rather than practical, so employers here advertise for LVNs and almost everywhere else advertises for LPNs. It is the same NCLEX-PN exam and the same scope of work.
- Which part of California pays licensed vocational nurses the most?
- Of the 25 California metro areas the federal survey reports, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $95,320, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA at $94,310, Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA at $92,580. The table above lists them with headcount alongside the wage, because a high median in a metro employing a few hundred nurses is a thinner result than the same median in a large one.
- How do I get licensed to work in California?
- Complete one of the 167 board-approved programs in California listed on this site, then pass the NCLEX-PN and apply to the state board. Each program page carries the board-reported tuition and the published exam pass rate.