Practical Nurses Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

Government estimates of jobs for practical nurses total about 749,000. This career is ranked low for jobless rates in comparison to other careers. The unemployment rate for employees was about 3% in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

Relative to population, you will find the most practical nurses in Abilene (Texas), Lawton (Oklahoma), and Sandusky (Ohio), and the least in Bend (Oregon), Salt Lake City (Utah), and Portland (Oregon).

Statistics show that you can earn the most in this career in San Jose (California), Oakland (California), and San Francisco (California), and will have the lowest earnings in Gadsden (Alabama), State College (Pennsylvania), and Joplin (Missouri).

Training and Education

People often have a postsecondary vocational award before landing a job in this field. Four year degrees are held by 7% of practical nurses. About 72% of workers started college but did not get a 4 year degree. A high school education is the highest level achieved by 21% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Part-time workers represent 18% of all practical nurses. Workers working on their own represent 2% of the total.

Practical Nurses: An Introductory Video

Practical Nurses Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of practical nurses compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for practical nurses.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Birmingham	$35,000	4,220
Tuscaloosa	$32,000	1,190
Mobile	$32,000	1,150
Montgomery	$34,000	1,110
Dothan	$33,000	950
Huntsville	$34,000	830
Gadsden	$30,000	480
Florence	$30,000	460
Anniston	$31,000	410
Decatur	$35,000	390
Auburn	$33,000	160

Alaska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Anchorage	$48,000	260
Fairbanks	$47,000	90

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Phoenix	$43,000	7,200
Tucson	$43,000	2,000
Prescott	$43,000	280
Kingman	$41,000	250
Flagstaff	$35,000	200
Yuma	$41,000	140

Arkansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Little Rock	$37,000	2,970
Fort Smith	$33,000	1,210
Fayetteville	$36,000	1,140
Jonesboro	$32,000	610
Hot Springs	$33,000	520
Pine Bluff	$33,000	440

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Riverside	$43,000	5,850
San Diego	$45,000	5,790
Santa Ana	$50,000	5,170
Oakland	$57,000	3,950
San Francisco	$56,000	3,130
Sacramento	$51,000	3,130
San Jose	$58,000	2,430
Fresno	$48,000	1,360
Bakersfield	$43,000	1,080
Stockton	$50,000	970
Oxnard	$48,000	830
Chico	$45,000	770
Modesto	$49,000	710
Vallejo	$49,000	700
Santa Rosa	$56,000	670
Santa Barbara	$50,000	630
Salinas	$55,000	530
Visalia	$43,000	520
San Luis Obispo	$47,000	300
Redding	$46,000	290
Napa	$49,000	250
Madera	$44,000	220
Yuba City	$45,000	210
Merced	$47,000	200
Hanford	$41,000	190
Santa Cruz	$49,000	140
El Centro	$40,000	100

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Denver	$45,000	3,130
Colorado Springs	$38,000	870
Fort Collins	$35,000	660
Boulder	$42,000	470
Pueblo	$37,000	420
Grand Junction	$41,000	220
Greeley	$45,000	160

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Hartford	$53,000	2,660
Bridgeport	$55,000	1,800
New Haven	$50,000	1,460
Norwich	$50,000	650
Waterbury	$49,000	410
Danbury	$50,000	350

Delaware

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wilmington	$47,000	1,760
Dover	$44,000	280

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$45,000	6,880

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Tampa	$41,000	7,950
Orlando	$39,000	4,660
Miami	$41,000	4,250
West Palm Beach	$42,000	3,820
Fort Lauderdale	$41,000	3,320
Jacksonville	$39,000	3,030
Sarasota	$39,000	2,530
Lakeland	$35,000	2,110
Cape Coral	$42,000	1,330
Deltona	$39,000	1,220
Pensacola	$35,000	1,140
Palm Bay	$38,000	970
Port St Lucie	$40,000	960
Tallahassee	$36,000	890
Ocala	$40,000	690
Gainesville	$40,000	640
Naples	$41,000	510
Panama City	$35,000	460
Punta Gorda	$37,000	400
Sebastian	$39,000	350
Fort Walton Beach	$34,000	290
Palm Coast	$35,000	110

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Atlanta	$38,000	10,860
Augusta	$34,000	2,220
Savannah	$37,000	960
Macon	$34,000	910
Columbus	$34,000	870
Albany	$32,000	500
Rome	$37,000	470
Valdosta	$32,000	450
Athens	$40,000	440
Gainesville	$36,000	380
Dalton	$34,000	340
Warner Robins	$34,000	310
Brunswick	$33,000	240

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$44,000	1,110

Idaho

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boise	$41,000	1,150
Idaho Falls	$34,000	360
Coeur Dalene	$36,000	190
Pocatello	$35,000	180
Lewiston	$37,000	120

