LPN Programs in Warren, Ohio 2027

Warren itself hosts only a handful of in-city practical nursing options, but a 40-mile radius from zip code 44483 pulls in a much wider field, reaching Niles, Youngstown, Boardman and programs scattered across Trumbull and Mahoning counties.

Every legitimate path to an Ohio LPN license runs through an Ohio Board of Nursing-approved program followed by the NCLEX-PN. There's no shortcut around either requirement, regardless of what a program's marketing implies.

Cost, program length, admission rules, pass rates and local pay all vary more than applicants expect, and those differences compound over a 40-week to 60-week enrollment. Jump straight to the program list →

Where Warren LPNs Actually Work: Trumbull County Employers and Clinical Sites

Ohio's LPN scope of practice pushes most hiring toward nursing in long term care, skilled nursing, and home health rather than acute hospital floors. That reality shapes where you'll apply after licensure, and it should shape which of the best LPN programs in Ohio you choose, because LPN clinicals often become job pipelines.

Hospitals and Rehab Facilities

Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren (44483) is the anchor acute-care facility in the county and a recurring clinical site for ETI Technical College's practical nursing students. Nearby, Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital and St. Joseph Health Center (both 44484) appear on ETI's approved clinical site list. Select Specialty Hospital in Boardman (44512), St. Elizabeth Boardman, and Belmont Pines in Warren (44485) round out the regional hospital and specialty options. LPNs are hired at these sites, but headcounts are smaller than at long-term care facilities, and roles often skew toward rehab and step-down units rather than med-surg floors.

Long-Term Care and Skilled Nursing

This is where most Warren LPNs land. ETI's approved rotation list includes Shepherd of the Valley (with locations in both 44446 and 44483), Continuing Healthcare of Niles (44446), Washington Square in Warren (44483), Windsor House (44484 and 44505 addresses), Briarfield Manor (44515), Heritage Manor (44504), Meridian Arms, and Omni Manor (both 44509). Rotating through these facilities as a student frequently leads to a job offer at the same building after the NCLEX-PN.

Home Health Agencies

Home health is the fastest-growing slice of LPN demand locally. Expand Health has recruited LPNs across Mahoning and Trumbull counties, and Haven Home Care has been expanding through eastern Ohio. Agency staffing turns over quickly, so check current postings rather than assuming a fixed employer list.

Realistic Commuting Geography

Warren, Niles, Cortland, Howland, Youngstown, Boardman, and Austintown are all reasonable daily drives, generally 10 to 30 minutes from downtown Warren. Cleveland and Akron are stretch commutes at 60 to 75 minutes each way, workable for a specialty position but rough for shift work. When comparing programs, weigh how close their clinical sites sit to where you actually want to work: a rotation at Shepherd of the Valley or Windsor House is worth more if you plan to stay in Trumbull County than a rotation an hour west.

Online and Hybrid LPN Options for Warren Students

Ohio requires 750 total clock hours for a Board-approved practical nursing program, including at least 300 hours of supervised clinical practice and 100 hours of supervised laboratory practice. That leaves up to 350 hours for theory and related instruction. In practical terms, any genuine online LPN program or hybrid LPN option can move only the classroom portion online. Clinical rotations and skills checkoffs still happen in person at an approved site.

What a Legitimate Hybrid Program Looks Like in Ohio

A hybrid LPN program in Ohio typically delivers lectures, readings, and written assignments online while scheduling labs and clinicals in blocks or on designated campus days. Ohio Board of Nursing approval is the baseline requirement. If a program is not on the Board's approved list, finishing it will not qualify you to take the NCLEX-PN in Ohio. For Warren students, the two most relevant OBN-approved programs are Trumbull Career & Technical Center School of Practical Nursing: Adult in Warren and ETI Technical College of Niles, which lists a Warren satellite at 1328 North River Road NW. As of 2026, neither publicly advertised a fully online or hybrid delivery format in the materials reviewed, so the safest step is to ask each program directly how much of the coursework can be completed remotely and which days labs and clinicals are scheduled.

Scheduling the In-Person Requirement

The 300 clinical hours and 100 laboratory hours in Ohio's approved PN standard are not optional checkboxes. They require you to be physically present at a skills lab or clinical facility. If you are working or balancing family obligations, ask about evening, weekend, or blocked scheduling before you enroll. Some programs compress labs into a few intensive sessions, but LPN clinicals generally follow the facility's shift times. Do not assume the program will bend around your job schedule.

Red Flags in Online LPN Advertising

• Out-of-state "online LPN" programs: Many are not approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing. Even if they are approved elsewhere, Ohio may not accept them for NCLEX-PN eligibility.
• Guaranteed clinical placement at a distant facility: A legitimate Warren-area option should be able to name nearby clinical partners. Vague promises to "arrange everything later" are a warning sign.
• No scheduled in-person skills labs: Ohio requires supervised laboratory practice. A program that claims all skills can be done virtually is not meeting the standard.

