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The differences between home health aids and home care nurses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a home care nurse has an average salary of $53,762, 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 home care nurse are patients, home health, and CPR.
| Home Health Aid | Home Care Nurse | |
| Yearly salary | $27,249 | $53,762 |
| Hourly rate | $13.10 | $25.85 |
| Growth rate | 36% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 248,490 | 692,730 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.29 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Average age | 50 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
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 home care nurse is responsible for providing quality health care for patients, usually in a private home setting. Home care nurses monitor patients' conditions and their medication and other treatments as prescribed by the attending physician or other health care professionals. They assist with the patients' daily activities such as bathing, feeding, and performing procedures such as taking the patients' temperature and vital signs, collecting specimens, and updating their medical chart.
Home health aids and home care nurses have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Home Health Aid | Home Care Nurse | |
| Average salary | $27,249 | $53,762 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $36,000 | Between $34,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | Reading, MA | Eugene, OR |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Oregon |
| Best paying company | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | Overlake Medical Center & Clinics |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a home health aid and a home care nurse in terms of educational background:
| Home Health Aid | Home Care Nurse | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | Duke University |
Here are the differences between home health aids' and home care nurses' demographics:
| Home Health Aid | Home Care Nurse | |
| Average age | 50 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.6% Female, 86.4% | Male, 13.5% Female, 86.5% |
| 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, 11.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 9% |