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Job outlook for nurses' aides in the United States
Nurses' aide job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected nurses' aide job growth rate is 9% from 2018-2028.
About 137,800 new jobs for nurses' aides are projected over the next decade.
Nurses' aide salaries have increased 8% for nurses' aides in the last 5 years.
There are over 960,912 nurses' aides currently employed in the United States.
There are 157,723 active nurses' aide job openings in the US.
The average nurses' aide salary is $30,496.
Are nurses' aide jobs in demand?
Nurses' aide job and salary trends over time
Nurses' aide jobs over time
Nurses' aide job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 960,912 | 0.29% |
| 2020 | 2,009,720 | 0.60% |
| 2019 | 1,931,192 | 0.58% |
| 2018 | 1,231,920 | 0.37% |
| 2017 | 1,231,871 | 0.37% |
Average nurses' aide salary over time
Nurses' aide salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $30,496 | $14.66 | +5.2% |
| 2024 | $28,979 | $13.93 | --4.3% |
| 2023 | $30,272 | $14.55 | +3.7% |
| 2022 | $29,190 | $14.03 | +3.5% |
| 2021 | $28,204 | $13.56 | +3.4% |
Nurses' aide jobs by state
Most common states for nurses' aides
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 144 | 14% |
| 2 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 882 | 13% |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 686 | 10% |
| 4 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 538 | 10% |
| 5 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 310 | 10% |
| 6 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 304 | 10% |
| 7 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 137 | 10% |
| 8 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 902 | 9% |
| 9 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 181 | 9% |
| 10 | Alaska | 739,795 | 64 | 9% |
| 11 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 717 | 8% |
| 12 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 60 | 8% |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 864 | 7% |
| 14 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 844 | 7% |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 423 | 7% |
| 16 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 297 | 7% |
| 17 | Vermont | 623,657 | 42 | 7% |
| 18 | New York | 19,849,399 | 1,200 | 6% |
| 19 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 209 | 6% |
| 20 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 77 | 6% |
Most common cities for nurses' aides
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franklin | 4 | 16% | $27,897 |
| 2 | Sandusky | 4 | 16% | $31,097 |
| 3 | Jeffersonville | 7 | 15% | $27,422 |
| 4 | Lafayette | 4 | 6% | $28,362 |
| 5 | Lansing | 5 | 4% | $32,124 |
| 6 | Fort Wayne | 5 | 2% | $29,192 |
| 7 | Indianapolis | 9 | 1% | $28,073 |
| 8 | Urban Honolulu | 5 | 1% | $37,685 |
| 9 | Aurora | 3 | 1% | $31,009 |
| 10 | Columbus | 4 | 0% | $29,930 |
| 11 | Dallas | 4 | 0% | $27,573 |
| 12 | New York | 4 | 0% | $32,996 |
Nurses' Aide job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of nurses' aide experts
Springfield College
Merrimack College
Bellevue College
Eastern Michigan University
Jeanne Martin PhD, MSN, RN, CNE
Clinical Associate ProfessorWhat general advice would you give to a Nurses' Aide?
Jeanne Martin PhD, MSN, RN, CNE: First I tell them they are more prepared for practice than they think they are. They need to give themselves a measure of patience and grace that they will not know a lot of things when they begin. I stress that they need to get adept at asking lot of questions, so they understand the “why’s: of what they are doing vs. just being task oriented. This develops their clinical reasoning and decision making skills. All of our graduates enter into Nurse Residency programs at their various facilities. These programs are designed to take graduates from a myriad of nursing schools and help them solidify the core components of nursing school. These residency programs and unit orientation programs ensure a new graduate is ready to take care of the patients on their specific units.
What Nurses' Aide skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jeanne Martin PhD, MSN, RN, CNE: As the nursing shortage intensifies, health care facilities are increasing their hourly wages and the supplemental wages of working off-shifts or weekends. They are enticing new graduates with sign-on bonuses that they receive in portions over a specified period of time (like 1-2 years). Many facilities are also offering tuition reimbursements so new graduates can pay off their student loans. I am sure there are other measures but these are the ones I hear most about from our graduates.
What will help Nurses' Aides increase their earning potential?
Jeanne Martin PhD, MSN, RN, CNE: I think honing clinical judgment is the KEY to safe patient care. A lack of clinical judgment competency is associated with preventable nursing errors, such as medication inaccuracies or failure to recognize a patient is deteriorating and then step in to rescue that patient. These errors are more prevalent in new graduate nurses. This is why the National Council State Board of Nursing changed the licensure exam to reflect the Clinical Judgment Model. As the complexities of health care expand, the clinical judgment of the nurse must expand with it.
