Occupations · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 29-2061.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 92% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $76,290 | 32,320 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $72,800 | 32,000 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $61,930 | 13,490 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $67,150 | 13,050 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $72,920 | 11,800 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $61,700 | 11,260 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $78,670 | 9,910 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $63,190 | 8,950 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $75,560 | 8,460 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $90,810 | 8,290 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $61,990 | 8,250 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $71,900 | 7,750 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Postsecondary nondegree award · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
- Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
- Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
- Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
- Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
- Provide medical treatment or personal care to patients in private home settings, such as cooking, keeping rooms orderly, seeing that patients are comfortable and in good spirits, or instructing family members in simple nursing tasks.
- Supervise nurses' aides or assistants.
- Sterilize equipment and supplies, using germicides, sterilizer, or autoclave.
- Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
- Work as part of a healthcare team to assess patient needs, plan and modify care, and implement interventions.
- Record food and fluid intake and output.
- Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2021-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2021-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 15
No longer listed 3
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| home care aide | 5322.1 | broader |
| nurse assistant | 5321.1.1 | broader |
| healthcare assistant | 5321.1 | broader |
| palliative care social worker | 2635.3.20 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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