Nursing Assistants salary in the US
What do nursing assistants actually earn, and how does that change with age, education and location? These figures come straight from Census survey microdata.
How much do nursing assistants earn?
The typical (median) annual earnings for nursing assistants come to $33,198, which is 37% less than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. That ranks 142nd of 171 occupation groups, in the lowest-paid quarter of the list. Behind these numbers are 45,894 survey records — a large enough sample to break the results down further below.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $59,820 |
| Top 25% start at | $44,078 |
| Median (top 50%) | $33,198 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $21,227 |
How wide is the pay range?
The top 25% of nursing assistants earn at least $44,078, and the top 10% start near $59,820 — about 1.8 times the median. A quarter of workers in the field made $21,227 or less over the year — a figure shaped by part-time and seasonal work as much as by hourly rates. That leaves a 1.6-to-1 ratio between the median and the 25th percentile.
Earnings by age
Mid-career workers out-earn new entrants, but not dramatically — the median goes from $30,458 (25–34) to $35,797 (45–54). After the peak, the 65+ group's median falls to $29,451 (18% lower), largely because more older workers cut back their hours.
Men and women
By sex, the medians are $37,985 (men) and $32,218 (women) — a 15% difference. Women account for around 89% of the records behind these figures. Differences in hours, specialty and seniority account for part of any gap, which the survey doesn't separate out.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $37,985 | 5,057 |
| Women | $32,218 | 40,837 |
Does education change the pay?
The spread by education is moderate — 30% between workers with a doctorate ($32,040) and those with a professional degree ($41,722). Most workers surveyed in this job have a high school education or less (21,118 records); any level under 100 records is blank in the table.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $32,218 | 21,118 |
| Some college / associate | $33,053 | 19,771 |
| Bachelor's | $36,661 | 3,953 |
| Master's | $36,661 | 766 |
| Professional degree | $41,722 | 177 |
| Doctorate | $32,040 | 109 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
The five states with the most nursing assistants in the survey are California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania. Among them, California has the highest median at $39,146 and Texas the lowest at $29,831, a 31% spread. No cost-of-living adjustment is applied. In all, 49 states clear the 100-record bar for a state-level median.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $39,146 | 3,876 |
| Texas | $29,831 | 3,075 |
| Florida | $31,484 | 3,056 |
| New York | $39,102 | 3,039 |
| Pennsylvania | $35,534 | 2,259 |
Occupations with similar pay
For comparison, these jobs have medians within a few thousand dollars: first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers ($33,503), hand laborers and freight movers ($33,583), retail salespersons ($32,743), and receptionists and information clerks ($32,218). The jobs differ in training and working conditions; matching medians just means the typical paycheck is comparable.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| First-Line Supervisors Of Food Preparation And Serving Workers | $33,503 | +1% |
| Freight and Material Movers | $33,583 | +1% |
| Retail Salespersons | $32,743 | −1% |
| Receptionists | $32,218 | −3% |
| Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers | $31,484 | −5% |
About these figures
Method note: earnings here are PERNP — wages, salary and self-employment income — for workers 25 and older, from the 2020–2024 ACS microdata in 2024 dollars. Any group with fewer than 100 records is suppressed instead of estimated. This page draws on 45,894 records.
See where your pay ranks among nursing assistants
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Open the calculatorSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.