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Licensed Practical Nursing

Types of Degrees Licensed Practical Nursing Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Licensed Practical Nursing may pursue 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

Studies in Licensed Practical Nursing build 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

According to O*NET, a major in 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 built by 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.
• Monitoring — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical 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.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral 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
Spreadsheet software	Spreadsheet software	—
Telephone triage software	Medical software	—
FaceTime	Video conferencing software	—
PointClickCare healthcare software	Medical software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—
MedicWare EMR	Medical software	—
Microsoft Exchange	Electronic mail software	—
Infusion management software	Medical software	—
Electronic medical record EMR software	Medical software	—
YouTube	Video creation and editing software	—
Google Drive	Cloud-based data access and sharing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail 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)
• Medical LPN (Medical Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Clinic Nurse
• Nursing Home LPN (Nursing Home Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Home Health Licensed Practical Nurse (Home Health LPN)
• Clinic Licensed Practical Nurse (Clinic LPN)
• Pediatric LPN (Pediatric Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Radiation Oncology Nurse
• Office Nurse
• Private Duty Nurse
• Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
• Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)
• Private Duty Licensed Practical Nurse (Private Duty LPN)
• Licensed Care Coordinator (LCC)
• Charge 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?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Licensed Practical Nursing graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow 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 tracked 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.