Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses · SOC 29-2061

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nursess

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 393 metro areas

Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$95,320	3,290	2.9
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$94,310	8,800	3.7
3	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$92,580	870	4.2
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$85,690	3,470	1.7
5	Vallejo, CA	$85,430	870	6.0
6	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$83,940	120	2.3
7	Napa, CA	$83,690	280	3.5
8	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$83,510	2,250	1.9
9	Bend, OR	$83,260	150	1.4
10	Grants Pass, OR	$82,410	120	3.9
11	Anchorage, AK	$82,330	160	0.9
12	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$82,190	8,410	3.1
13	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$81,580	230	2.5
14	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$81,570	4,760	4.4
15	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$81,350	330	2.6
16	Barnstable Town, MA	$81,250	370	3.9
17	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$81,000	340	3.4
18	Salinas, CA	$80,910	710	3.8
19	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$79,940	440	3.6
20	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$79,720	6,610	4.3
21	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$79,630	240	1.8
22	Albany, OR	$79,610	130	2.7
23	Salem, OR	$79,600	660	3.5
24	Flagstaff, AZ	$79,540	60	0.9
25	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$79,310	33,590	5.4

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.