Practical Nurse Salary in the United States

How much does a Practical Nurse make in the United States?

As of May 01, 2026, the average salary for a Practical Nurse in the United States is $56,340 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $27.

However, a Practical Nurse's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $62,289
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $52,866 to $59,454
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $49,703
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View as table View as graph 25% $52,866 10% $49,703 90% $62,289 75% $59,454 $56,340 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Practical Nurse Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary
Monthly
Pay
Weekly
Pay
Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $59,454 $4,954 $1,143 $29
Average $56,340 $4,695 $1,083 $27
25th Percentile $52,866 $4,405 $1,017 $25
Check out Practical Nurse Job Openings in the United States
Licensed Practical Nurse

Pine Acres Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center - Newark, OH

Licensed Practical Nurse

Eagle Rock Post Acute Care at Cedar Grove - Newark, OH

Licensed Practical Nurse

Berkshire Post Acute - Newark, OH

Licensed Practical Nurse

Pine Acres Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center - Newark, OH

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Key Factors That Influence Practical Nurse Salaries

A Practical Nurse's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Practical Nurse Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Practical Nurse's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $56,002
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $56,098
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $57,307
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $58,673
  • Expert (over 8 years): $58,771
Levels Salary
Entry Level Practical Nurse$56,002
Intermediate Level Practical Nurse$56,098
Senior Level Practical Nurse$57,307
Specialist Level Practical Nurse$58,673
Expert Level Practical Nurse$58,771
$56,002 0 yr
$56,098 < 2 yrs
$57,307 2-4 yrs
$58,673 5-8 yrs
$58,771 > 8 yrs
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What Am I Worth?

Top Paying Cities for Practical Nurses

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $71,061
  • San Francisco: $70,283
  • Oakland: $68,802

What Skills Can Increase a Practical Nurse's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Planning (Mentioned in 4.06% Job Postings): An act or process of making or carrying out plans. Establishment of goals, policies, and procedures for a social or economic unit city planning business planning.
  • Long Term Care (Mentioned in 4.14% Job Postings): Long-term care (LTC) is a variety of services which help meet both the medical and non-medical needs of people with a chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for long periods. Long term care is focused on individualized and coordinated services that promote independence, maximize patients' quality of life, and meet patients' needs over a period of time. It is common for long-term care to provide custodial and non-skilled care, such as assisting with normal daily tasks like dressing, feeding, using the bathroom. Increasingly, long-term care involves providing a level of medical care that requires the expertise of skilled practitioners to address the multiple chronic conditions associated with older populations. Long-term care can be provided at home, in the community, in assisted living facilities or in nursing homes. Long-term care may be needed by people of any age, although it is a more common need for senior citizens.
  • Acute Care (Mentioned in 2.35% Job Postings): Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery. In medical terms, care for acute health conditions is the opposite from chronic care, or longer term care. Acute care services are generally delivered by teams of health care professionals from a range of medical and surgical specialties. Acute care may require a stay in a hospital emergency department, ambulatory surgery center, urgent care centre or other short-term stay facility, along with the assistance of diagnostic services, surgery, or follow-up outpatient care in the community. Hospital-based acute inpatient care typically has the goal of discharging patients as soon as they are deemed healthy and stable. Acute care settings include emergency department, intensive care, coronary care, cardiology, neonatal intensive care, and many general areas where the patient could become acutely unwell and require stabilization and transfer to another higher dependency unit for further treatment.
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Planning 4.06%
Long Term Care 4.14%
Acute Care 2.35%
What skills can make your compensation higher?
Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Practical Nurse's salary.
  • Leadership: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
  • Delegation: Can increase your salary by up to 3%.
  • Communication Skills: Can increase your salary by up to 3%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Leadership
$58,593
4%
Delegation
$58,030
3%
Communication Skills
$58,030
3%
Attention to Detail
$58,030
3%
Time Management
$58,030
3%
Infection Control
$58,030
3%
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How Education impacts a Practical Nurse's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Practical Nurses enter the field with a High School Diploma or Technical Certificate degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for a Practical Nurse with a High School Diploma or Technical Certificate is between $51,625 and $54,559).

Practical Nurse Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Practical Nurse
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 1.0%
High School 65.0%
Associates 26.9%
Bachelors 6.1%
Masters 0.9%
Doctorate 0.1%
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Practical Nurse Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Practical Nurse's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on May 01, 2026

Salary Trends for Practical Nurse

Salaries for a Practical Nurse can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary decreased from $63,734 in 2023 to around $63,272 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Practical Nurse salary trends, .

Average Annual Salary of Practical Nurse Over Time

2022
$???
2023
$63,734
2024
$64,210
2025
$63,272
2026
$???
2027
$???
Year Average Annual Salary
2022
View More
2023 $63,734
2024 $64,210
2025 $63,272
2026
View More
2027
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Most common benefits for Practical Nurse

Social Security
401(k)
Disability
Healthcare
Pension
Time Off (days)
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Common company salaries for Practical Nurse

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Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.

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