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Certified Nursing Assistants are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as certified nursing assistants in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since certified nursing assistants are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where certified nursing assistants have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for certified nursing assistants.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s certified nursing assistants:
So there you have it — Nursing Assistants is the best of the best when it comes to being a certified nursing assistant.
How did Nursing Assistants end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for certified nursing assistants and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In North Dakota
- These Are The 100 Largest Companies In North Dakota
How we determined the best states to be a certified nursing assistant
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for certified nursing assistants in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well certified nursing assistants get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2018:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for certified nursing assistants in California is $35,220 and the average salary in Illinois is $28,810, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for certified nursing assistants in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for certified nursing assistants.
1. North Dakota
Total Jobs: 7,080
Average Annual Salary: $33,990
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,150
Average Experienced Salary: $42,750
Location Quotient: 1.7
2. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 3,310
Average Annual Salary: $30,910
Average Entry Level Salary: $24,250
Average Experienced Salary: $39,310
Location Quotient: 1.23
3. Michigan
Total Jobs: 49,760
Average Annual Salary: $30,130
Average Entry Level Salary: $23,240
Average Experienced Salary: $38,340
Location Quotient: 1.15
4. Iowa
Total Jobs: 20,890
Average Annual Salary: $29,120
Average Entry Level Salary: $22,330
Average Experienced Salary: $37,430
Location Quotient: 1.35
5. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 14,580
Average Annual Salary: $28,730
Average Entry Level Salary: $22,250
Average Experienced Salary: $36,110
Location Quotient: 1.49
6. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 31,640
Average Annual Salary: $33,710
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,280
Average Experienced Salary: $42,770
Location Quotient: 1.1
7. Nevada
Total Jobs: 6,660
Average Annual Salary: $35,130
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,480
Average Experienced Salary: $47,850
Location Quotient: 0.49
8. Wisconsin
Total Jobs: 32,310
Average Annual Salary: $29,590
Average Entry Level Salary: $22,540
Average Experienced Salary: $38,080
Location Quotient: 1.13
9. Pennsylvania
Total Jobs: 76,260
Average Annual Salary: $30,630
Average Entry Level Salary: $23,680
Average Experienced Salary: $38,920
Location Quotient: 1.3
10. Arizona
Total Jobs: 14,750
Average Annual Salary: $31,450
Average Entry Level Salary: $25,300
Average Experienced Salary: $39,200
Location Quotient: 0.53
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Certified Nursing Assistant
If you’re looking to start out your career as a certified nursing assistant these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a certified nursing assistant in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For certified nursing assistants
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | $33,990 |
| 2 | Wyoming | $30,910 |
| 3 | Michigan | $30,130 |
| 4 | Iowa | $29,120 |
| 5 | Nebraska | $28,730 |
| 6 | Minnesota | $33,710 |
| 7 | Nevada | $35,130 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | $29,590 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | $30,630 |
| 10 | Arizona | $31,450 |
| 11 | Kentucky | $26,800 |
| 12 | Illinois | $28,810 |
| 13 | Kansas | $26,210 |
| 14 | Delaware | $30,780 |
| 15 | Colorado | $32,610 |
| 16 | Idaho | $27,400 |
| 17 | Washington | $32,130 |
| 18 | Indiana | $27,210 |
| 19 | Ohio | $27,570 |
| 20 | Arkansas | $25,080 |
| 21 | Missouri | $25,930 |
| 22 | Alaska | $39,830 |
| 23 | Montana | $29,110 |
| 24 | Texas | $27,030 |
| 25 | Utah | $27,880 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | $25,690 |
| 27 | New Mexico | $28,310 |
| 28 | Tennessee | $26,400 |
| 29 | West Virginia | $26,410 |
| 30 | Georgia | $25,870 |
| 31 | New Hampshire | $32,200 |
| 32 | Oregon | $33,230 |
| 33 | Rhode Island | $31,340 |
| 34 | North Carolina | $25,570 |
| 35 | Mississippi | $23,100 |
| 36 | Virginia | $28,770 |
| 37 | Maine | $28,710 |
| 38 | Florida | $26,840 |
| 39 | Connecticut | $33,390 |
| 40 | South Dakota | $26,820 |
| 41 | Alabama | $24,110 |
| 42 | New York | $37,010 |
| 43 | New Jersey | $30,380 |
| 44 | Massachusetts | $33,630 |
| 45 | South Carolina | $25,390 |
| 46 | California | $35,220 |
| 47 | Vermont | $30,730 |
| 48 | Maryland | $31,310 |
| 49 | Louisiana | $22,750 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $35,770 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
