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Licensed Practical Nursing

A program that prepares individuals to assist in providing general nursing care under the direction of a registered nurse, physician or dentist. Includes instruction in taking patient vital signs, applying sterile dressings, patient health education, and assistance with examinations and treatment. Examples: [Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)], [Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)], [Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training (Cert.)], [Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training (Dipl)], [Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse Training (AAS)]

Types of Degrees Licensed Practical Nursing Majors Are Earning

Those studying Licensed Practical Nursing can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	40,853
Associate’s Degree	2,247
Bachelor’s Degree	1
Master’s Degree	2,441

What Licensed Practical Nursing Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Licensed Practical Nursing emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Licensed Practical Nursing graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Licensed Practical Nursing emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a Licensed Practical Nursing program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Service Orientation — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Coordination — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Licensed Practical Nursing careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Licensed Practical Nursing graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.6 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	4.0 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Licensed Practical Nursing professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
YouTube	Video creation and editing software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
Diagnostic and procedural coding software	Categorization or classification software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Windows	Operating system software	—
Inventory tracking software	Inventory management software	—
Infusion management software	Medical software	—
FaceTime	Video conferencing software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Electronic medical record EMR software	Medical software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Licensed Practical Nursing graduates include:

• Triage LPN (Triage Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Clinic Licensed Practical Nurse (Clinic LPN)
• Private Duty Licensed Practical Nurse (Private Duty LPN)
• Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)
• Charge Nurse
• Nursing Home LPN (Nursing Home Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Home Health Licensed Practical Nurse (Home Health LPN)
• Pediatric LPN (Pediatric Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Private Duty Nurse
• Radiation Oncology Nurse
• Office Nurse
• Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
• Clinic Nurse
• Long Term Care LPN (Long Term Care Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Medical LPN (Medical Licensed Practical Nurse)

What Can You Do With a Licensed Practical Nursing Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Licensed Practical Nursing commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	14.4%	$118,810	$94,824–$142,796

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Licensed Practical Nursing graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Some college courses	38.2%
Postsecondary certificate	34.8%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	15.9%
Bachelor’s degree	11.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Licensed Practical Nursing?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 89.5% of Licensed Practical Nursing degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	45,570	89.5%
Men	5,361	10.5%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Licensed Practical Nursing graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	21,999	43.2%
Asian	2,701	5.3%
Hispanic or Latino	9,084	17.8%
Black or African American	12,784	25.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	445	0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	189	0.4%
Two or More Races	1,786	3.5%
Race Unknown	1,658	3.3%
International Students	285	0.6%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Licensed Practical Nursing Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Licensed Practical Nursing graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$45,399
4 years	$42,279
5 years	$47,962

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $47,962 — roughly 6% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Licensed Practical Nursing Programs

Distance learning is reported by IPEDS for Licensed Practical Nursing. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	3	4
Bachelor’s	2	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Licensed Practical Nursing Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Licensed Practical Nursing graduates earn a median of $42,279 four years after completion — roughly 11% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants	99,987
Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide	44,550
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants, Other	4,506

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.