On Average How Much Does an LPN Make?
Licensed practical nurses work under the supervision of registered nurses and doctors to provide mainly bedside care. They earn more than certified nurse assistants but less than registered nurses. Their duties do not involve supervising other nurses, like registered nurses do. As a result, their salaries are usually lower than that of registered nurses.
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Duties
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LPNs may take vital signs, record intake and outgo, dress wounds and give injections. They often perform basic lab tests and monitor medical equipment. Some help mothers and new babies in labor and delivery. They may also monitor catheters, give enemas and help with dressing, moving in bed, walking, standing and bathing. Supervisory duties, if any, are limited to nursing assistants and aides in most cases. LPNs can also start intravenous fluids, care for patients dependent on ventilators and give prescribed medications in some states.
National
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The national average salary of an LPN is $40,900 each year, or $19.66 per hour. The 25th percentile earns $33,920 per year, or $16.31 per hour. The salary of the 75th percentile is $47,220 per year, or $22.70 per hour. Those earning in the 90th percentile earn $55,090 per year, or $26.49 per year.
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States
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Connecticut is the highest paying state for LPNs. The average salary there is $52,300 per year, or $25.15. Those in New Jersey earn the second highest salaries on average. In New Jersey, the average salary of an LPN is $50,350 per year, or $24.21 per hour. Those in Rhode Island earn $50,010 on average per year, or $24.04 per hour. California LPNs make an average annual salary of $49,940, or $24.01 per hour. Those in New Mexico earn the fifth highest salary in the nation on average: $49,760 per year, or $23.92 per hour.
Cities
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The highest-paying metro area for LPNs is Salinas, California, where the annual average salary is $59,670, or $28.69 per year. The next highest-paying is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, with an average yearly salary of $57,150, or $27.48 per hour. Those working in the Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California, area earn an average annual salary of $57,140, and those in San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California, earn $56,920 on average each year, or $27.37 per hour. The fifth highest-paying metro area for LPNs is Albuquerque, New Mexico, at $56,080, or $26.96 per hour.
Industries
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The highest paying industry for LPNs is employment services. LPNs in this industry earn an annual average salary of $46,190, or $22.21 per hour. (The second highest-paying industry for LPNs is activities related to real estate, according to the BLS, but the estimated number of those employed in this industry as of May 2009 has not been released. The annual salary is $45,600.) Those working in the rooming and boarding houses industry earn an average annual salary of $45,530, or $21.89 per hour. LPNs working in dentists' offices earn $43,220 per year on average, or $20.78 per hour. Those working in the offices of administrative services earn $42,730 each year on average, or $20.55. The number of LPNs working in these industries is small compared to the industries that employ the highest concentration of LPNs: nursing care facilities, general medical and surgical hospitals, offices of physicians, home health care services and community care facilities for the elderly.
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References
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