Choose from a wide range of NEWCV resume templates and customize your NEWCV design with a single click.
Use ATS-optimised Resume and resume templates that pass applicant tracking systems. Our Resume builder helps recruiters read, scan, and shortlist your Resume faster.
Use professional field-tested resume templates that follow the exact Resume rules employers look for.
Create Resume
Use professional field-tested resume templates that follow the exact Resume rules employers look for.
Create ResumeAn LVN salary in the United States typically ranges from $48,000 to $78,000+ per year, with top earners exceeding $90,000 in high-demand specialties, overtime-heavy roles, travel contracts, and states like California and Washington. Most Licensed Vocational Nurses earn between $24 and $36 per hour, but experienced LVNs working in corrections, wound care, dialysis, or per diem positions can earn significantly more through shift differentials, overtime, and contract premiums.
The highest-paying LVN jobs are rarely standard clinic positions. Compensation is usually driven by staffing shortages, patient acuity, specialty certifications, and scheduling flexibility. LVNs who work nights, weekends, PRN shifts, or high-demand settings often increase their annual earnings faster than those who stay in low-acuity outpatient roles. Understanding which roles pay more, why employers pay premiums, and how recruiters evaluate LVN candidates is what separates average earners from top-tier compensation.
The average LVN salary in the United States falls between $58,000 and $68,000 annually, depending on location, experience, specialty, and care setting.
Typical salary ranges include:
Entry-level LVN: $48,000–$58,000/year
Mid-level LVN: $58,000–$68,000/year
Experienced LVN: $68,000–$78,000+/year
Top earners: $80,000–$95,000+
Monthly pay usually ranges from:
Entry-level: $4,000–$4,800/month
Mid-level: $4,800–$5,700/month
Location is one of the biggest salary drivers in vocational nursing.
High-demand states consistently pay more because of staffing shortages, patient volume, cost of living, union influence, and healthcare infrastructure.
California: $60,000–$95,000+
Washington: $60,000–$88,000+
Nevada: $58,000–$85,000+
New York: $55,000–$80,000+
Arizona: $52,000–$75,000+
Texas: $50,000–$75,000+
Base hourly pay tells only part of the compensation story.
A large percentage of higher-earning LVNs increase income through:
Night shift differentials
Weekend premiums
Holiday pay
Overtime
Double shifts
Per diem scheduling
Agency contracts
An LVN earning $31/hour can realistically push annual earnings far beyond their base salary through scheduling strategy alone.
Experienced: $5,700–$6,500+/month
Hourly compensation typically looks like this:
Average LVN hourly pay: $24–$36/hour
Higher-paying LVN roles: $36–$45+/hour
Travel and contract LVNs: often higher depending on urgency and location
Recruiters and healthcare staffing managers do not evaluate LVN pay strictly by years of experience. They focus heavily on whether a candidate can independently handle medication administration, documentation accuracy, admissions, treatments, wound care, or high-volume patient loads with minimal supervision.
That is why two LVNs with the same experience level can earn dramatically different salaries.
Florida: $45,000–$68,000+
Midwest states: $48,000–$70,000+
The West Coast has the highest concentration of high-paying LVN roles, especially in:
Skilled nursing facilities
Long-term acute care
Home health
Corrections
Dialysis clinics
California dominates LVN compensation because facilities compete aggressively for experienced nurses who can manage high patient loads and documentation requirements.
However, licensing requirements, competition, and cost of living are also higher.
Texas, Florida, and Georgia maintain strong LVN demand due to aging populations and long-term care expansion.
Texas is particularly attractive because:
Demand is consistently high
Licensing mobility is favorable
Cost of living is lower than California
Overtime opportunities are widespread
Urban healthcare systems and union-backed facilities often pay more in the Northeast, especially in:
Rehabilitation centers
Skilled nursing
Long-term care
Specialty clinics
The Midwest offers stable demand and lower living costs, but compensation tends to be more moderate unless the role involves rural staffing shortages or high-acuity long-term care.
Night shift LVNs often earn an additional:
Facilities pay premiums because overnight staffing is harder to fill and often involves greater patient-to-staff ratios.
Weekend shifts frequently include:
Additional hourly premiums
Guaranteed overtime
Incentive bonuses during shortages
Recruiters consistently prioritize candidates who are flexible with weekend scheduling because these shifts are operationally difficult to staff.
Per diem LVN roles often pay substantially higher hourly wages because benefits are limited or excluded.
These roles may offer:
$40–$45+/hour in high-demand markets
Flexible scheduling
Rapid onboarding
Overtime access
The tradeoff is reduced stability and inconsistent scheduling.
Not all LVN roles pay equally.
The highest-paying positions usually involve staffing difficulty, patient complexity, schedule intensity, or specialty knowledge.
Corrections nursing is one of the most consistently high-paying LVN specialties.
Why it pays more:
Difficult staffing environment
Security protocols
Medication management complexity
High turnover rates
Many corrections LVNs earn premium overtime and differential pay due to chronic understaffing.
Travel and contract LVNs can earn significantly higher compensation through:
Housing stipends
Completion bonuses
Tax advantages
Crisis staffing rates
These positions are especially lucrative during regional shortages.
However, recruiters strongly prefer candidates with:
Independent clinical judgment
EMR experience
Strong medication administration accuracy
Minimal training requirements
Wound care is a strong specialty because facilities urgently need nurses who understand:
Pressure injury prevention
Treatment protocols
Dressing management
Infection prevention
Wound care experience often increases marketability across:
Skilled nursing
Home health
Rehabilitation centers
Long-term acute care
Dialysis settings pay well because the work requires specialized patient management and technical consistency.
