Practical Nurse Salary (March 2024) - Zippia
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Practical Nurse salary

Updated March 14, 2024

Average practical nurse salary

$75,363

$36.23 hourly rate

Entry-level practical nurse salary
$47,000 yearly salary

How much does a practical nurse make?

The average practical nurse salary in the United States is $75,363. Practical nurse salaries typically range between $47,000 and $120,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for practical nurses is $36.23 per hour.

Practical nurse salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Practical nurses earn the highest average salary in California.

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Practical nurse salary by: 

Average practical nurse salary by state

The average practical nurse salary in California, Nevada, and Oregon are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average practical nurse salary states are North Dakota, Iowa, and Missouri.

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Average Salary:

Highest paying states for practical nurses

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1Pennsylvania$75,894$36.4910,528
2Nevada$85,226$40.971,279
3West Virginia$70,004$33.661,369
4Delaware$76,373$36.72882
5Connecticut$77,076$37.062,279
6New Hampshire$73,073$35.131,490
7Oregon$80,874$38.882,324
8New York$77,125$37.089,696
9Washington$77,735$37.374,929
10Maine$69,097$33.221,318
11Massachusetts$75,073$36.096,944
12New Mexico$69,659$33.491,704
13California$86,154$41.4212,761
14Ohio$68,262$32.828,070
15Rhode Island$76,407$36.73615
16New Jersey$77,197$37.114,716
17Arizona$74,099$35.623,496
18Vermont$69,429$33.38660
19Idaho$73,092$35.14883
20Alaska$70,811$34.04642
21Texas$67,524$32.4615,619
22Virginia$74,614$35.875,659
23North Carolina$68,981$33.166,529
24Louisiana$66,116$31.792,918
25Maryland$75,318$36.214,170
26Michigan$68,007$32.705,119
27Indiana$63,165$30.375,545
28Utah$70,790$34.03824
29Florida$64,510$31.0116,476
30Montana$64,132$30.83884
31South Carolina$64,504$31.013,296
32Tennessee$60,242$28.965,052
33Kentucky$62,616$30.102,512
34District of Columbia$75,127$36.12486
35Mississippi$61,675$29.651,536
36South Dakota$57,859$27.821,008
37North Dakota$58,589$28.17852
38Wisconsin$62,759$30.173,245
39Wyoming$60,707$29.19392
40Oklahoma$59,246$28.482,355
41Georgia$61,014$29.336,926
42Arkansas$58,664$28.201,869
43Hawaii$65,733$31.60342
44Alabama$60,595$29.132,396
45Kansas$57,793$27.792,063
46Illinois$62,108$29.866,434
47Iowa$58,568$28.162,429
48Colorado$60,440$29.063,477
49Nebraska$57,304$27.551,409
50Minnesota$59,849$28.773,670
51Missouri$58,196$27.983,521

Highest paying cities for practical nurses

The highest-paying cities for practical nurses are Lancaster, CA, Portland, OR, and Seattle, WA.

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1Lancaster, CA$85,786$41.24
2Portland, OR$80,049$38.491
3Seattle, WA$78,493$37.748
4Smithtown, NY$77,535$37.28
5Newark, NJ$77,305$37.1715
6Philadelphia, PA$76,838$36.94
7Wilmington, DE$76,541$36.803
8Springfield, MA$76,027$36.551
9Phoenix, AZ$74,363$35.752
10Concord, NH$72,359$34.791
11Anchorage, AK$71,549$34.401
12Portland, ME$70,314$33.801
13Albuquerque, NM$69,829$33.571
14Thomasville, NC$68,934$33.14
15Charleston, WV$68,917$33.131
16Austin, TX$68,745$33.051
17Cincinnati, OH$64,824$31.172
18Charleston, SC$64,257$30.891
19Knoxville, TN$62,803$30.191
20Lawton, OK$62,559$30.086

Practical Nurse salary by years of experience

A practical nurse with 0-2 years of experience earns an average entry-level salary of $66,123. A mid-career practical nurse with 3-6 years of experience makes $75,363 a year on average. A senior level practical nurse with 7-12 years of experience enjoys an average annual salary of $97,654.

