The columns in the table below are all sortable. So discover which states are best for LPN salary, RN salary, and where upgrading to an RN will have the biggest effect on your paycheck. So “what’s the Comfort Score“ you may ask? It takes into account median salaries of all occupations in a state, median salaries of nurses, cost of living, real estate, and a few other medical-centric and geographic statistics…and combines them to produce an indexed ranking of where you will be most comfortable being an LPN or RN.
Click on column headers to sort!
| Metro Area | State | LPN avg salary | RN avg salary | LPN Comfort Score | RN Comfort Score | RN Value | Overall Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | NM | $56,080 | $66,410 | 1 | 12 | 76 | 43 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale | AZ | $46,360 | $68,200 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 17 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers | FL | $42,000 | $65,950 | 3 | 4 | 48 | 23 |
| El Paso | TX | $42,090 | $60,850 | 4 | 5 | 49 | 24 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | TX | $46,580 | $69,360 | 5 | 7 | 50 | 26 |
| Boise | ID | $41,460 | $65,250 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 31 |
| Tucson | AZ | $44,890 | $65,370 | 7 | 13 | 64 | 37 |
| Las Vegas-Paradise | NV | $48,460 | $72,950 | 8 | 14 | 65 | 38 |
| Modesto | CA | $50,510 | $89,590 | 9 | 1 | 26 | 2 |
| Memphis | TN | $42,570 | $63,210 | 10 | 16 | 66 | 40 |
| Houston-Sugar Land | TX | $43,290 | $69,180 | 11 | 10 | 40 | 20 |
| Detroit | MI | $48,350 | $67,780 | 12 | 26 | 80 | 53 |
| Stockton | CA | $50,500 | $80,840 | 13 | 8 | 31 | 11 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | TX | $45,520 | $66,270 | 14 | 22 | 70 | 45 |
| Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord | NC | $41,190 | $58,600 | 15 | 40 | 93 | 68 |
| Greenville | SC | $38,570 | $59,810 | 16 | 18 | 51 | 33 |
| Austin-Round Rock | TX | $42,040 | $62,560 | 17 | 32 | 82 | 58 |
| Bakersfield | CA | $42,030 | $78,200 | 18 | 3 | 21 | 1 |
| Oxnard-Ventura | CA | $53,330 | $77,060 | 19 | 54 | 98 | 83 |
| Fresno | CA | $48,530 | $81,340 | 20 | 6 | 22 | 3 |
| San Antonio | TX | $39,890 | $65,150 | 21 | 15 | 30 | 14 |
| Sacramento | CA | $53,730 | $89,770 | 22 | 11 | 23 | 8 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha | WI | $45,700 | $62,730 | 23 | 68 | 100 | 91 |
| Little Rock | AR | $37,840 | $63,170 | 24 | 17 | 28 | 14 |
| Pittsburgh | PA | $39,610 | $60,700 | 25 | 27 | 53 | 39 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg | FL | $41,700 | $64,020 | 26 | 24 | 36 | 28 |
| Cincinnati-Middletown | OH | $42,250 | $61,760 | 27 | 51 | 92 | 73 |
| Nashville-Davidson | TN | $38,850 | $63,100 | 28 | 21 | 29 | 21 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel | IN | $40,390 | $62,740 | 29 | 34 | 60 | 47 |
| Salt Lake City | UT | $42,370 | $60,930 | 30 | 64 | 97 | 89 |
| Greensboro-High Point | NC | $40,460 | $59,070 | 31 | 39 | 71 | 57 |
| Louisville-Jefferson County | KY | $37,650 | $58,800 | 32 | 31 | 41 | 34 |
| Jacksonville | FL | $40,140 | $61,410 | 33 | 37 | 57 | 47 |
| Denver-Aurora | CO | $45,880 | $69,760 | 34 | 42 | 72 | 58 |
| Dayton | OH | $41,240 | $60,060 | 35 | 52 | 85 | 70 |
| Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor | OH | $43,190 | $62,430 | 36 | 56 | 87 | 73 |
| Philadelphia-Camden | PA | $48,290 | $71,430 | 37 | 53 | 83 | 69 |
| Columbia | SC | $39,670 | $59,830 | 38 | 41 | 56 | 51 |
| Scranton–Wilkes-Barre | PA | $39,340 | $56,620 | 39 | 55 | 84 | 72 |
| Columbus | OH | $41,950 | $61,890 | 40 | 60 | 88 | 78 |
| Akron | OH | $39,500 | $61,020 | 41 | 36 | 32 | 32 |
| Jackson | MS | $35,770 | $59,350 | 42 | 19 | 10 | 4 |
| Charleston | SC | $39,040 | $64,850 | 43 | 20 | 11 | 7 |
| Wichita | KS | $37,370 | $53,080 | 44 | 74 | 96 | 93 |
| Lakeland | FL | $35,500 | $57,540 | 45 | 28 | 17 | 14 |
| St. Louis | MO | $38,670 | $59,010 | 46 | 58 | 79 | 70 |
