SalariesLVN vs RN
LVN and RN pay, state by state
Nationally the median licensed vocational nurse (the licence 48 states call practical) earns $64,400 a year and the median registered nurse $97,550, a gap of $33,150. Below is the same comparison for every state where the Bureau of Labor Statistics published a median for both, from one survey and one release, May 2025.
$33,150
National median gap
LVN at 66% of RN
$24,600
Middle state's gap
Oklahoma
$65,180
Widest gap
Hawaii
$9,120
Narrowest gap
Puerto Rico
By state
53 states and territories, widest gap first
Annual medians. The gap is the RN median minus the LVN median; the share is the LVN median as a proportion of the RN median. Neither is adjusted for the cost of living, and a median is the middle of the pay range, not a salary offer.
| State | LVN/LPN median | RN median | Gap | LVN share | RNs per LVN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $64,400 | $97,550 | $33,150 | 66% | 5.2 |
| Hawaii | $71,140 | $136,320 | $65,180 | 52% | 15.4 |
| California | $79,750 | $140,270 | $60,520 | 57% | 4.1 |
| Oregon | $80,470 | $129,010 | $48,540 | 62% | 9.3 |
| New York | $67,180 | $109,440 | $42,260 | 61% | 5.2 |
| Washington | $83,150 | $124,200 | $41,050 | 67% | 10.2 |
| Minnesota | $63,750 | $101,510 | $37,760 | 63% | 5.5 |
| New Mexico | $59,330 | $94,340 | $35,010 | 63% | 7.3 |
| Texas | $62,240 | $95,970 | $33,730 | 65% | 4.7 |
| Pennsylvania | $63,940 | $96,430 | $32,490 | 66% | 3.8 |
| Wisconsin | $63,760 | $95,530 | $31,770 | 67% | 9.2 |
| Georgia | $62,030 | $93,550 | $31,520 | 66% | 4.8 |
| New Jersey | $75,160 | $106,500 | $31,340 | 71% | 5.3 |
| Delaware | $68,710 | $99,520 | $30,810 | 69% | 6.4 |
| Connecticut | $73,690 | $102,740 | $29,050 | 72% | 4.7 |
| Michigan | $65,460 | $94,300 | $28,840 | 69% | 9.6 |
| Alaska | $80,800 | $109,480 | $28,680 | 74% | 25.9 |
| Virginia | $64,920 | $93,600 | $28,680 | 69% | 5.0 |
| Idaho | $63,800 | $92,460 | $28,660 | 69% | 9.0 |
| Vermont | $69,930 | $97,460 | $27,530 | 72% | 6.6 |
| Nevada | $76,160 | $103,670 | $27,510 | 73% | 8.1 |
| Mississippi | $50,220 | $77,090 | $26,870 | 65% | 3.0 |
| District of Columbia | $75,740 | $102,540 | $26,800 | 74% | 11.0 |
| Colorado | $73,880 | $100,260 | $26,380 | 74% | 11.1 |
| South Dakota | $52,750 | $78,060 | $25,310 | 68% | 7.2 |
| Maryland | $74,660 | $99,790 | $25,130 | 75% | 5.5 |
| West Virginia | $55,360 | $80,130 | $24,770 | 69% | 3.9 |
| Oklahoma | $58,320 | $82,920 | $24,600 | 70% | 3.3 |
| Massachusetts | $80,220 | $104,550 | $24,330 | 77% | 6.7 |
| Montana | $62,210 | $85,280 | $23,070 | 73% | 6.8 |
| Louisiana | $57,470 | $80,230 | $22,760 | 72% | 2.8 |
| Tennessee | $58,870 | $81,500 | $22,630 | 72% | 3.5 |
| New Hampshire | $77,110 | $99,700 | $22,590 | 77% | 6.9 |
| Arizona | $77,070 | $99,500 | $22,430 | 77% | 11.2 |
| Florida | $61,770 | $84,190 | $22,420 | 73% | 6.0 |
| Arkansas | $56,620 | $78,940 | $22,320 | 72% | 2.9 |
| Nebraska | $62,660 | $84,730 | $22,070 | 74% | 5.4 |
| Utah | $63,230 | $84,600 | $21,370 | 75% | 16.3 |
| North Carolina | $63,270 | $84,350 | $21,080 | 75% | 6.2 |
| Illinois | $75,000 | $95,990 | $20,990 | 78% | 8.0 |
| Kentucky | $60,460 | $81,040 | $20,580 | 75% | 5.9 |
| Ohio | $61,950 | $82,510 | $20,560 | 75% | 3.6 |
| Rhode Island | $80,090 | $100,640 | $20,550 | 80% | 7.8 |
| South Carolina | $61,820 | $82,360 | $20,540 | 75% | 5.3 |
| Wyoming | $63,460 | $83,760 | $20,300 | 76% | 11.1 |
| Missouri | $61,530 | $81,780 | $20,250 | 75% | 5.2 |
| Alabama | $57,030 | $77,080 | $20,050 | 74% | 4.7 |
| Virgin Islands | $64,660 | $84,120 | $19,460 | 77% | 9.4 |
| North Dakota | $62,300 | $80,730 | $18,430 | 77% | 5.9 |
| Indiana | $65,720 | $83,500 | $17,780 | 79% | 4.8 |
| Kansas | $61,760 | $79,320 | $17,560 | 78% | 4.5 |
| Iowa | $62,630 | $78,630 | $16,000 | 80% | 6.2 |
| Maine | $73,200 | $86,990 | $13,790 | 84% | 21.8 |
| Puerto Rico | $30,760 | $39,880 | $9,120 | 77% | 7.1 |
“RNs per LVN” is employed registered nurses divided by employed vocational and practical nurses in the same state, a measure of how the two jobs are mixed, not of openings.
Related
Where to go from here
The full distribution for each licence, tenth to ninetieth percentile, is on the LVN/LPN pay by state and RN pay by state pages. The routes from one licence to the other, and what they take, are on LVN to RN.
LVN vs RN pay: common questions
- How much more does an RN earn than an LVN?
- Nationally, $33,150 a year at the median: $97,550 for registered nurses against $64,400 for licensed vocational and practical nurses, in the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. Across the 53 states and territories with both figures the gap runs from $9,120 in Puerto Rico to $65,180 in Hawaii.
- What is the LVN to RN pay gap in California and Texas?
- In California the median LVN earns $79,750 and the median RN $140,270, a gap of $60,520. In Texas the figures are $62,240 and $95,970, a gap of $33,730. Both are May 2025 BLS medians and are not adjusted for the cost of living.
- Where is LVN pay closest to RN pay?
- As a share of the RN median, the LVN median is highest in Maine (84%), Iowa (80%), Rhode Island (80%), and lowest in Hawaii (52%), California (57%), New York (61%).
- Where do these figures come from?
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025: SOC 29-2061 for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses and SOC 29-1141 for registered nurses. Hourly medians are $30.96 and $46.90 nationally. Counts of employed nurses are 648,410 and 3,379,720.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 29-2061 and 29-1141