Statewide

• Licensed practical nurses working in Alabama made an average of $16.10 per hour as of May 2009, reports the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Annual salaries for Alabama LPNs averaged $33,490 per year. At that rate, LPNs in Alabama earned 22 percent below the U.S. nationwide average, which was $40,900 per year at the time. The lowest-paid 10 percent of LPNs in Alabama made $24,510 per year or less, while the highest-paid 10th of LPNs in the state earned $42,500 or more.
  
  

North Alabama

• LPNs working in Decatur earned the highest average annual salaries statewide as of May 2009, according to the bureau. Salaries in the city averaged $36,390 per year, roughly 9 percent above the Alabama average. In Huntsville, LPNs earned an average of $34,490 annually, while those working in Gadsden averaged $33,220 per year. The cities of Florence and Muscle Shoals offered the lowest average annual salaries for LPN statewide, at $30,080.
  
  

Central Alabama

• With salaries averaging $35,940 per year, Birmingham served as the second highest-paying city for LPNs in Alabama. Montgomery had the third highest rates of pay, at an average of $35,040 annually. Central Alabama also served as home to the second and third lowest-paying cities for LPNs in the state: Tuscaloosa and Anniston. Wages in the cities averaged $31,700 and $31,890 per year, respectively.
  
  

South Alabama

• Dothan featured the highest average annual salaries for LPNs in southern Alabama as of May 2009, at $32,500 annually, approximately 3 percent below the statewide average. In Mobile, LPNs earned an average of $31,920 per year. Salaries in the rural portions of southwestern Alabama averaged $31,430 annually. LPNs working in the rural areas of southeastern Alabama received an average of $31,660 per year.