How much does a LPN/MA make in the United States?

As of September 01, 2026, the average salary for a LPN/MA in the United States is $57,294 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $28.

However, a LPN/MA's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $63,599
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $54,109 to $60,594
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $51,208

Key Factors That Influence LPN/MA Salaries

A LPN/MA'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 LPN/MA Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a LPN/MA'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): $55,990
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $56,086
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $57,294
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $58,653
  • Expert (over 8 years): $58,750
Levels Salary
Entry Level LPN/MA$55,990
Intermediate Level LPN/MA$56,086
Senior Level LPN/MA$57,294
Specialist Level LPN/MA$58,653
Expert Level LPN/MA$58,750

How Do LPN/MA Salaries Vary from State to State?

Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract LPN/MAs. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $63,436.
  • California: $63,195.
  • Massachusetts: $62,353.

Top Paying Cities for LPN/MAs

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: $72,265
  • San Francisco: $71,474
  • Oakland: $69,967

What Skills Can Increase a LPN/MA'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.
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 LPN/MA'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 $59,586
4%
Delegation $59,013
3%
Communication Skills $59,013
3%

LPN/MA Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For LPN/MA roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 50% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Business Services and Healthcare sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 25% above the average. In contrast, LPN/MA positions in Biotechnology or Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view LPN/MA as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for a LPN/MA

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Business Services$71,617$34.025%
Healthcare$63,023$30.010%

How Education impacts a LPN/MA's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many LPN/MAs 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 LPN/MA with a High School Diploma or Technical Certificate is between $51,625 and $54,559).

LPN/MA Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for LPN/MA
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%

LPN/MA Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a LPN/MA'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 September 01, 2026
$54,109
Average $57,294/year
$60,594
$4,509
Average $4,774/month
$5,050
$1,041
Average $1,102/week
$1,165
$26
Average $28/hour
$29
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $60,594 $5,050 $1,165 $29
Average $57,294 $4,774 $1,102 $28
25th Percentile $54,109 $4,509 $1,041 $26

Most common benefits for LPN/MA

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for LPN/MA

Here are companies hiring for LPN/MA and their salaries, click below for more details.

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FAQ about LPN/MA

1. What industry pays the highest salary for LPN/MA?

The Business Services industry offers the highest average compensation for LPN/MA roles, with salaries approximately 25% above the market median.

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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