Psychiatric Aides Salary: $41,590 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 34,900 psychiatric aides work nationally, and $41,590 is the BLS national median annual wage. Employment in the series shown rose about 55% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 17.0% annual growth.
Psychiatric Aides: what the data shows
Common questions about psychiatric aides careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a psychiatric aides?
Psychiatric Aides is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 31-1133.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 34,900 workers.
What does a psychiatric aides do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Assisting and Caring for Others, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Documenting/Recording Information, Training and Teaching Others, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a psychiatric aides make?
BLS national median annual wage: $41,590 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $51,699 — 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 | $37,383 |
| 25th percentile | $38,762 |
| Median (50th) | $44,192 |
| 75th percentile | $61,891 |
| 90th percentile | $77,132 |
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Monitoring, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, and knowledge areas including Psychology, Customer and Personal Service, Therapy and Counseling, English Language. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is psychiatric aides in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 17.0% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 119.6%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 382.3%.
Current U.S. headcount: 34,900.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do psychiatric aidess work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitals | 36,570 | 15.8% |
| Cross-industry | 34,900 | 15.1% |
| Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals | 28,200 | 12.2% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 26,780 | 11.6% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 17,680 | 7.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 17,220 | 7.5% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Psychiatric Aides in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Sales & Office Occupations | 1,441,580 | — |
| Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs | 156,260 | $51,500 |
| Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers | 205,230 | $54,660 |
| Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers | 12,460 | $65,480 |
| Plant and System Operators, All Other | 15,950 | $61,710 |
| Genetic Counselors | 3,510 | $98,910 |
| Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | — | — |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Psychiatric Aides workforce.
Employment Over Time
34,900 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Psychiatric Aides grew from 4,080 in 2020 to 8,960 in 2025 (119.6%).
Historical employment for Psychiatric Aides 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
$41,590 Median pay (BLS national)
Psychiatric Aides earn $41,590 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 Psychiatric Aides.
Salary distribution for Psychiatric Aides.
Employment Growth Projections
17.0% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
19,676 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 119.6%
43,211 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 382.3%
This occupation is projected to grow at 17.0% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Psychiatric Aides.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Psychiatric Aides and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Psychiatric Aides employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Psychiatric Aides.
Wage Trends by Industry
1.9% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: -0.2% growth (Current: $62,313)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Psychiatric Aides.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Psychiatric Aides.
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:
- NY: 5,330 employees, $53,150 avg wage
- CA: 2,850 employees, $50,270 avg wage
- MS: 2,480 employees, $31,100 avg wage
- FL: 2,410 employees, $37,090 avg wage
- NJ: 2,280 employees, $46,990 avg wage
- PA: 1,680 employees, $45,700 avg wage
- TX: 1,610 employees, $43,470 avg wage
- IN: 1,480 employees, $42,550 avg wage
- GA: 1,310 employees, $35,060 avg wage
- MI: 1,300 employees, $41,210 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Psychiatric Aides.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 4,760 employees, $49,630 avg wage
- Jackson, MS: 1,070 employees, $31,690 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 1,060 employees, $43,930 avg wage
- Salem, OR: 860 employees, $50,010 avg wage
- Tallahassee, FL: 820 employees, $36,810 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 790 employees, $47,220 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 580 employees, $37,200 avg wage
- Tuscaloosa, AL: 550 employees, $32,800 avg wage
- Pittsburgh, PA: 510 employees, $45,870 avg wage
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI: 510 employees, $41,070 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Psychiatric Aides.
Diversity
Demographic information on Psychiatric Aides in the US.
Gender and Age
The U.S. workforce for Psychiatric Aides is about 34,900 people in our OEWS extract.
Gender and age distribution for Psychiatric Aides.
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 Psychiatric Aides.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Psychiatric Aides.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Psychiatric Aides in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Psychiatric Aides.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Psychiatric Aides workers.
Education level distribution for Psychiatric Aides.
Skills
Psychiatric Aides need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Monitoring, Active Listening.
Required skills for Psychiatric Aides.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Psychiatric Aides.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Psychiatric Aides include Psychology, Customer and Personal Service, Therapy and Counseling, English Language, Administrative.
Knowledge areas required for Psychiatric Aides.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Psychiatric Aides include Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Written Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning.
Required abilities for Psychiatric Aides.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Psychiatric Aides.
Daily Activities
Psychiatric Aides spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Assisting and Caring for Others, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Documenting/Recording Information, Training and Teaching Others.
Most important work activities for Psychiatric Aides.
About
Psychiatric Aides
Psychiatric Aides earn $41,590 as the BLS national median annual wage.
SOC Code
31-1133 - Psychiatric Aides
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Psychiatric Aides reports an average salary of $51,699.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 34,900 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 17.0%, 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.