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The differences between health care assistants and health aides can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a health care assistant has an average salary of $34,892, which is higher than the $30,434 average annual salary of a health aide.
The top three skills for a health care assistant include patients, customer service and healthcare. The most important skills for a health aide are patients, home health, and community health.
| Health Care Assistant | Health Aide | |
| Yearly salary | $34,892 | $30,434 |
| Hourly rate | $16.77 | $14.63 |
| Growth rate | 36% | 36% |
| Number of jobs | 242,669 | 121,842 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A health care assistant primarily performs support tasks to help nurses in providing care and assistance to patients. Their duties usually include assisting patients with their daily hygienic tasks such as bathing, going to the toilet, dressing, and brushing their teeth. They may also prepare meals according to protocols and guidelines, feed patients, assist them when walking, and run other errands as necessary. Most importantly, a health care assistant monitors the patients' condition and their treatment progress, coordinating with the nurses and physicians regularly.
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.
Health care assistants and health aides have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health Care Assistant | Health Aide | |
| Average salary | $34,892 | $30,434 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $47,000 | Between $23,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Antioch, CA | Marysville, WA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Washington |
| Best paying company | Medical University of South Carolina | Boston Medical Center |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a health care assistant and a health aide in terms of educational background:
| Health Care Assistant | Health Aide | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between health care assistants' and health aides' demographics:
| Health Care Assistant | Health Aide | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 18.8% Female, 81.2% | Male, 16.6% Female, 83.4% |
| 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, 24.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 35.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |