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The differences between home health aids 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 $27,249 average annual salary of a home health aid.
The top three skills for a home health aid include home health, patients and companionship. The most important skills for a certified nursing assistant are patients, vital signs, and home health.
| Home Health Aid | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $27,249 | $32,597 |
| Hourly rate | $13.10 | $15.67 |
| Growth rate | 36% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 248,490 | 225,834 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.29 | 3.12 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Average age | 50 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | 3 |
Home health aides provide care and assistance to patients who have chronic illnesses, injuries, disabilities, or age-related challenges inside the patient's home. They monitor the patient's condition and help them in any activity they may need assistance in. They provide support to both the patient and the family to manage the patient's condition. Home health aides care for the patient by providing personal services like bathing and basic grooming, designing nutritional plans, cooking and preparing meals, running errands, maintaining the cleanliness of the home, managing medication intake, and ensuring the home is safe and secure for the patient.
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.
Home health aids and certified nursing assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Home Health Aid | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average salary | $27,249 | $32,597 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $36,000 | Between $24,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Reading, MA | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | Valley Presbyterian Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a home health aid and a certified nursing assistant in terms of educational background:
| Home Health Aid | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between home health aids' and certified nursing assistants' demographics:
| Home Health Aid | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.6% Female, 86.4% | 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% |