Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

31-1131 Nursing Assistants

Provide or assist with basic care or support under the direction of onsite licensed nursing staff. Perform duties such as monitoring of health status, feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, or ambulation of patients in a health or nursing facility. May include medication administration and other health-related tasks. Includes nursing care attendants, nursing aides, and nursing attendants. Excludes “Home Health Aides” (31-1121), “Personal Care Aides” (31-1122), “Orderlies” (31-1132), and “Psychiatric Aides” (31-1133).

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National estimates for Nursing Assistants
Industry profile for Nursing Assistants
Geographic profile for Nursing Assistants

National estimates for Nursing Assistants:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Nursing Assistants:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
1,314,830	0.5 %	$ 15.99	$ 33,250	0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for Nursing Assistants:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 11.48	$ 13.89	$ 14.57	$ 17.87	$ 21.27
Annual Wage (2)	$ 23,880	$ 28,900	$ 30,310	$ 37,170	$ 44,240

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Industry profile for Nursing Assistants:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Nursing Assistants are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Nursing Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Nursing Assistants:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	471,160	33.48	$ 15.43	$ 32,090
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	386,510	6.91	$ 16.92	$ 35,190
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	140,850	15.80	$ 15.15	$ 31,520
Home Health Care Services	83,560	5.52	$ 14.39	$ 29,930
Employment Services	38,910	1.12	$ 16.83	$ 35,000

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Nursing Assistants:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	471,160	33.48	$ 15.43	$ 32,090
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	140,850	15.80	$ 15.15	$ 31,520
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	26,100	9.67	$ 17.02	$ 35,400
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	386,510	6.91	$ 16.92	$ 35,190
Home Health Care Services	83,560	5.52	$ 14.39	$ 29,930

Top paying industries for Nursing Assistants:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Junior Colleges	70	0.01	$ 29.48	$ 61,310
Scientific Research and Development Services	220	0.03	$ 21.43	$ 44,580
Insurance Carriers	30	(7)	$ 20.58	$ 42,810
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	16,070	0.76	$ 20.12	$ 41,850
Technical and Trade Schools	(8)	(8)	$ 19.36	$ 40,280

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Geographic profile for Nursing Assistants:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Nursing Assistants are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Nursing Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Nursing Assistants:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	94,450	5.71	0.61	$ 19.12	$ 39,760
New York	85,490	9.86	1.06	$ 19.56	$ 40,680
Florida	83,010	9.65	1.03	$ 14.35	$ 29,840
Texas	71,700	5.86	0.63	$ 14.72	$ 30,620
Pennsylvania	68,180	12.21	1.31	$ 16.44	$ 34,190

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Nursing Assistants:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
North Dakota	7,790	19.71	2.11	$ 17.34	$ 36,070
Rhode Island	8,320	18.18	1.95	$ 17.12	$ 35,610
Kansas	21,750	16.24	1.74	$ 14.30	$ 29,730
South Dakota	6,590	15.64	1.68	$ 14.26	$ 29,660
Iowa	22,070	14.86	1.59	$ 15.60	$ 32,440

Top paying states for Nursing Assistants:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska	1,760	5.94	0.64	$ 20.71	$ 43,080
New York	85,490	9.86	1.06	$ 19.56	$ 40,680
California	94,450	5.71	0.61	$ 19.12	$ 39,760
District of Columbia	3,140	4.74	0.51	$ 18.94	$ 39,390
Oregon	12,460	6.82	0.73	$ 18.67	$ 38,830

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Nursing Assistants:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	81,890	9.44	1.01	$ 20.17	$ 41,940
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	39,130	9.24	0.99	$ 16.53	$ 34,390
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	38,030	6.65	0.71	$ 18.60	$ 38,690
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	31,280	11.78	1.26	$ 17.14	$ 35,650
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	26,580	10.28	1.10	$ 18.69	$ 38,880
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	22,390	9.13	0.98	$ 14.42	$ 30,000
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	21,990	7.50	0.80	$ 17.06	$ 35,490
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	19,050	7.36	0.79	$ 16.13	$ 33,540
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	18,530	5.16	0.55	$ 15.57	$ 32,380
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	16,990	9.43	1.01	$ 16.37	$ 34,040

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Nursing Assistants:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Goldsboro, NC	1,390	35.14	3.77	$ 14.36	$ 29,880
Bismarck, ND	2,180	31.39	3.36	$ 17.38	$ 36,140
Hot Springs, AR	870	24.03	2.57	$ 12.93	$ 26,890
Rome, GA	910	23.44	2.51	$ 13.32	$ 27,710
Grand Forks, ND-MN	1,100	22.74	2.44	$ 16.76	$ 34,850
Greenville, NC	1,700	22.54	2.42	$ 13.98	$ 29,080
Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA	860	21.90	2.35	$ 14.83	$ 30,850
Homosassa Springs, FL	640	20.15	2.16	$ 12.99	$ 27,020
Topeka, KS	2,090	19.61	2.10	$ 14.34	$ 29,830
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC	2,840	19.36	2.07	$ 14.07	$ 29,260