Licensed Vocational Nurse Jobs in San Jose, CA
Licensed vocational nurses in San Jose earn a metro median near $46 an hour, and the steadiest hiring comes from skilled nursing homes in East and West San Jose plus the County's jail health service. Here are the current openings, followed by who hires, what it pays and how to get licensed.
Current licensed vocational nurse Openings in San Jose, CA
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Licensed Vocational Nurse Work in San Jose
California uses the LVN title, not LPN, and in San Jose most LVNs work in post-acute and long-term care rather than in the big hospitals. The skilled nursing buildings cluster near the hospitals they take discharges from: Canyon Springs Post-Acute sits on N Jackson Ave in East San Jose, near Regional Medical Center, while other homes line the Bascom and Forest Ave corridor around Valley Medical Center and O'Connor Hospital and out toward Payne Ave in West San Jose. Many of these buildings run PM and NOC shifts on a 4-on, 2-off rotation, which suits nurses who are also in school.
The other big LVN employer is the County of Santa Clara. Its Custody Health Services nurses pass medications and do treatments at the Main Jail, at Elmwood and at juvenile detention, at County pay and benefits. Assisted living communities round out the market, and pay across all of them tracks Silicon Valley's cost of living rather than the state average.
Top San Jose Employers for Licensed Vocational Nurses
These South Bay employers hire LVNs for skilled nursing, custody health and senior living:
- Canyon Springs Post-Acute - the skilled nursing facility at 180 N Jackson Ave in East San Jose staffs RNs, LVNs and CNAs and has posted part-time LVN roles at $40 to $43 an hour.
- White Blossom Care Center - a San Jose skilled nursing home that hires LVNs for PM and NOC shifts on a 4-on, 2-off rotation.
- County of Santa Clara - Custody Health Services hires LVNs to give medications and treatments at the Main Jail, Elmwood and juvenile detention.
- Sunnyvale Post-Acute - a skilled nursing facility on S Bernardo Ave in Sunnyvale that employs RNs, LVNs and CNAs.
- Marbella San Jose - an Integral Senior Living community that hires LVNs as health care coordinators, including overnight shifts.
Licensed Vocational Nurse Salaries in San Jose
- Entry level: about $37 to $42 per hour for newly licensed LVNs, mostly in skilled nursing.
- Experienced: roughly $42 to $48 per hour; the County's custody LVN range has been posted at $81,478 to $98,415 a year.
- Senior: $50 to $54 or more per hour for charge, treatment and specialty roles at the top of the metro range.
These are estimates built from federal wage data for the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro (a 2025 median of $45.83 an hour) and recent local postings. Evening and night shifts usually pay more, County and union jobs add pensions and step raises, and a few years of skilled nursing experience moves you up the band quickly.
How to Become a Licensed Vocational Nurse in San Jose
LVNs are licensed by the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT). You must be at least 17, have a 12th grade education or equivalent, finish a California-approved vocational nursing program, pass the NCLEX practical nurse exam and clear DOJ and FBI fingerprinting. Locally, Mission College on Mission College Blvd in Santa Clara runs a Vocational Nursing program, plus an LVN-to-RN track for when you are ready to move up. Evergreen Valley College in the Evergreen foothills also offers an LVN-to-RN path into its associate degree nursing program. Note that psychiatric hospitals often want a Licensed Psychiatric Technician, a separate BVNPT license.
What the Job Involves
LVNs work under an RN or physician, passing medications, doing wound care and treatments, taking vital signs, collecting specimens and charting each resident's condition. In skilled nursing you may run a medication cart for a full hall, admit new residents from the hospital and lead the CNAs on your shift. In custody health the work adds sick call, medication rounds and strict security routines.
Skills Employers Look For
- Active California LVN license in good standing
- Medication pass and IV therapy or blood withdrawal certification
- Wound care and treatment documentation
- Electronic health record charting
- Calm leadership of CNAs on a busy shift
- Current BLS card
Career Path and Advancement
Many San Jose LVNs start as CNAs, finish a VN program at Mission College, and spend a few years in skilled nursing as floor and treatment nurses before moving to charge nurse. The biggest jump is LVN-to-RN: the Mission College and Evergreen Valley College bridge programs shorten the path, and RNs at the County's four hospitals, Kaiser and Good Samaritan work in a metro where the 2025 RN median topped $216,000 a year.
Related Careers in San Jose
If vocational nursing interests you, these San Jose guides are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an LVN the same as an LPN in California?
Yes, the job is the same, but California uses the title Licensed Vocational Nurse. The license comes from the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, and San Jose postings will always say LVN.
How much do LVNs make in San Jose?
The 2025 federal median for the San Jose metro was $45.83 an hour, with the bottom tenth near $37 and the top tenth above $54. Recent skilled nursing postings in San Jose have offered $38 to $43 an hour.
Where can I study to become an LVN near San Jose?
Mission College in Santa Clara runs a state-approved Vocational Nursing program and an LVN-to-RN track. Program length, start dates and costs change, so contact the program office before you apply.
Do San Jose nursing homes hire new LVN graduates?
Yes. Skilled nursing facilities are the most common first job for new LVNs here, and several list long-term care experience as preferred rather than required. PM and NOC openings are the most common.
Can an LVN work at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center?
The County hires LVNs, but the clearest LVN openings have been in Custody Health Services at the jails and juvenile detention rather than on hospital floors. Most acute care bedside roles in San Jose hospitals go to RNs.
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