Practical Nurse salary details

A practical nurse's salary ranges from $47,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $120,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Practical Nurse Salary Graph
Average Practical Nurse Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a practical nurse's salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$120,000$10,000$58
75th Percentile$96,000$8,000$46
Average$75,363$6,280$36
25th Percentile$58,000$4,833$28
10th Percentile$47,000$3,917$23

Highest paying practical nurse jobs

The highest paying types of practical nurses are contractor-registered nurse, advanced registered nurse practitioner, and head nurse.

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner$97,820$8,152$47.03486,582
Nurse Coordinator$79,040$6,587$38.00428,775
Registered Nurse Charge Nurse$71,342$5,945$34.30645,134
Nurse Extern$37,156$3,096$17.86569,180
Clinic Registered Nurse$70,075$5,840$33.69520,812
Registered Nurse$73,349$6,112$35.26646,159

Which companies pay practical nurses the most?

Practical nurse salaries at University Hospitals and Hunterdon Healthcare are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average practical nurse salary at companies like St. Joseph Healthcare and Dignity Health are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1University Hospitals$129,336$62.18
2Hunterdon Healthcare$116,329$55.93
3St. Joseph Healthcare$111,249$53.49
4Dignity Health$110,873$53.30
5New London Hospital$109,786$52.78
6St Anthony's Hospital Inc$108,950$52.38
7Medical Imaging Associates Inc$108,429$52.13
8St. Joseph's Health$108,177$52.01
9Rutgers University$108,107$51.97
10Connecticut Children's Medical Center$106,015$50.97
11CentraState Healthcare System$104,573$50.28
12Scripps Health$103,994$50.00
13Lancaster General Health$103,535$49.78
14Garnet Health$102,847$49.45
15Illinois CancerCare$101,424$48.76
16Christiana Care Health Services, Inc.$100,558$48.35
17UMiami Health System$99,852$48.01
18Carilion Clinic$98,815$47.51
19Acuity Insurance$97,601$46.92
20Maxim Healthcare Group$97,150$46.71

Practical Nurse salary trends

The average practical nurse salary has risen by $11,840 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average practical nurse earned $63,523 annually, but today, they earn $75,363 a year. That works out to a 11% change in pay for practical nurses over the last decade.

Compare practical nurse salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average practical nurse salary over time

Compare practical nurse salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

    Practical Nurse salary by year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2024$75,400$36.23+2.7%
    2023$73,300$35.24+2.6%
    2022$71,400$34.32+2.6%
    2021$69,500$33.42+2.1%
    2020$68,100$32.72+2.1%

    Recently added practical nurse salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    Salem CountyPractical Nurse, Per Diem (Correctional FacilitySalem, NJ07/02/2023$51,925
    Northgate Health Care FacilityGraduate Practical Nurse GPN No Covid Vaccination RequirementTonawanda, NY07/02/2023$47,479
    Department of Veterans AffairsPractical NurseCaldwell, ID07/01/2023$46,829
    Department of Veterans AffairsPractical NurseSaginaw, MI07/01/2023$58,548
    Department of DefensePractical NurseMillington, TN07/01/2023$37,696
    Department of DefensePractical NurseHouston, TX07/01/2023$57,710
    Department of DefenseAdvanced Practice Nurse (Nurse MidwifeFort Carson, CO07/01/2023$104,947
    Department of DefenseAdvanced Practice Nurse (Practitioner/Family PracticeBayport, FL07/01/2023$95,361
    Department of DefenseSupervisory Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse PractitionerUrban Honolulu, HI07/01/2023$102,444
    Department of DefensePractical NurseFort Meade, MD07/01/2023$52,898

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