A licensed practical nurse in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara has a median wage of $95,320. In Aguadilla the median is $23,450. That is a 4.06-fold difference for the same job title, which is unusually wide even by the standards of a country this large — and it means a national average for this role is close to meaningless.
From $49,740 at the 10th percentile to $83,440 at the 90th is only 1.68×, which is narrow. Pay for licensed practical nurses is set more by structure than by individual outcome — scales, steps, licensure. That makes income predictable and makes the ceiling real: the way to earn materially more is usually to change role or location, not to out-perform within this one.
5 of the ten best-paying metros for licensed practical nurses are in CA. When one state dominates the top of the table like this, cost of living is doing part of the work but rarely all of it — state licensing rules, public-sector pay scales and the presence of a few large employers usually explain the rest. If you are comparing an offer in CA against one elsewhere, adjust for housing before concluding anything.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $95,320 | $45.83 | 0.7 | 3,290 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $94,310 | $45.34 | 0.89 | 8,800 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $92,580 | $44.51 | 1.01 | 870 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $85,690 | $41.20 | 0.4 | 3,470 |
| Vallejo CA | $85,430 | $41.07 | 1.44 | 870 |
| Western Washington nonmetropolitan area | $85,040 | $40.88 | 0.6 | 330 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes WA | $83,940 | $40.36 | 0.55 | 120 |
| Napa CA | $83,690 | $40.24 | 0.85 | 280 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $83,510 | $40.15 | 0.45 | 2,250 |
| Bend OR | $83,260 | $40.03 | 0.32 | 150 |
| Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area | $82,930 | $39.87 | 0.49 | 80 |
| Grants Pass OR | $82,410 | $39.62 | 0.93 | 120 |
| Anchorage AK | $82,330 | $39.58 | 0.22 | 160 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $82,190 | $39.52 | 0.75 | 8,410 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard WA | $81,580 | $39.22 | 0.6 | 230 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $81,570 | $39.22 | 1.06 | 4,760 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | $81,350 | $39.11 | 0.62 | 330 |
| Barnstable Town MA | $81,250 | $39.06 | 0.93 | 370 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $81,000 | $38.94 | 0.82 | 340 |
| Salinas CA | $80,910 | $38.90 | 0.92 | 710 |
| North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area | $80,020 | $38.47 | 0.98 | 450 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA | $79,940 | $38.43 | 0.87 | 440 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $79,720 | $38.33 | 1.03 | 6,610 |
| Kennewick-Richland WA | $79,630 | $38.28 | 0.44 | 240 |
| Albany OR | $79,610 | $38.28 | 0.64 | 130 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aguadilla PR | $23,450 | $11.28 | 0.39 | 80 |
| Arecibo PR | $24,890 | $11.97 | 1.1 | 160 |
| Ponce PR | $24,900 | $11.97 | 0.96 | 260 |
| Guayama PR | $26,280 | $12.64 | 1.1 | 60 |
| Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area | $26,740 | $12.86 | 0.33 | 40 |
| Mayaguez PR | $30,970 | $14.89 | 0.67 | 150 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $32,770 | $15.75 | 0.78 | 2,250 |
| Dothan AL | $47,820 | $22.99 | 2.13 | 540 |
| Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $48,100 | $23.13 | 3.13 | 1,620 |
| Hattiesburg MS | $48,350 | $23.25 | 2.04 | 530 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $50,970 | $24.50 | 3.7 | 1,200 |
| Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $51,260 | $24.65 | 3.54 | 920 |
| Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $48,100 | $23.13 | 3.13 | 1,620 |
| Monroe LA | $55,360 | $26.61 | 3.11 | 1,130 |
| North Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area | $59,610 | $28.66 | 2.99 | 1,430 |
| Northeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area | $57,750 | $27.76 | 2.95 | 1,450 |
| Springfield OH | $61,350 | $29.50 | 2.88 | 550 |
| Lafayette LA | $51,580 | $24.80 | 2.81 | 2,100 |
| West Tennessee nonmetropolitan area | $51,890 | $24.95 | 2.81 | 1,380 |
| Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $55,560 | $26.71 | 2.8 | 930 |
| North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area | $52,250 | $25.12 | 2.77 | 1,380 |
| Alexandria LA | $54,880 | $26.38 | 2.76 | 690 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $79,310 | $38.13 | 1.28 | 33,590 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $75,910 | $36.50 | 0.82 | 32,410 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $70,710 | $34.00 | 1.32 | 15,920 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $64,370 | $30.95 | 0.75 | 12,590 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $78,070 | $37.54 | 0.61 | 11,420 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $63,670 | $30.61 | 0.78 | 10,730 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $65,060 | $31.28 | 0.81 | 9,710 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $62,610 | $30.10 | 0.76 | 8,900 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $94,310 | $45.34 | 0.89 | 8,800 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $82,190 | $39.52 | 0.75 | 8,410 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA | $76,970 | $37.01 | 1.15 | 8,200 |
| Columbus OH | $61,910 | $29.76 | 1.58 | 7,270 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 29-2061. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 525 of 528 metropolitan areas — near-complete coverage, which means the ranges above are reliable rather than drawn from a handful of markets. Read the methodology.