Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses Salary in Louisiana

Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses in Louisiana have a median of $57,470 a year, below the national $64,400 (−11%); the state ranks 46th of 51 states by median. Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses earn 26% more than the median across all occupations in Louisiana ($45,520). Among neighbouring states, Texas pays more (up to $62,240 in Texas) and Arkansas and Mississippi pay less (down to $50,220 in Mississippi). Louisiana employs 17,600 licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, 9.10 per 1,000 jobs, the 10th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 2.18 means the occupation is more concentrated in Louisiana than nationally.

Louisiana vs the United States, May 2025

Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Louisiana and nationally, May 2025
AreaBasisPercentile wageMeanEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
10th25thMedian75th90th
LouisianaHourly$22.03$23.87$27.63$29.43$31.80$27.2117,6009.102.18
Annual$45,810$49,650$57,470$61,220$66,150$56,590
United StatesHourly$23.91$28.37$30.96$36.55$40.12$32.24648,410––
Annual$49,740$59,000$64,400$76,030$83,440$67,050
$0$20k$40k$60k$80k10th10th: $45,810$45,81025th25th: $49,650$49,650MedianMedian: $57,470$57,47075th75th: $61,220$61,22090th90th: $66,150$66,150US median
Louisiana annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.
Rank by median
46th of 51 states
Rank by employment
10th of 51 states
Location quotient
2.18
Jobs per 1,000
9.10

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Louisiana's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in Louisiana

10 metropolitan areas and 3 nonmetropolitan areas touching Louisiana publish a row for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

AreaMedian hourlyMedian annual10th pct (annual)90th pct (annual)EmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
New Orleans-Metairie, LA$29.15$60,640$49,230$75,3702,9406.591.58
Baton Rouge, LA$28.70$59,700$48,350$69,5202,9007.081.70
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA$28.61$59,500$47,540$70,3109609.752.34
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA$28.05$58,340$48,920$70,9601,84011.302.71
Hammond, LA$26.85$55,840$46,260$63,4104709.822.36
Monroe, LA$26.61$55,360$44,950$62,7901,13012.953.11
Alexandria, LA$26.38$54,880$45,980$67,31069011.502.76
Lake Charles, LA$25.63$53,300$43,170$62,0008908.742.10
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA$25.60$53,240$43,210$65,0305206.241.50
Lafayette, LA$24.80$51,580$41,710$62,2702,10011.702.81
Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area$26.71$55,560$41,590$62,98093011.662.80
Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area$24.65$51,260$42,720$62,51092014.783.54
Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area$24.50$50,970$41,300$60,3101,20015.433.70

Neighbouring states

StateMedian hourlyMedian annualEmploymentLocation quotient
Louisiana$27.63$57,47017,6002.18
Arkansas$27.22$56,62010,0101.84
Mississippi$24.14$50,2209,8502.03
Texas$29.92$62,24057,5600.98

See the national page for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses (every state ranked) and the Louisiana wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Louisiana estimates.

  • Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
  • Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.