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Chicago	$45,000	11,990
Peoria	$43,000	1,150
Rockford	$41,000	890
Springfield	$39,000	750
Kankakee	$37,000	340
Decatur	$34,000	330
Champaign	$42,000	250
Bloomington	$41,000	230
Danville	$41,000	170

Indiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Indianapolis	$41,000	5,420
Gary	$41,000	1,660
Fort Wayne	$36,000	1,560
Evansville	$36,000	1,000
South Bend	$39,000	820
Terre Haute	$35,000	710
Bloomington	$34,000	600
Muncie	$34,000	480
Anderson	$38,000	440
Elkhart	$37,000	430
Lafayette	$36,000	420
Columbus	$37,000	310
Kokomo	$36,000	310
Michigan City	$38,000	180

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Davenport	$35,000	940
Des Moines	$37,000	880
Waterloo	$34,000	670
Cedar Rapids	$38,000	460
Sioux City	$33,000	440
Dubuque	$37,000	240
Iowa City	$40,000	220
Ames	$35,000	130

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wichita	$37,000	1,410
Topeka	$36,000	1,020
Lawrence	$36,000	130

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Louisville	$38,000	3,350
Lexington	$38,000	1,140
Owensboro	$35,000	320
Elizabethtown	$34,000	280
Bowling Green	$34,000	230

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New Orleans	$38,000	4,260
Baton Rouge	$36,000	3,120
Shreveport	$37,000	1,900
Lafayette	$37,000	1,300
Monroe	$34,000	1,110
Alexandria	$35,000	860
Lake Charles	$35,000	850
Houma	$39,000	840

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$45,000	490
Lewiston	$38,000	190
Bangor	$40,000	170

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Baltimore	$50,000	5,720
Bethesda	$47,000	2,190
Hagerstown	$42,000	590
Salisbury	$46,000	350
Cumberland	$38,000	310

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boston	$50,000	7,110
Springfield	$49,000	1,770
Worcester	$52,000	1,510
Lowell	$47,000	890
New Bedford	$47,000	650
Barnstable Town	$52,000	570
Brockton	$50,000	550
Framingham	$54,000	550
Haverhill	$53,000	540
Taunton	$46,000	470
Lawrence	$47,000	280
Leominster	$47,000	260
Pittsfield	$42,000	200

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Warren	$48,000	4,450
Grand Rapids	$37,000	2,300
Detroit	$47,000	2,230
Flint	$43,000	770
Ann Arbor	$46,000	710
Lansing	$40,000	550
Niles	$37,000	520
Holland	$38,000	420
Kalamazoo	$40,000	400
Muskegon	$40,000	360
Jackson	$42,000	360
Bay City	$41,000	300
Battle Creek	$42,000	290
Saginaw	$41,000	280
Monroe	$44,000	220

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Minneapolis	$42,000	8,770
Duluth	$38,000	1,430
St Cloud	$37,000	940
Rochester	$43,000	930

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Jackson	$36,000	2,270
Gulfport	$33,000	620
Hattiesburg	$32,000	610
Pascagoula	$31,000	300

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
St Louis	$38,000	5,950
Kansas City	$37,000	5,430
Springfield	$32,000	1,470
Columbia	$33,000	860
Joplin	$27,000	610
Jefferson City	$33,000	580
St Joseph	$33,000	550

Montana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Missoula	$33,000	350
Great Falls	$36,000	280

Nebraska

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Omaha	$38,000	1,900
Lincoln	$37,000	780

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Las Vegas	$47,000	1,890
Reno	$47,000	320
Carson City	$47,000	120

New Hampshire

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Manchester	$48,000	470
Nashua	$44,000	410
Rochester	$42,000	160
Portsmouth	$46,000	110

New Jersey

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Edison	$50,000	4,470
Newark	$50,000	3,660
Camden	$49,000	2,790
Trenton	$47,000	920
Vineland	$45,000	580
Atlantic City	$44,000	530
Ocean City	$46,000	230

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Albuquerque	$56,000	2,550
Santa Fe	$41,000	470
Las Cruces	$38,000	440
Farmington	$42,000	130

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New York	$48,000	18,090
Nassau	$47,000	5,840
Buffalo	$36,000	4,090
Rochester	$37,000	3,750
Albany	$39,000	2,810
Syracuse	$35,000	2,770
Utica	$34,000	1,910
Poughkeepsie	$42,000	1,470
Binghamton	$35,000	790
Glens Falls	$34,000	630
Kingston	$39,000	510
Elmira	$31,000	360
Ithaca	$36,000	170

