U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) / Practical Nurse
Role across U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)
Practical Nurse
Provide direct patient care — assess conditions, administer treatment and medication, and coordinate with physicians.
15,815 people hold the Practical Nurse role across 4 departments in U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense), with a median total compensation of $72,084. Among 3 jurisdictions where this role is reported, U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) ranks #2 by median pay.
- Employees
- 15,815
- Median pay
- $72,084
- Departments
- 4
- Cross-jurisdiction
- #2 of 3
Compared with the local labor market
Practical Nurse pay vs. the United States
Across all employers in the United States, the median wage for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses — about 648,410 people — is $64,400. U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) pays a median base salary of $72,038 for this role, 12% above that figure — about the 66th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) sits in the local pay range
The bar is the range of annual wages for Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses across every employer in the United States, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
Computed over the 15,639 of 15,815 people in this role paid at least $25,000in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.
Median total compensation for this role at U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) is $72,084, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Practical Nurse pay in other jurisdictions
Where Practical Nurses are paid most
Median total compensation for comparable Practical Nurseroles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.
Within U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)
Departments with this role
Largest U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) departments for this role
Departments in U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)employing the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.