Best Cities for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nursess

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where licensed practical and licensed vocational nursess get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	Rhode IslandState	1.24	$80,090	$79,692	23%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.23	$95,320	$79,301	40%
3	OregonState	1.21	$80,470	$78,126	24%
4	AlaskaState	1.20	$80,800	$77,469	20%
5	IllinoisState	1.20	$75,000	$77,002	21%
6	WashingtonState	1.20	$83,150	$77,493	27%
7	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.20	$83,510	$77,468	26%
8	ArizonaState	1.19	$77,070	$76,383	23%
9	NevadaState	1.18	$76,160	$76,008	23%
10	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.18	$69,300	$75,987	21%
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.16	$85,690	$74,969	31%
12	MassachusettsState	1.15	$80,220	$73,935	34%
13	MaineState	1.14	$73,200	$73,347	21%
14	IndianaState	1.13	$65,720	$72,619	19%
15	New HampshireState	1.13	$77,110	$72,745	25%
16	CaliforniaState	1.12	$79,750	$72,042	34%
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.12	$82,190	$72,414	37%
18	MichiganState	1.10	$65,460	$70,921	20%
19	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.10	$74,860	$70,756	27%
20	ColoradoState	1.09	$73,880	$70,095	30%
21	IowaState	1.09	$62,630	$70,213	18%
22	MissouriState	1.08	$61,530	$69,447	20%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.08	$64,420	$69,418	24%
24	KansasState	1.07	$61,760	$68,622	20%
25	New JerseyState	1.07	$75,160	$69,081	29%
26	WisconsinState	1.07	$63,760	$69,079	20%
27	ConnecticutState	1.06	$73,690	$68,485	26%
28	DelawareState	1.06	$68,710	$68,030	24%
29	KentuckyState	1.06	$60,460	$68,316	19%
30	MarylandState	1.06	$74,660	$68,370	27%
31	NebraskaState	1.06	$62,660	$68,481	20%
32	OhioState	1.06	$61,950	$68,529	20%
33	VermontState	1.06	$69,930	$68,224	24%
34	WyomingState	1.06	$63,460	$68,237	19%
35	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.06	$65,140	$67,996	28%
36	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.06	$79,310	$68,077	34%
37	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.06	$70,710	$68,319	27%
38	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.06	$63,060	$68,173	22%
39	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$62,280	$67,696	25%
40	North CarolinaState	1.04	$63,270	$67,023	25%
41	North DakotaState	1.04	$62,300	$67,279	19%
42	South CarolinaState	1.04	$61,820	$67,196	24%
43	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.04	$65,060	$67,211	30%
44	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.04	$75,860	$67,252	32%
45	District of ColumbiaState	1.03	$75,740	$66,264	33%
46	GeorgiaState	1.03	$62,030	$66,413	27%
47	IdahoState	1.03	$63,800	$66,114	23%
48	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$61,910	$66,214	25%
49	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$64,370	$66,224	30%
50	AlabamaState	1.02	$57,030	$65,476	20%
51	ArkansasState	1.02	$56,620	$65,608	19%
52	OklahomaState	1.02	$58,320	$65,898	20%
53	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$63,940	$65,918	24%
54	West VirginiaState	1.02	$55,360	$65,748	18%
55	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.02	$65,660	$65,990	27%
56	MinnesotaState	1.01	$63,750	$65,051	24%
57	TexasState	1.01	$62,240	$65,105	27%
58	HawaiiState	1.00	$71,140	$64,673	40%
59	MontanaState	1.00	$62,210	$64,533	22%
60	New MexicoState	1.00	$59,330	$64,489	21%
61	TennesseeState	1.00	$58,870	$64,339	26%
62	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$61,940	$64,387	30%
63	LouisianaState	0.99	$57,470	$63,785	22%
64	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.99	$62,490	$63,442	33%
65	UtahState	0.98	$63,230	$63,104	28%
66	VirginiaState	0.97	$64,920	$62,725	29%
67	FloridaState	0.94	$61,770	$60,857	33%
68	New YorkState	0.93	$67,180	$59,716	33%
69	MississippiState	0.92	$50,220	$59,222	21%
70	South DakotaState	0.90	$52,750	$58,095	22%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$62,610	$57,705	39%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).