How Much Do Nursing Assistants Make?

Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary nursing assistants make, you've come to the right place.

Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for nursing assistants and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of nursing assistants are offering as compensation.

Keep reading to learn more about how much nursing assistants can expect to make in the United States.

At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Nursing Assistants

According to data from 2023, there were about 1,419,625 positions for nursing assistants in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for nursing assistants was reported to be $38,189. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 441,006 job postings related to positions for nursing assistants.

How Much Money Do Nursing Assistants Make?

Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money nursing assistants and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.

Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for nursing assistants.

Annual Salary for Nursing Assistants

According to the BLS, the lowest earners for nursing assistants and related professions earned about $30,035 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $48,776 annually.

As mentioned previously, the median salary for nursing assistants in the United States in 2023 was $38,189.

Hourly Salary for Nursing Assistants

The BLS also breaks down compensation for nursing assistants by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for nursing assistants in 2023 was $18. Lowest hourly earners took home $14 while the highest reported hourly salaries for nursing assistants was $23.

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Degree Options for Nursing Assistants

Certificates & Microcredentials for Nursing Assistants

Advertised Compensation for Nursing Assistants

Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for nursing assistants, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for nursing assistants.

Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™

Annual Salary from Job Postings for Nursing Assistants

During a review of 318,773 job postings related to nursing assistants, advertised salary was included in 120,383 of them, which was 38%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for nursing assistants was $41,600 per year.

Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Nursing Assistants

A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for nursing assistants. Based on 27% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for nursing assistants in the United States is about $20.

Salary Trend for Nursing Assistants

If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for nursing assistants. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.

Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for nursing assistants dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for nursing assistants have increased 25%.

What's the Job Growth for Nursing Assistants?

Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for nursing assistants over the next 10 years.

According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 1,420,953 jobs for nursing assistants in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 110,281 jobs will be added. That's a 7.8% increase over the next 10-year period.

Additional Links

Ready to dig deeper into career information about nursing assistants? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for nursing assistants.

What do nursing assistants do?
Nursing Assistants: How do you become one?

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