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Job outlook for certified nurses' aides in the United States
Certified nurses' aide job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected certified nurses' aide job growth rate is 9% from 2018-2028.
About 137,800 new jobs for certified nurses' aides are projected over the next decade.
Certified nurses' aide salaries have increased 8% for certified nurses' aides in the last 5 years.
There are over 972,671 certified nurses' aides currently employed in the United States.
There are 171,087 active certified nurses' aide job openings in the US.
The average certified nurses' aide salary is $32,566.
Are certified nurses' aide jobs in demand?
Certified nurses' aide job and salary trends over time
Certified nurses' aide jobs over time
Certified nurses' aide job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 972,671 | 0.29% |
| 2020 | 2,032,455 | 0.61% |
| 2019 | 1,947,816 | 0.58% |
| 2018 | 1,234,591 | 0.37% |
| 2017 | 1,235,446 | 0.37% |
Average certified nurses' aide salary over time
Certified nurses' aide salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $32,566 | $15.66 | +5.2% |
| 2024 | $30,947 | $14.88 | --4.3% |
| 2023 | $32,327 | $15.54 | +3.7% |
| 2022 | $31,172 | $14.99 | +3.5% |
| 2021 | $30,118 | $14.48 | +3.4% |
Certified nurses' aide jobs by state
Most common states for certified nurses' aides
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 767 | 57% |
| 2 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 750 | 56% |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 6,914 | 54% |
| 4 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 2,833 | 51% |
| 5 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 3,286 | 49% |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 3,117 | 45% |
| 7 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 449 | 43% |
| 8 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 423 | 40% |
| 9 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 330 | 38% |
| 10 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 3,230 | 36% |
| 11 | Vermont | 623,657 | 222 | 36% |
| 12 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 2,568 | 35% |
| 13 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 2,125 | 35% |
| 14 | Delaware | 961,939 | 332 | 35% |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,973 | 34% |
| 16 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 1,388 | 34% |
| 17 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 1,204 | 34% |
| 18 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 987 | 34% |
| 19 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 613 | 34% |
| 20 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 3,267 | 33% |
Most common cities for certified nurses' aides
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntley | 19 | 71% | $35,054 |
| 2 | McHenry | 10 | 38% | $35,218 |
| 3 | Noblesville | 16 | 27% | $29,384 |
| 4 | Holland | 8 | 24% | $35,811 |
| 5 | Downers Grove | 10 | 20% | $34,799 |
| 6 | San Angelo | 13 | 13% | $28,470 |
| 7 | Lynchburg | 9 | 11% | $31,770 |
| 8 | Decatur | 8 | 11% | $33,125 |
| 9 | Grand Rapids | 15 | 8% | $35,984 |
| 10 | Aurora | 10 | 5% | $34,739 |
| 11 | Austin | 15 | 2% | $28,255 |
| 12 | Chicago | 28 | 1% | $34,875 |
| 13 | Dallas | 10 | 1% | $27,808 |
| 14 | Fort Worth | 8 | 1% | $27,870 |
| 15 | New York | 11 | 0% | $38,826 |
Certified Nurses' Aide job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of certified nurses' aide experts
Merrimack College
Bellevue College
Jeanne Martin PhD, MSN, RN, CNE
Clinical Associate ProfessorWhat general advice would you give to a Certified Nurses' Aide?
Jeanne Martin PhD, MSN, RN, CNE: First I tell them they are more prepared for practice than they think they are. They need to give themselves a measure of patience and grace that they will not know a lot of things when they begin. I stress that they need to get adept at asking lot of questions, so they understand the “why’s: of what they are doing vs. just being task oriented. This develops their clinical reasoning and decision making skills. All of our graduates enter into Nurse Residency programs at their various facilities. These programs are designed to take graduates from a myriad of nursing schools and help them solidify the core components of nursing school. These residency programs and unit orientation programs ensure a new graduate is ready to take care of the patients on their specific units.
What Certified Nurses' Aide skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jeanne Martin PhD, MSN, RN, CNE: As the nursing shortage intensifies, health care facilities are increasing their hourly wages and the supplemental wages of working off-shifts or weekends. They are enticing new graduates with sign-on bonuses that they receive in portions over a specified period of time (like 1-2 years). Many facilities are also offering tuition reimbursements so new graduates can pay off their student loans. I am sure there are other measures but these are the ones I hear most about from our graduates.
What will help Certified Nurses' Aides increase their earning potential?
Jeanne Martin PhD, MSN, RN, CNE: I think honing clinical judgment is the KEY to safe patient care. A lack of clinical judgment competency is associated with preventable nursing errors, such as medication inaccuracies or failure to recognize a patient is deteriorating and then step in to rescue that patient. These errors are more prevalent in new graduate nurses. This is why the National Council State Board of Nursing changed the licensure exam to reflect the Clinical Judgment Model. As the complexities of health care expand, the clinical judgment of the nurse must expand with it.
What Certified Nurses' Aide skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Shanna Chapman DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, APRN: Nursing assistants are pivotal in playing a critical role in providing basic care to patients in various health care settings. This role is extremely important and should not be underestimated. Nursing assistant responsibilities are: 1. Personal Care 2. Vital Signs 3. Mobility Assistance 4. Observing and Reporting 5. Assisting the nurse with procedures such as IV starts, foley catheters, wound care. 6. Maintaining a clean environment 7. Providing support for the patient and caregivers. 8. Assisting with meals that can including feeding 9. Documentation
What will help Certified Nurses' Aides increase their earning potential?
Shanna Chapman DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, APRN: Becoming a nursing assistant can be extremely rewarding. This role is the backbone of healthcare. Nursing assistants have an opportunity to directly impact the lives of their patients and caregivers. There is job stability. It gives you a great knowledge base and can help further your education should they decide to proceed with nursing school. They can have flexible work schedules and can gain jobs in nursing homes, assistant living facilities, hospitals, physician offices, and home healthcare. Last but not least, most nursing assistant love their profession as it gives them a sense of fulfillment and allows them to understand the direct impact that they have.
Comora Sarah
Assistant Clinical ProfessorMerrimack College
Nursing Department
What skills will help Certified Nurses' Aides earn the most?
Comora Sarah: CNA are paid differently across the industry and in different settings. From an education and training perspective in CNA onboarding, it is more beneficial to an organization to hire candidates that have demonstrated the soft set of skills mentioned. The theory is that in the position of Certified Nursing Assistant, hard skills can be taught, and competency can be achieved after hire if you have the right candidate for your organization and team.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Certified Nurses' Aides?
Marina Orobinskaia: There are no more or less important skills. You need to learn all of them to excellence and what is most important - use your critical thinking when you do them.
What skills will help Certified Nurses' Aides earn the most?
Marina Orobinskaia: Additional job training type certifications were added to the original Nursing Assistant, such as nursing delegation, phlebotomy, medication pass.