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The differences between home health aids and personal care assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a home health aid has an average salary of $27,249, which is higher than the $26,643 average annual salary of a personal care assistant.
The top three skills for a home health aid include home health, patients and companionship. The most important skills for a personal care assistant are patients, CPR, and home health.
| Home Health Aid | Personal Care Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $27,249 | $26,643 |
| Hourly rate | $13.10 | $12.81 |
| Growth rate | 36% | 36% |
| Number of jobs | 248,490 | 256,869 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.29 | 4.67 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | High School Diploma, 31% |
| Average age | 50 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
Personal care assistants are employed to help individuals who may need special attention or assistance. They are usually trained to care for individuals with specific conditions, whether physically or mentally. Personal care assistants manage their meal plans, medicine intake, daily schedule, and therapy, among others. They help their clients move, eat, bathe, and dress. They also run errands and provide any other assistance that their clients may need. Personal care assistants also provide emotional and moral support to their clients. They are also in touch with medical professionals and provide updates on the health of their clients.
Home health aids and personal care assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Home Health Aid | Personal Care Assistant | |
| Average salary | $27,249 | $26,643 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $36,000 | Between $18,000 And $37,000 |
| Highest paying City | Reading, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | Massachusetts General Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Professional |
There are a few differences between a home health aid and a personal care assistant in terms of educational background:
| Home Health Aid | Personal Care Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | High School Diploma, 31% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between home health aids' and personal care assistants' demographics:
| Home Health Aid | Personal Care Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.6% Female, 86.4% | Male, 15.0% Female, 85.0% |
| 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, 10.3% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 8.7% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 7% |