You may dream for an LPN career for a long, long time.
But deciding where to make your dream come true is even a greater challenge.
The place you study in usually is the one you build your aspirations and aims for the future.
In Florida, you will have enough space for all.
Because it offers both education and employment in the field.
Hence the Bureau Labor of Statistics has foreseen a 12% growth in LPN employment as we enter 2026.
Having both of these advantages, the state is surely a magnet to LPNs in the future.
The hourly wage per LPN in Florida goes around $20, 35.
The annual one $42,320.
While the total makes up $1,710.
After the salary, the most important thing for an LPN education is the school.
The school you choose has to offer approved programs for you.
These programs are not hard to find.
You can easily find them in community colleges, technical centers, and private career schools.
In total there is 87 LPN school throughout the state of Florida.
However, per this article, only the top-thirty of them have been listed.
The listing was done based on the NCLEX-PN exam.
In fact, the first-time pass rates of the past years have been examined.
Table of Contents
Details on Florida LPN Schools & Classes
So far, I told you about the importance of an LPN school.
But this is not the end.
The content is far more important than the outside view.
Therefore, an LPN school that works best for a student is the one that has accredited LPN programs.
These programs will generally take 1 to two years’ time to finish.
By the end of the program however, the NCLEX-PN exam is crucial to get the license.
From the variety of programs that Florida offers to LPN students are listed below:
- Practical Nursing Foundations
- Medical-Surgical Nursing
- Comprehensive Nursing and Transitional Skills
Accreditation
In order to ensure an LPN school is accredited, you need help from outside.
This help in Florida will mainly come from two accrediting organizations.
The first one is the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.
While the second is the Florida Board of Nursing.
Admission Requirements
Some of the requirements to check for when you apply for an LPN program in Florida include:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Must have documentation of a high school diploma, GED or higher degree
- May need a passing ATI TEAS score
- Have a current CPR card for healthcare providers
- Must pass a background check and drug test
Tuition and Costs
Paying for something isn’t always rewarding.
Since we pay for things that take short-term, we feel like a waste of time and money.
But still, we do it for the sake of our needs and pleasure.
Anyway, paying for an LPN education will always pay off.
However, the price you need to pay for an LPN program in Florida isn’t so huge.
In general, the student is asked to pay the tuition, course material, mandatory fees and similar.
The cost of the program varies from school to school.
Some schools even offer other additional help for students who can’t make a payment at all.
These benefits include scholarships, financial aid and similar.
To give you an example of the cost of an LPN program in Florida consider Palm Beach State College.
In this college, you will pay $6,000 for an LPN program.
This sum is available for the residents.
While non-residents will have to pay more.
Florida LPN Licensing Requirements
The first step to becoming an official LPN in Florida means attending an approved program first.
The program should be approved by the Florida Board of Nursing.
Consequently, the student has to take the NCLEX-PN exam.
While other additional physical activities may be asked to perform as well.
These activities include: lifting patients, pulling and pushing machinery, long periods of standing and so on.
Apart from that, there may be other physical indications of strength that may be asked as well.
NCLEX Exam Information
The NCLEX-PN exam is a must to LPN licensing.
Those who are ready for the exam will go for it.
In the meantime, they will have to also send the following documents:
- Graduates of an MSN or higher program or educational equivalent.
- Certificates of completion for practical nurse training in a registered nursing program.
- Graduate from a military nursing education program.
- Registered nurses from Canada who’ve past the Canadian Nurses Association Testing Services Examination after August 8, 1995.
These documents must be sent to the Board of Nursing before taking the test.
Along with them, the fees have to also be included.
In addition, fingerprinting is a must for the applicants as well.
They also have to take the NCLEX exam three times.
The exam has to be taken before the applicants complete an approved remedial training program that is set from the Florida Board of Nursing.
The practical NCLEX-PN exam should be taken too.
LPN Reciprocity and eNLC
Florida will soon be part of the Nurse Licensure Compact, which in January 2018, will go into effect as The Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact.
The first allows multi-state nurse licensing.
While the second offer better public protection and care.
Nurses who are under the NLC license will essentially turn into ENLC.
LPN applicants who want to have an LPN license in Florida should already have a license from another state.
Additionally, they also need to have worked in the profession for the last 2 to 3 years.
The Best LPN Schools in Florida
Luckily, Florida is home to 30 LPN school Institutions.
With such a number of schools, there many opportunities for all.
So, if you want to check, the best have been listed below along with their addresses.
