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The differences between health aides and certified nursing assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a certified nursing assistant has an average salary of $32,597, which is higher than the $30,434 average annual salary of a health aide.
The top three skills for a health aide include patients, home health and community health. The most important skills for a certified nursing assistant are patients, vital signs, and home health.
| Health Aide | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $30,434 | $32,597 |
| Hourly rate | $14.63 | $15.67 |
| Growth rate | 36% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 121,842 | 225,834 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.12 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 28% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Average age | 50 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | 3 |
A health aide is responsible for providing care and assistance to patients in medical facilities, care centers, and even at home. They typically help patients by administering medicines, monitoring their blood pressure and vital signs, facilitating exercises, preparing meals, providing emotional support, and assisting them in performing hygienic tasks such as bathing, dressing, brushing teeth, and going to the toilet. Furthermore, as a health aide, it is essential to monitor the behavior and progress of patients, reporting to nurses and physicians regularly.
A certified nursing assistant generally assists patients in their healthcare needs and medical procedures. They support patients in their daily activities by monitoring patients' temperature and food intake, ensuring the cleanliness of the patient's room, and keeping documentation of patients' conditions for reference of nurses and doctors. A certified nursing assistant should also communicate with patients' families and provide updates as often as needed. It is also important that a nursing assistant is patient and compassionate enough to attend to direct patient needs, which could get demanding or challenging at times.
Health aides and certified nursing assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health Aide | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average salary | $30,434 | $32,597 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $39,000 | Between $24,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Marysville, WA | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Boston Medical Center | Valley Presbyterian Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Education | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a health aide and a certified nursing assistant in terms of educational background:
| Health Aide | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 28% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between health aides' and certified nursing assistants' demographics:
| Health Aide | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 16.6% Female, 83.4% | Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 24.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 35.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 7% |