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Charlotte	$41,000	2,220
Raleigh	$39,000	1,820
Winston Salem	$37,000	1,350
Fayetteville	$40,000	1,270
Asheville	$41,000	1,160
Greensboro	$40,000	1,050
Durham	$41,000	1,000
Wilmington	$38,000	900
Hickory	$41,000	780
Goldsboro	$38,000	240
Rocky Mount	$41,000	210
Burlington	$44,000	200
Greenville	$38,000	160
Jacksonville	$31,000	140

North Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Fargo	$33,000	1,220
Grand Forks	$35,000	560
Bismarck	$36,000	370

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Cleveland	$43,000	7,490
Cincinnati	$42,000	6,760
Columbus	$42,000	5,370
Dayton	$41,000	2,710
Youngstown	$35,000	2,380
Akron	$39,000	2,220
Toledo	$39,000	2,170
Canton	$37,000	1,660
Lima	$36,000	610
Mansfield	$37,000	590
Sandusky	$39,000	550
Springfield	$38,000	430

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Oklahoma City	$33,000	4,650
Tulsa	$33,000	3,230
Lawton	$31,000	620

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$47,000	1,230
Eugene	$40,000	360
Salem	$44,000	270
Medford	$41,000	170
Bend	$42,000	90
Corvallis	$45,000	40

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Philadelphia	$46,000	10,820
Pittsburgh	$39,000	6,230
Allentown	$40,000	2,380
Scranton	$39,000	2,360
Lancaster	$39,000	1,830
Harrisburg	$40,000	1,440
Reading	$42,000	1,390
York	$39,000	1,110
Erie	$37,000	790
Altoona	$31,000	690
Lebanon	$39,000	540
Williamsport	$36,000	440
Johnstown	$34,000	390
State College	$30,000	330

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$49,000	2,190

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Columbia	$38,000	2,070
Charleston	$39,000	1,090
Greenville	$36,000	1,070
Florence	$37,000	990
Spartanburg	$35,000	690
Myrtle Beach	$34,000	480
Anderson	$35,000	280
Sumter	$35,000	210

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$33,000	680
Rapid City	$34,000	300

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Nashville	$38,000	5,990
Memphis	$41,000	4,630
Knoxville	$33,000	2,510
Chattanooga	$36,000	1,650
Kingsport	$31,000	1,240
Johnson City	$32,000	1,000
Jackson	$32,000	760
Clarksville	$35,000	580
Cleveland	$33,000	380
Morristown	$31,000	380

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Houston	$41,000	12,290
Dallas	$44,000	11,960
San Antonio	$38,000	5,850
Fort Worth	$41,000	4,770
Austin	$39,000	2,570
Mcallen	$43,000	1,770
Corpus Christi	$36,000	1,530
El Paso	$41,000	1,290
Abilene	$33,000	1,170
Longview	$37,000	1,160
Tyler	$39,000	1,160
Beaumont	$36,000	1,130
Killeen	$38,000	1,010
Brownsville	$38,000	880
Wichita Falls	$31,000	790
Waco	$39,000	760
Amarillo	$35,000	760
Texarkana	$31,000	760
College Station	$38,000	710
Victoria	$34,000	600
Sherman	$38,000	550
San Angelo	$37,000	530
Laredo	$39,000	450
Midland	$37,000	350
Odessa	$39,000	300

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Salt Lake City	$40,000	900
Provo	$34,000	490
Ogden	$40,000	420
Logan	$33,000	110
St George	$39,000	80

Vermont

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Burlington	$43,000	470

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Virginia Beach	$36,000	4,170
Richmond	$39,000	3,830
Roanoke	$36,000	1,150
Charlottesville	$36,000	780
Lynchburg	$37,000	650
Blacksburg	$32,000	430
Harrisonburg	$37,000	330
Danville	$38,000	260
Winchester	$39,000	230

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Seattle	$46,000	3,170
Tacoma	$43,000	1,970
Spokane	$45,000	1,140
Bellingham	$38,000	460
Bremerton	$43,000	420
Olympia	$43,000	330
Yakima	$43,000	300
Kennewick	$40,000	300
Mount Vernon	$38,000	200
Longview	$42,000	130
Wenatchee	$41,000	110

West Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Huntington	$32,000	1,190
Wheeling	$31,000	770
Charleston	$32,000	760
Parkersburg	$31,000	650
Morgantown	$32,000	530
Weirton	$35,000	470

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Milwaukee	$46,000	3,380
Madison	$41,000	1,110
Green Bay	$38,000	630
La Crosse	$39,000	470
Eau Claire	$38,000	320
Appleton	$39,000	300
Janesville	$38,000	270
Racine	$40,000	270
Oshkosh	$38,000	250
Sheboygan	$37,000	230
Fond	$38,000	220
Wausau	$38,000	160

Wyoming

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Cheyenne	$40,000	190
Casper	$43,000	60

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