Nursing Assistants Salary: $39,530 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 1,388,430 nursing assistants work nationally, and $39,530 is the BLS national median annual wage. Much hiring sits in health care and social assistance.
Nursing Assistants: what the data shows
Common questions about nursing assistants careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a nursing assistants?
Nursing Assistants is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 31-1131.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 1,388,430 workers.
What does a nursing assistants do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Assisting and Caring for Others, Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Documenting/Recording Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Performing General Physical Activities, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a nursing assistants make?
BLS national median annual wage: $39,530 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $50,177 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $40,335 |
| 25th percentile | $45,611 |
| Median (50th) | $47,740 |
| 75th percentile | $51,977 |
| 90th percentile | $61,233 |
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring, Coordination, Critical Thinking, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, English Language, Public Safety and Security. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is nursing assistants in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.4% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 2.0%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 4.0%.
Current U.S. headcount: 1,388,430.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do nursing assistantss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 1,388,430 | 17.1% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 1,267,150 | 15.6% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 1,261,890 | 15.6% |
| Hospitals | 921,150 | 11.4% |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 851,480 | 10.5% |
| Nursing and Residential Care Facilities | 655,380 | 8.1% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Nursing Assistants in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Nursing Assistants workforce.
Employment Over Time
1,388,430 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Nursing Assistants grew from 399,540 in 2020 to 407,380 in 2025 (2.0%).
Historical employment for Nursing Assistants from the California OEWS series, 2020–2025. The U.S. workforce figure is national and is not the endpoint of this line.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$39,530 Median pay (BLS national)
Nursing Assistants earn $39,530 as the BLS national median annual wage.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Nursing Assistants.
Salary distribution for Nursing Assistants.
Employment Growth Projections
0.4% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
415,373 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 2.0%
423,524 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 4.0%
This occupation is projected to grow at 0.4% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Nursing Assistants.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Nursing Assistants and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Nursing Assistants employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Nursing Assistants.
Wage Trends by Industry
1.1% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Nursing Assistants.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Nursing Assistants.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 102,380 employees, $48,790 avg wage
- FL: 91,280 employees, $38,320 avg wage
- TX: 87,050 employees, $37,010 avg wage
- NY: 85,310 employees, $47,530 avg wage
- PA: 65,410 employees, $41,700 avg wage
- IL: 64,660 employees, $43,950 avg wage
- OH: 62,360 employees, $39,840 avg wage
- NC: 61,280 employees, $37,980 avg wage
- VA: 42,760 employees, $40,160 avg wage
- GA: 42,460 employees, $37,090 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Nursing Assistants.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 77,360 employees, $49,100 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 42,800 employees, $45,450 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 39,910 employees, $47,900 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 30,390 employees, $43,100 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 25,870 employees, $47,280 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 24,080 employees, $43,370 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 23,280 employees, $39,100 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 22,640 employees, $39,540 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 22,530 employees, $38,940 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 19,510 employees, $39,040 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Nursing Assistants.
Diversity
Demographic information on Nursing Assistants in the US.
Gender and Age
The U.S. workforce for Nursing Assistants is about 1,388,430 people in our OEWS extract.
Gender and age distribution for Nursing Assistants.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Nursing Assistants.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Nursing Assistants.
Majors
O*NET-related majors commonly linked to Nursing Assistants include Business Administration, Health Sciences, Biology.
Common majors for Nursing Assistants.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Nursing Assistants workers.
Education level distribution for Nursing Assistants.
Skills
Nursing Assistants need many skills, but most especially Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring, Coordination.
Required skills for Nursing Assistants.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Nursing Assistants.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Nursing Assistants include Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, English Language, Public Safety and Security, Medicine and Dentistry.
Knowledge areas required for Nursing Assistants.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Nursing Assistants include Problem Sensitivity, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Near Vision, Speech Recognition.
Required abilities for Nursing Assistants.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Nursing Assistants.
Daily Activities
Nursing Assistants spend their time on activities such as Assisting and Caring for Others, Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Documenting/Recording Information, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.
Most important work activities for Nursing Assistants.
About
Nursing Assistants
Nursing Assistants earn $39,530 as the BLS national median annual wage.
SOC Code
31-1131 - Nursing Assistants
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Nursing Assistants reports an average salary of $50,177.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 1,388,430 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 0.4%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.