Personal Care Aides salary in the US
What do personal care aides actually earn, and how does that change with age, education and location? These figures come straight from Census survey microdata.
How much do personal care aides earn?
If you lined up all personal care aides by pay, the person in the middle would earn about $24,461 a year — 53% less than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. By median pay it sits 159th out of 171, among the occupations where a typical year of earnings is smallest. The sample is 67,084 people aged 25 or older who listed this job and had earnings during the year.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $56,213 |
| Top 25% start at | $39,102 |
| Median (top 50%) | $24,461 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $12,594 |
How wide is the pay range?
The gap between the middle and the top is wide: the top tenth of personal care aides earn at least $56,213, 2.3× the median, and the top quarter begins around $39,102. On the lower side, 25% reported $12,594 or less. These are annual totals, so part-time schedules and partial years pull this number down. So the distance from the bottom quarter to the middle is a factor of 1.9.
Earnings by age
The age curve is gentle: $25,381 for workers aged 25–34, peaking at $26,251 for those aged 45–54. By 65+ the median is $18,890, down 28% from the high point, as many people phase into retirement.
Men and women
Men's median earnings are $29,047 and women's are $24,103, so women's median is 17% lower. Women make up roughly 82% of the survey records here (an unweighted count, so treat it as approximate). Because these are annual totals, more part-time work in one group widens the gap; the survey doesn't adjust for that.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $29,047 | 11,817 |
| Women | $24,103 | 55,267 |
Does education change the pay?
From a doctorate to a master's degree, the median rises from $20,330 to $29,328, a 44% gap. Most workers surveyed in this job have a high school education or less (33,282 records); any level under 100 records is blank in the table.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $23,865 | 33,282 |
| Some college / associate | $25,662 | 23,021 |
| Bachelor's | $26,431 | 8,113 |
| Master's | $29,328 | 2,074 |
| Professional degree | $25,855 | 383 |
| Doctorate | $20,330 | 211 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
California, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois contribute the largest numbers of survey records for this job. The state medians range from $17,992 in Texas up to $29,831 in New York. No cost-of-living adjustment is applied. In all, 48 states clear the 100-record bar for a state-level median.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $24,440 | 16,324 |
| Texas | $17,992 | 4,966 |
| New York | $29,831 | 4,833 |
| Pennsylvania | $29,058 | 3,187 |
| Illinois | $22,336 | 2,446 |
Occupations with similar pay
Occupations with a median close to $24,461 include manicurists and pedicurists ($24,440), teaching assistants ($24,366), cooks ($24,366), and waiters and waitresses ($23,865). The jobs differ in training and working conditions; matching medians just means the typical paycheck is comparable.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Manicurists And Pedicurists | $24,440 | 0% |
| Teaching Assistants | $24,366 | 0% |
| Cooks | $24,366 | 0% |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $23,865 | −2% |
| Animal Caretakers | $25,381 | +4% |
About these figures
A note on definitions: figures cover everyone 25+ with earnings in this occupation over 2020–2024, inflation-adjusted to 2024, full-time or not. Medians are weighted to the US population; suppressed cells are those under 100 records. The occupation total is 67,084 records.
See where your pay ranks among personal care aides
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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.