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The differences between home health nurses and home health aids can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a home health nurse has an average salary of $69,393, which is higher than the $27,249 average annual salary of a home health aid.
The top three skills for a home health nurse include home health, patients and quality care. The most important skills for a home health aid are home health, patients, and companionship.
| Home Health Nurse | Home Health Aid | |
| Yearly salary | $69,393 | $27,249 |
| Hourly rate | $33.36 | $13.10 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 36% |
| Number of jobs | 687,941 | 248,490 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.29 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 39% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Average age | 44 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
A home health nurse is responsible for assisting patients usually in their households, strictly monitoring their health conditions and treatment plans for fast recovery. Home health nurses work with the patients' attending physicians and other health professionals to develop healthcare plans and administer timely medications. They update the patient's chart regularly, record temperature and vital signs, manage food intake, and respond to the patients' inquiries and requests. A home health nurse must have strong organizational and time-management skills to perform various nursing duties under certain conditions.
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.
Home health nurses and home health aids have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Home Health Nurse | Home Health Aid | |
| Average salary | $69,393 | $27,249 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $99,000 | Between $20,000 And $36,000 |
| Highest paying City | Petaluma, CA | Reading, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Senior Living Properties | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a home health nurse and a home health aid in terms of educational background:
| Home Health Nurse | Home Health Aid | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 39% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | Duke University | - |
Here are the differences between home health nurses' and home health aids' demographics:
| Home Health Nurse | Home Health Aid | |
| Average age | 44 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.6% Female, 89.4% | Male, 13.6% Female, 86.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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 | 9% | 5% |