How Much Does an LPN Make in Montana in 2026?

A typical LPN in Montana earns about $29.91 per hour ($62,210 per year), per the latest government wage data (May 2025). Calculated from that annual figure, pay works out to roughly $5,184 a month or $1,196 a week. Those numbers describe the state as a whole, before local city and experience differences are factored in.

Montana pay sits 3% below the national figure of $64,400 a year, placing the state 35th out of 51 ranked. About 1,620 LPNs work across the state, a modest total next to the 648,410 counted nationwide. Pay that trails the national number usually tracks a lower cost of living rather than any single cause.

Entry-level positions in Montana typically offer around $23.67 an hour, or about $49,230 a year, for LPNs just starting out. Pay tends to move up toward the state's typical figure of $62,210 within the first few years on the job. New graduates and those in lower-paying settings tend to sit at this end of the scale.

Experienced LPNs in Montana often earn upwards of $32.14 an hour ($66,850 a year), and the top 10% of earners make over $35.74 an hour, or $74,330 a year. That leaves a spread of $25,100 between entry-level and top pay. Setting, years on the job, and which city an LPN works in all play into where someone lands within that range.

Montana's LPN pay has climbed from $39,420 in 2015 to $62,210 in 2025, a gain of $22,790, or 58%, over the decade. The increase has been fairly steady year to year. The sharpest jumps came between 2021 and 2024, when pay moved from $47,000 to $59,750.

That 58% rise outpaces the national LPN decade increase of 49%. Montana pay has grown faster than the country as a whole, even though it still trails the national figure overall. For someone starting an LPN career in Montana now, the record shows pay has moved up consistently, with no guarantee of the same gains ahead.

Pay runs highest in Bozeman, where LPNs typically earn $63,790 a year, about 3% above the statewide figure of $62,210. Helena and Missoula follow closely, at $63,690 and $63,130 a year. All three metro areas sit above the state's typical pay.

Great Falls pays the least among Montana's tracked cities, at $60,020 a year, putting the full city spread at $3,770 between the highest and lowest metro areas. Billings has the largest LPN workforce at 370, even though its pay of $60,500 sits below Bozeman and Helena. These figures cover each city's full metro area, and gaps this size usually track differences in local living costs.

Compared with its neighbors, Montana pay runs close to Idaho ($63,800) and Wyoming ($63,460), both a few percent higher, while North Dakota sits almost even at $62,300. South Dakota pays notably less, at $52,750 a year, about 15% below Montana. LPN licensure earned in one of these states can often be transferred or endorsed into a neighboring state, easing a move across the region.

Montana's LPNs typically earn $62,210 a year, or $29.91 an hour, and that figure has climbed 58% over the past decade. Pay varies some by city and experience, but the overall trend has been upward. Readers weighing an LPN career in Montana can check the state's licensing or nursing registry page for requirements, and the city pages for local pay figures before deciding where to work.