Medical Assistant vs LPN: pay, jobs and what each takes

Licensed practical nurses, by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025): a median of $30.96 an hour ($64,400 a year), against $21.97 ($45,690 a year) for medical assistants, $8.99 an hour more. The open jobs on this board today post medians of $24.33 an hour for medical assistants and $32 for licensed practical nurses.

On this board today: 9,894 open medical assistant jobs and 13,723 licensed practical nurse jobs, read from each employer's own job board. BLS expects about 109,700 openings a year for medical assistants and 51,800 for licensed practical nurses, with employment changing +12.9% and +3.0% over 2025-2035.

Medical assistants room patients, take vital signs and history, give injections, draw blood and keep the schedule moving for doctors and nurse practitioners, in clinics and practices. Licensed practical and vocational nurses give everyday nursing care under an RN or doctor: vital signs, medications, wound care and charting. Many work in nursing homes, clinics, home care and correctional health.

A medical assisting certificate or associate degree, or on-the-job training. (BLS: Postsecondary nondegree award.) A state-approved practical nursing program (about a year), then the NCLEX-PN exam. (BLS: Postsecondary nondegree award.) Each occupation's page lists its credentials and who grants them: Medical assistants, Licensed practical nurses.