Occupation salary profile

Nursing Assistants

SOC 31-1131 BLS OEWS May 2025

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).

National median · BLS
$42,260
▲ +6.91% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
—
Too few H-1B filings
Average salary · BLS
$42,700
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
1,448,910
Jobs (BLS)
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Pay range for Nursing Assistants

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS)
10th — entry pay$33,940
25th$37,260
Median (50th)$42,260
75th$47,220
90th — top pay$51,980

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Nursing Assistants

BLS projects employment of nursing assistants to grow 2.6% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 196,200 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
1,505,900 → 1,544,900
+39,000 jobs
Projected change
+2.6%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
196,200
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
No related experience required
Self-employed
1.8% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 3)
Medium Preparation Needed. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a postsecondary certificate (nondegree award) →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Nursing Assistants

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Service Orientation4.0
  • Active Listening3.6
  • Social Perceptiveness3.6
  • Monitoring3.3
  • Coordination3.1
  • Critical Thinking3.1
  • Reading Comprehension3.1
  • Speaking3.1
  • Active Learning2.9
  • Judgment and Decision Making2.9
Top knowledge areas
  • Customer and Personal Service3.9
  • Administration and Management3.3
  • English Language3.3
  • Public Safety and Security3.2
  • Medicine and Dentistry3.1
  • Education and Training3.1
  • Therapy and Counseling3.0
  • Psychology3.0
Software and technology used
Apache SparkEpic SystemsMEDITECH softwareMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft WordBilling softwareFaceTimeGE Healthcare Centricity EMRHealth information database softwareMedical condition coding softwareMedical procedure coding softwareMedical record charting softwarePointClickCare healthcare softwareTelemetry softwareWeb browser softwareYouTube

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What nursing assistants do

  • Turn or reposition bedridden patients.
  • Answer patient call signals, signal lights, bells, or intercom systems to determine patients' needs.
  • Feed patients or assist patients to eat or drink.
  • Measure and record food and liquid intake or urinary and fecal output, reporting changes to medical or nursing staff.
  • Provide physical support to assist patients to perform daily living activities, such as getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, standing, walking, or exercising.
  • Document or otherwise report observations of patient behavior, complaints, or physical symptoms to nurses.
  • Remind patients to take medications or nutritional supplements.
  • Review patients' dietary restrictions, food allergies, and preferences to ensure patient receives appropriate diet.
Also called
Certified Nurses Aide (CNA)Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)Nursing AssistantPatient Care Assistant (PCA)Certified Medication Aide (CMA)Certified Nurse Aide (CNA)Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA)Nurses' AideNursing AideState Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA)
More job titles for this occupation (41)
Birth AttendantCertified Nurse Assistant (CNA)Certified Nursing Attendant (CNA)Certified Residential Medication Aide (CRMA)Clinical AssistantCompetency Evaluated Nurse Aide (CENA)First Aid AttendantGeriatric Nursing Assistant (GNA)Gericare AideHealth AideHealth Care AideHealth Care AssistantHealth Service WorkerHospice AideHospice CNA (Hospice Certified Nursing Assistant)Hospital AideHospital AttendantHospital CorpsmanInfirmary AttendantInpatient Nursing AideInstitutional AideLong Term Care CNA (Long Term Care Certified Nursing Assistant)Med Surg CNA (Medical Surgical Certified Nursing Assistant)Med Tech (Medication Technician)Medication AideNurse AideNurse AssistantNurse SitterNurse TechnicianNurse's AssistantNursing AttendantNursing Care AttendantNursing Home AideNursing TechnicianPatient Care AssociatePatient Care Technician (PCT)Patient SitterQualified Medication Aide (QMA)Ward AideWard AttendantWard Helper

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.