Where LPNs are most in demand
These are the US metro areas with the highest concentration of LPNs — not simply the biggest cities. Ranked using Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
How this ranking works
A location quotient compares how common a job is locally against how common it is nationally. 1.0 means exactly the national average. 2.0 means the job is twice as concentrated there as it is across the country as a whole.
We rank by concentration rather than raw headcount deliberately. The largest metros have the most of nearly every job simply because they have the most people — ranking that way would show you the same list of big cities for every occupation. Concentration tells you something different: where this work is disproportionately part of the local economy, which is where your experience carries the most weight.
Metro areas by concentration
-
1
Monroe, LA 3.1×
-
2
Springfield, OH 2.9×
-
3
Lafayette, LA 2.8×
-
4
Alexandria, LA 2.8×
-
5
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 2.7×
-
6
Williamsport, PA 2.7×
-
7
Beckley, WV 2.6×
-
8
Altoona, PA 2.6×
-
9
Hot Springs, AR 2.5×
-
10
Elmira, NY 2.5×
-
11
Jonesboro, AR 2.5×
-
12
Lima, OH 2.4×
-
13
Johnson City, TN 2.4×
-
14
Fort Smith, AR-OK 2.4×
-
15
Wichita Falls, TX 2.4×
-
16
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH 2.4×
-
17
Rome, GA 2.4×
-
18
Canton-Massillon, OH 2.4×
-
19
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 2.4×
-
20
Hammond, LA 2.4×
-
21
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA 2.3×
-
22
Jackson, TN 2.3×
-
23
Morgantown, WV 2.3×
-
24
Sebring, FL 2.2×
-
25
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 2.2×
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (2025). Areas with fewer than 100 people in this occupation are excluded — a handful of workers in a small town produces a dramatic ratio off a base too small to mean anything.
Highest paying metro areas
Concentration and pay are not the same thing, and they often point at different places. Cost of living is not adjusted for here — a higher figure in an expensive metro is not automatically a better outcome.
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $45.83/hr
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA $45.34/hr
- Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA $44.51/hr
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA $41.20/hr
- Vallejo, CA $41.07/hr
- Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA $40.36/hr
- Napa, CA $40.24/hr
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA $40.15/hr
- Bend, OR $40.03/hr
- Grants Pass, OR $39.62/hr
Outside the metros
BLS also reports rural and small-town regions separately. These often have far higher concentration and less competition for the same work.
- Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 3.7× · $24.50/hr
- Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 3.5× · $24.64/hr
- Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 3.1× · $23.13/hr
- North Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 3.0× · $28.66/hr
- Northeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 3.0× · $27.76/hr
- West Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 2.8× · $24.95/hr
- Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 2.8× · $26.71/hr
- North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 2.8× · $25.12/hr
- West Delta Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 2.8× · $24.69/hr
- Southern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area 2.7× · $25.02/hr
- Southwest Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 2.6× · $25.58/hr
- Southern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 2.6× · $29.00/hr
Browse open LPNs
See what's actually hiring right now on LocalWork.
Employment and concentration figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme and describe the whole occupation, not LocalWork listings. They are a guide to where work is concentrated, not a guarantee of current openings.