Dialysis LVNs often gain:
Stable schedules
Better benefits
Specialized clinical experience
Career advancement potential
Home health roles can become highly profitable due to:
Mileage reimbursement
Productivity bonuses
Flexible scheduling
High patient demand
Experienced home health LVNs who manage independent caseloads are especially valuable.
Charge LVNs oversee workflow, admissions, staffing coordination, and communication between providers and floor staff.
These roles pay more because employers value:
Leadership reliability
Documentation accuracy
Crisis management
Team coordination
Many online salary guides oversimplify compensation.
In reality, recruiters and hiring managers evaluate several practical factors that directly influence pay.
The biggest salary jump often happens when an LVN becomes operationally independent.
Facilities pay more for nurses who can:
Handle admissions independently
Manage medication passes efficiently
Identify patient deterioration early
Navigate EMR systems confidently
Reduce supervisory burden
An LVN who requires constant support rarely qualifies for premium roles.
Certain certifications increase hiring competitiveness immediately.
High-value certifications include:
IV therapy certification
Wound care certification
ACLS
PALS
BLS renewal compliance
These credentials matter because they expand assignment eligibility.
Many staffing managers filter candidates based on certifications before reviewing experience depth. A strong certification profile often increases interview opportunities faster than another year of general experience.
Flexibility is one of the most underrated salary drivers.
Candidates willing to work:
Nights
Weekends
Holidays
Rotating shifts
Overtime
often receive priority consideration and better compensation packages.
Facilities pay premiums to solve scheduling problems.
The care setting dramatically affects compensation.
Typically higher-paying environments include:
Corrections
Skilled nursing
Long-term care
Home health
Travel assignments
Specialty clinics
Lower-paying settings often include:
Routine outpatient clinics
Low-acuity office roles
Limited-scope physician practices
Unionized healthcare systems may provide:
Better wage progression
More predictable raises
Stronger overtime protections
Improved staffing ratios
However, some high-paying non-union contract roles still outperform union salaries due to staffing urgency.
One of the biggest misconceptions about vocational nursing is that salary growth stops early.
In reality, LVNs who strategically build specialty skills can significantly increase earning potential over time.
A common progression path looks like this:
LVN
Experienced LVN
Charge LVN or Treatment Nurse
Clinic Lead or Unit Coordinator
RN bridge program
RN or BSN
Nurse management or specialty leadership
The fastest salary growth usually comes from combining:
High-demand specialties
Schedule flexibility
Leadership responsibility
Geographic mobility
For example:
An LVN working standard clinic hours may earn $55,000 annually.
An LVN with wound care certification working nights in skilled nursing could exceed $80,000 with overtime and shift differentials.
In most cases, LVN and LPN salaries are extremely similar.
The title difference depends primarily on state terminology:
LVN = Licensed Vocational Nurse
LPN = Licensed Practical Nurse
California and Texas commonly use the LVN title, while most other states use LPN.
Compensation differences are usually driven by:
State demand
Facility type
Specialty
Shift structure
not the title itself.
The highest-earning LVNs usually make intentional career decisions early instead of waiting for annual raises.
High-acuity environments pay more because they require stronger clinical judgment and reliability.
Good examples include:
Skilled nursing
Long-term care
Corrections
Dialysis
Home health
Specialization creates leverage.
Facilities struggle to replace nurses with niche expertise.
Strong options include:
Wound care
IV therapy
Pediatrics
Dialysis
Treatment nursing
Many LVNs significantly increase annual income through overtime.
However, recruiters notice burnout patterns quickly.
The highest-performing candidates maintain:
Documentation quality
Medication accuracy
Attendance reliability
even under heavy scheduling demands.
Agency and travel contracts can increase short-term earnings substantially.
But these jobs require:
Adaptability
Fast onboarding capability
Strong time management
Minimal supervision needs
These roles are not ideal for inexperienced new graduates.
The biggest long-term earning jump typically comes from transitioning into RN licensure.
Many employers now offer:
Tuition reimbursement
Career ladder programs
Flexible scheduling for nursing school
Internal promotion tracks
Higher compensation is strongly tied to operational reliability.
Recruiters consistently prioritize candidates who demonstrate:
Strong medication administration accuracy
Reliable attendance
Fast EMR documentation
Low error rates
Patient communication skills
Team coordination ability
Independent clinical judgment
Many LVNs focus only on years of experience.
Recruiters focus more on whether the candidate reduces operational stress.
An LVN who can independently manage admissions, treatments, charting, and provider communication is far more valuable than someone with additional years but limited functional independence.
That distinction heavily influences compensation.
Many vocational nurses unintentionally cap their income.
Routine clinic jobs may feel stable but often have slower wage growth and fewer overtime opportunities.
Night and weekend flexibility dramatically affects compensation potential.
Candidates who refuse all schedule flexibility often lose access to premium pay opportunities.
Specialty certifications increase both pay potential and recruiter visibility.
Waiting years to specialize can slow salary progression.
Some states and metro areas consistently pay far above the national average.
Relocating strategically can create immediate salary gains.
For many healthcare professionals, LVN training offers one of the fastest paths into stable healthcare income without a four-year degree.
Advantages include:
Faster entry into nursing
Strong national demand
Flexible scheduling opportunities
Multiple specialty pathways
RN bridge opportunities
Overtime earning potential
However, long-term salary ceilings are usually lower than RN compensation unless the LVN moves into leadership, specialty care, or agency-based work.
The best financial outcomes typically come from treating vocational nursing as a career ladder rather than a static role.
Upload Resume
Import from Linkedin
