Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,550
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$11,480
20.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,628
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$57,030
Kept after tax
$45,550
Worth in national money
$50,628
State rank
47
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $57,030, ranking 47 of 51 states — about 11.44% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 214 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $57,030 the take-home is $45,550; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $50,628 would nationally. The average lands at $55,310, below the middle of the range.
- Alabama ranks 47 of 51 for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, with a median of $57,030 — about 11.44% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 214 of 482 in Alabama places licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses in Alabama, on $57,030, is $45,550 — equivalent to $50,628 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $55,310 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,120 |
| This salary | $57,030 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $45,550 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,004 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,229 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $53,977 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,487 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses in Alabama earn under $57,030 and half over. The published range runs $39,880 at the tenth percentile to $69,120 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $45,550, worked from $57,030. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 214 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,628 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 214.
- Figures are distribution medians for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,880 to $69,120; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Alabama take-home of $45,550, on $57,030 for work ranking 214 of 482 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 214 of 482 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,628, worked from $57,030, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Alabama address, on work sitting at 214 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $55,310, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,880 at the bottom tenth to $69,120 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $50,628.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Alabama's own levy, $45,550 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Alabama is $55,310. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,880 to $69,120) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $50,628 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $45,550 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.