We’ve had questions about how we calculate our scores. So put on your math & stats hats and follow along!

Sources:

• Bureau of Labor and Statistics for LPN & RN (link)
• CPI data for Inflation (link)
• 2010 Census Data for Population (http://2010.census.gov)
• Cost of Living Index (coli.org, census.gov)

 

From these source we are able to find cost of living for a state, average income statewide, average income for nurses, and job growth. We compare LPN salary vs. avg median income and rank that on a city an statewide basis. We do the same for RN salary, number of jobs for LPN and RN, and the different in salary between LPNs and RNs.

So we end up with a statistical table of state and city rankings for:

• LPN salary rank
• Lpn wage index
• LPN wage index as % of state avg for total income
• RN wage index
• RN wage index as % of state avg for total income
• LPN comfort score (the difference between LPN wage index and % of total). Shows where a LPN salary goes farther vs. the average.
• RN comfort score (the difference between LPN wage index and % of total). Shows where a RN salary goes farther vs. the average.
• LPN comfort rank (index of all locations)
• RN comfort rank (index of all locations)
• GET RN score (how much higher the RN comfort rank is vs. the LPN comfort rank)
• Get RN rank (index of all locations)

 

This information is all to let you know the best locations to be an LPN or RN (where those salaries go further than median income and there are jobs). As well as where you should get an RN (where the greatest discrepency is between RN and LPN vs. comfort of living).
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments and we’ll help you make sense of this. If you want to get a degree in statistics…we can probably help you there too!