JobsIowa
LPN jobs in Iowa
Iowa employs 5,510 licensed practical nurses at a median of $62,630, which is $30.11 an hour. Iowa licenses this role as a licensed practical nurse. It is the same licence, the same NCLEX-PN exam and the same scope of work that California and Texas call vocational nursing.
Open roles
The live listings feed is not connected on this deployment yet. In the meantime these searches are already filtered to LPN and licensed practical nurse roles here:
What the job pays here
Half of Iowa’s 5,510 licensed practical nurses earn more than $62,630 and half earn less. The bottom tenth are on $50,550 and the top tenth on $77,710, a spread of $27,160. Setting and shift matter more than the state does: nursing homes, clinics and home health pay very differently from one another.
Where in Iowa
| Metro area | Employed | Median | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 1,040 | $63,670 | $78,410 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 640 | $64,100 | $76,090 |
| Cedar Rapids, IA | 380 | $61,840 | $75,660 |
| Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 360 | $59,950 | $74,530 |
| Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 260 | $60,440 | $74,050 |
| Iowa City, IA | 230 | $63,690 | $78,620 |
| Dubuque, IA | 200 | $63,750 | $76,200 |
| Ames, IA | 190 | $65,610 | $78,050 |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
LPN jobs in Iowa: common questions
- What does an LPN earn in Iowa?
- The median is $62,630 a year, or $30.11 an hour, across the 5,510 licensed practical nurses employed in Iowa. The bottom tenth are on $50,550 and the top tenth on $77,710. Figures are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- Is an LVN the same as an LPN in Iowa?
- Iowa licenses the role as a licensed practical nurse. It is the same licence California and Texas call vocational nursing, the same NCLEX-PN exam and the same scope of work, so search for LPN jobs here rather than LVN.
- Which part of Iowa pays licensed practical nurses the most?
- Of the 8 Iowa metro areas the federal survey reports, Ames, IA at $65,610, Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL at $64,100, Dubuque, IA at $63,750. 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 Iowa?
- Complete a program approved by the Iowa board of nursing, then pass the NCLEX-PN and apply to the board for a licence. Our program directory covers California and Texas in depth; for Iowa the state board is the authority on which programs are approved.