School Name | Address |
---|---|
Atlantic Technical College - Broward County | 4700 Coconut Creek Parkway, Coconut Creek, FL 33063 |
Cape Coral Technical College | 360 Santa Barbara Blvd, North Cape Coral, FL 33993 |
Marion Technical College | 1014 SW 7th Rd., Ocala, FL 34471 |
Withlacoochee Technical College | 1201 W Main St, Inverness, FL 34450 |
South Florida State College | 600 W College Dr, Avon Park, FL 33825 |
First Coast Technical College | 2980 Collins Ave Building D, St Augustine, FL 32084 |
Fort Myers Technical College | 3800 Michigan Ave., Fort Myers, FL 33916 |
Traviss Technical College | 3225 Winter Lake Rd, Lakeland, FL 33803 |
Rasmussen College - Ft Myers | 9160 Forum Corporate Parkway, Fort Myers, FL 33905 |
Jersey College - Tampa | 3625 Queen Palm, Tampa, FL 33619 |
Jersey College - Jacksonville | 8131 Baymeadows Cir W, Jacksonville, FL 32256 |
Pasco-Hernando State College | 10230 Ridge Road, New Port Richey, FL 34654 |
Palm Beach State College | 4200 S Congress Ave, Lake Worth, FL 33461 |
Florida Gateway College | 149 SE College Place, Lake City, FL 32025 |
Tom P. Haney Technical Center | 3016 Highway 77, Panama City, FL 32405 |
Taylor College | 5190 SE 125th St, Belleview, FL 34420 |
Santa Fe College | 3000 NW 83 St, Gainesville, FL 32606 |
Lindsey Hopkins Technical College | 750 NW 20th St, Miami, FL 33127 |
Galen College of Nursing | 11101 Roosevelt Blvd N, Saint Petersburg, FL 33716 |
Ridge Technical College | 7700 State Road 544, Winter Haven, FL 33881 |
McFatter Technical College | 6500 Nova Dr, Davie, FL 33317 |
Mercy Hospital School of Practical Nursing | 3663 S Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33133 |
Herzing University | 1865 FL-436, Winter Park, FL 32792 |
Pinellas Technical College - Clearwater | 6100 154th Avenue N, Clearwater, FL 33760 |
Rasmussen College - Land O'Lakes | 18600 Fernview St, Land O Lakes, FL 34638 |
Academy for Nursing and Health Occupations | 5154 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33417 |
Okaloosa Technical College | 1976 Lewis Turner Blvd., Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547 |
Atlantic Technical College - Coconut Creek | 4700 Coconut Creek Parkway, Coconut Creek, FL 33063 |
North Florida Community College | 325 Turner Davis Dr, Madison, FL 32340 |
Southeastern College - Miami Lakes | 5875 NW 163rd Street, Suite 101 Miami Lakes, FL 33014 |
The Best LPN Salaries in Florida
In Florida, just like in any US country, LPN salaries depend on the location.
But they also differ from other factors such as work experience, education, skills and similar.
The more you’re equipped with these, chances are you will be paid better too.
”Do your best and God will do the rest”-they say!
Annual Salary Range:Location Avg. Annual Salary Jacksonville $46,100 Miami $47,551 Tampa $46,540 St. Petersburg $46,501 Hialeah $47,185 Orlando $46,467 Fort Lauderdale $47,434 Tallahassee $44,302 Hollywood $47,434 Pembroke Pines $47,126 Regional Salary in Florida
Region Employed Avg. Annual Salary Avg. Hourly Pay Top 10% Annual Salary Bottom 10% Annual Salary Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 1,150 $57,510 $27.65 $65,640 $48,870 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL 490 $55,290 $26.58 $72,170 $40,890 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 990 $54,740 $26.32 $70,410 $44,770 Gainesville, FL 600 $54,800 $26.35 $61,630 $47,130 Homosassa Springs, FL 280 $55,030 $26.46 $69,390 $46,430 Jacksonville, FL 2,820 $56,360 $27.1 $67,680 $46,240 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 1,320 $52,690 $25.33 $62,180 $41,490 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 8,640 $58,350 $28.05 $69,250 $46,600 Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL 650 $58,450 $28.1 $64,830 $48,820 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 1,740 $57,010 $27.41 $65,130 $47,370 Ocala, FL 580 $53,500 $25.72 $60,000 $46,550 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 4,360 $58,830 $28.28 $80,040 $46,720 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 1,000 $55,460 $26.66 $68,450 $45,090 Panama City, FL 350 $50,210 $24.14 $61,410 $40,300 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 940 $53,150 $25.55 $64,070 $42,410 Port St. Lucie, FL 1,010 $56,250 $27.04 $65,550 $45,180 Punta Gorda, FL 350 $54,120 $26.02 $63,020 $45,100 Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL 290 $55,370 $26.62 $61,890 $46,330 Sebring, FL 270 $50,490 $24.27 $61,900 $38,650 Tallahassee, FL 940 $51,340 $24.68 $60,850 $42,390 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 6,200 $56,490 $27.16 $67,340 $46,130 The Villages, FL 310 $54,350 $26.13 $62,280 $46,270
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.