Before enrolling, verify the program's current OBN approval status and ask for a written list of clinical sites that serve Warren or Trumbull County students.

What LPN Programs Near Warren Cost: Tuition, Fees, Books and Uniforms

Practical nursing programs within driving distance of Warren cluster in a fairly tight price band, with published totals for the Mahoning County and Choffin adult programs landing in the $16,000 range once fees and supplies are added in. The difference is mostly in how each school packages the money: Choffin lists a lower tuition figure but carries more than $3,400 in separate program fees, while the Mahoning County Career & Technical Center programs fold uniforms and most certification costs into tuition and list only a few hundred dollars for books and supplies. ETI Technical College in Niles offers a practical nursing diploma, but a single program-level total for 2025-2026 is not published in its catalog, so the institution-wide figures below are the only comparable numbers available.

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Admission Requirements at Warren-Area Practical Nursing Programs

The three practical nursing programs closest to Warren each run their own admissions process, and the differences matter more than most applicants expect. Trumbull Career & Technical Center in Niles, ETI Technical College of Niles and Choffin Career & Technical Center in Youngstown use different entrance exams, different GPA thresholds and different testing windows. Build your application around the specific program you want rather than a generic checklist.

• Entrance exam

  Trumbull Career & Technical Center uses the ATI TEAS with a minimum composite of 50 percent, and applicants may test twice within the program's August 1 to July 31 testing year. ETI Technical College uses the HESI Evolve Reach instead, requiring 75 percent in reading, grammar and math; two attempts are standard, with a third allowed only in a narrow circumstance where a single area fell just short on the second try. Choffin's adult education application lists the TABE for practical nursing applicants with a $20 nonrefundable testing fee, though a published minimum passing score for the PN track is not specified. No program in this group uses the Wonderlic.
• GPA and coursework

  Trumbull requires a 2.0 minimum GPA plus BIO 101 completed with a C or better, or current enrollment in it. Choffin's GPA expectation has shifted by catalog year, from 2.75 in 2024-25 to 3.0 for 2025-26 and 2026-27, alongside high school coursework in biology, algebra, English 9 and English 10, so confirm the number that applies to your cycle. ETI sets no pre-admission GPA beyond a high school diploma or GED, but enrolled students must hold a 2.0 cumulative average and earn 75 percent in each course.
• Background check and drug screening

  All three require a criminal background check. Trumbull's final admission is contingent on clinical clearance that includes a background check and a 10-panel drug screen. Choffin requires BCI and FBI fingerprint checks with a passing result dated after June 1, and drug screening occurs during the program. ETI requires a background check at admission and on an ongoing basis.
• Health records and certifications

  Expect immunization documentation at every program. Trumbull requires a two-step TB test, MMR and varicella immunity, hepatitis B vaccine or a signed declination, and influenza vaccination for clinicals running October through March. ETI requires a physical exam completed within one year of admission, baseline TB testing, immunizations covering CDC-recommended diseases including hepatitis B, mumps, rubeola, rubella, varicella and tetanus, plus liability insurance. Choffin also requires a physical exam and immunization records. Current CPR/BLS certification is required at Trumbull and ETI.
• Age, deadlines and seat availability

  Choffin sets a minimum age of 18 for adult practical nursing applicants. Because seats are limited and clinical placements are scheduled well in advance, start the process early, entrance exam scores at ETI stay valid for one year, which gives you a usable window to test before you apply. Published deadline structures and whether a given cohort uses rolling admission or a waitlist are not consistently documented across these programs, so contact the admissions office directly to confirm the current cycle's cutoff dates.

Getting Licensed as an LPN in Ohio: Steps, Fees and Timeline

Graduating from a practical nursing program in Warren is only part of the job. Ohio layers an application, a two-part criminal records check and a national exam on top of your diploma before the Ohio Board of Nursing will issue a license. Budget roughly $325-$350 in fees and plan for the paperwork to run in parallel, not one piece at a time.

LPN Salary in the Youngstown-Warren Metro Area

Warren sits inside the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA metro area, which is unusually dense in practical nursing work: federal wage data shows roughly 7.6 LPN jobs for every 1,000 jobs in the region and a concentration about 84 percent above the national average. Locally, the median LPN wage lands near $59,210 a year, with the middle half of the workforce earning between about $53,770 and $61,170. Statewide and national medians are not published in the publicly viewable wage tables, so the Ohio and U.S. comparisons below use average (mean) annual pay from the May 2023 federal wage survey rather than medians.

Top LPN Programs Serving Warren Students

Below are the top practical nursing programs serving Warren students, ranked by cost, outcomes data and program fit. Every option sits within roughly 50 miles of downtown Warren, and one runs a satellite campus inside the city itself. Each card notes the drive from Warren, published costs, and the students each program fits best.