| Ogden-Clearfield | UT | $41,980 | $57,640 | 47 | 88 | 99 | 99 |
| Colorado Springs | CO | $39,590 | $62,760 | 48 | 46 | 37 | 41 |
| Des Moines | IA | $38,190 | $55,890 | 49 | 75 | 95 | 93 |
| Tulsa | OK | $32,890 | $50,720 | 50 | 57 | 69 | 64 |
| Portland-Vancouver | OR | $46,920 | $76,010 | 51 | 25 | 9 | 8 |
| Chattanooga | TN | $35,650 | $57,580 | 52 | 30 | 14 | 13 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee | FL | $38,780 | $57,960 | 53 | 67 | 81 | 78 |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs | NE | $38,660 | $57,740 | 54 | 71 | 86 | 85 |
| Birmingham-Hoover | AL | $35,940 | $60,980 | 55 | 23 | 6 | 4 |
| Raleigh-Cary | NC | $38,930 | $61,030 | 56 | 62 | 67 | 66 |
| Provo-Orem | UT | $36,740 | $59,230 | 57 | 49 | 27 | 36 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne | FL | $38,380 | $62,160 | 58 | 35 | 12 | 18 |
| Toledo | OH | $40,070 | $56,830 | 59 | 82 | 91 | 97 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | WA | $46,660 | $76,260 | 60 | 43 | 18 | 29 |
| Harrisburg-Carlisle | PA | $41,870 | $62,080 | 61 | 81 | 89 | 93 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem | PA | $41,480 | $62,940 | 62 | 73 | 77 | 81 |
| Sarasota-Bradenton | FL | $39,470 | $61,210 | 63 | 63 | 46 | 56 |
| Oklahoma City | OK | $33,480 | $55,180 | 64 | 44 | 15 | 27 |
| Atlanta-Marietta | GA | $38,510 | $63,230 | 65 | 61 | 34 | 49 |
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls | NY | $36,420 | $61,360 | 66 | 33 | 5 | 10 |
| Baton Rouge | LA | $35,720 | $55,850 | 67 | 66 | 42 | 55 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming | MI | $38,040 | $58,520 | 68 | 72 | 58 | 67 |
| Poughkeepsie-Newburgh | NY | $41,730 | $70,780 | 69 | 59 | 25 | 42 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford | CT | $55,300 | $71,040 | 70 | 95 | 94 | 100 |
| Youngstown-Warren | OH | $35,540 | $53,030 | 71 | 80 | 74 | 84 |
| Kansas City | MO | $37,520 | $60,890 | 72 | 69 | 35 | 52 |
| Madison | WI | $41,630 | $70,280 | 73 | 50 | 13 | 30 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy | NY | $39,480 | $50,730 | 74 | 94 | 90 | 98 |
| Knoxville | TN | $33,240 | $56,480 | 75 | 47 | 8 | 25 |
| Augusta-Richmond County | GA | $36,410 | $63,090 | 76 | 29 | 1 | 6 |
| Lancaster | PA | $39,900 | $60,060 | 77 | 87 | 75 | 90 |
| Rochester | NY | $37,760 | $59,990 | 78 | 78 | 47 | 63 |
| Richmond | VA | $40,260 | $63,220 | 79 | 84 | 61 | 76 |
| Baltimore-Towson | MD | $50,480 | $79,150 | 80 | 79 | 43 | 60 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Joliet | IL | $44,410 | $68,990 | 81 | 86 | 62 | 78 |
| Hartford | CT | $52,810 | $72,690 | 82 | 93 | 78 | 96 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino | CA | $44,320 | $75,810 | 83 | 45 | 4 | 19 |
| Worcester | MA | $53,080 | $77,610 | 84 | 90 | 68 | 86 |
| San Francisco-Oakland | CA | $57,050 | $98,020 | 85 | 38 | 2 | 12 |
| Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | FL | $41,320 | $66,890 | 86 | 70 | 20 | 44 |
| Syracuse | NY | $34,980 | $56,520 | 87 | 85 | 38 | 61 |
| Providence | RI | $49,970 | $68,700 | 88 | 96 | 73 | 92 |
| Boston | MA | $49,320 | $88,730 | 89 | 48 | 3 | 22 |
| New Haven | CT | $49,920 | $74,510 | 90 | 92 | 54 | 77 |
| New Orleans | LA | $41,470 | $64,040 | 91 | 89 | 39 | 65 |
| Springfield | MA | $49,920 | $70,090 | 92 | 97 | 63 | 88 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | MN | $42,020 | $75,020 | 93 | 76 | 19 | 49 |
| Los Angeles | CA | $48,650 | $79,940 | 94 | 83 | 24 | 54 |
| San Diego | CA | $47,430 | $81,370 | 95 | 77 | 16 | 46 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk | VA | $35,900 | $60,390 | 96 | 91 | 33 | 62 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale | CA | $57,150 | $110,080 | 97 | 65 | 7 | 34 |
| Washington-DC – Arlington | DC | $46,200 | $74,130 | 98 | 99 | 52 | 82 |
| Honolulu | HI | $45,810 | $82,150 | 99 | 98 | 45 | 73 |
| New York-New Jersey | NY | $49,060 | $79,330 | 100 | 100 | 59 | 87 |