What general advice would you give to a Nurses' Aide?
Shanna Chapman DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, APRN: People like being a nursing assistant for a lot of reasons similar to those listed in #2. It is rewarding and gives the nursing assistant a sense of purpose. It gives them the opportunity to directly impact patients. There is a large variety of settings that the nursing assistant can choose to work in and there is definitely job stability. There is a high demand that will not be dissolving with an increase in the baby boomer population into geriatrics. There is opportunity for the knowledge gained to be utilized if the nursing assistant wants to go to nursing school and a lot of nurses will use it as a stepping stone to learn. The dislikes about being a nursing assistant is that it can be mentally and physically challenging. Some facilities may work shorthanded causing the nursing assistant to have higher patient loads resulting in stress as well as physically challenging. I also recommend that nursing assistants do their research on the facility before applying for a job. Make sure that the facility expectations, mission, and values are congruent with the nursing assistant's personal beliefs.
What Nurses' Aide skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Shanna Chapman DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, APRN: Nursing assistants are pivotal in playing a critical role in providing basic care to patients in various health care settings. This role is extremely important and should not be underestimated. Nursing assistant responsibilities are: 1. Personal Care 2. Vital Signs 3. Mobility Assistance 4. Observing and Reporting 5. Assisting the nurse with procedures such as IV starts, foley catheters, wound care. 6. Maintaining a clean environment 7. Providing support for the patient and caregivers. 8. Assisting with meals that can including feeding 9. Documentation
What will help Nurses' Aides increase their earning potential?
Shanna Chapman DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, APRN: Becoming a nursing assistant can be extremely rewarding. This role is the backbone of healthcare. Nursing assistants have an opportunity to directly impact the lives of their patients and caregivers. There is job stability. It gives you a great knowledge base and can help further your education should they decide to proceed with nursing school. They can have flexible work schedules and can gain jobs in nursing homes, assistant living facilities, hospitals, physician offices, and home healthcare. Last but not least, most nursing assistant love their profession as it gives them a sense of fulfillment and allows them to understand the direct impact that they have.
Megan Harvey Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Health ScienceSpringfield College
School of Health Sciences
What skills stand out on Nurses' Aide resumes?
Megan Harvey Ph.D.: Students who plan to go into the health care field need to have both determination and thick skin and the ability to be empathic and understand their patients. We've seen the way health care professionals are being treated change, even just in the past 5 years. It can be a hard balance to walk for health care professionals, to be both firm about evidence-based practice and empathetic and kind to their patients, but it's really the only way to achieve the best possible patient outcomes. I imagine that showing that you have worked in challenging health care situations is one way to show that you're developing this skill on your resume.
Comora Sarah
Assistant Clinical ProfessorMerrimack College
Nursing Department
What skills stand out on Nurses' Aide resumes?
Comora Sarah: Experience in the industry, Dementia training, BLS certification
What soft skills should all Nurses' Aides possess?
Comora Sarah: Ability to effectively communicate with all patients and interdisciplinary team members, willing to be flexible with shifts and scheduling, a team player with a great work ethic.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Nurses' Aides?
Comora Sarah: Ability to accurately take and record vital signs, safe patient mobility practice, and ability to assist clients with activities of daily living.
What skills will help Nurses' Aides earn the most?
Comora Sarah: CNA are paid differently across the industry and in different settings. From an education and training perspective in CNA onboarding, it is more beneficial to an organization to hire candidates that have demonstrated the soft set of skills mentioned. The theory is that in the position of Certified Nursing Assistant, hard skills can be taught, and competency can be achieved after hire if you have the right candidate for your organization and team.
What skills stand out on Nurses' Aide resumes?
Marina Orobinskaia: Experience, good program attended.
What soft skills should all Nurses' Aides possess?
Marina Orobinskaia: Friendliness, positive energy, leadership.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Nurses' Aides?
Marina Orobinskaia: There are no more or less important skills. You need to learn all of them to excellence and what is most important - use your critical thinking when you do them.
What skills will help Nurses' Aides earn the most?
Marina Orobinskaia: Additional job training type certifications were added to the original Nursing Assistant, such as nursing delegation, phlebotomy, medication pass.
Michael Williams Ph.D.
Director and Associate ProfessorEastern Michigan University
School of Nursing
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Nurses' Aide job market given the pandemic?
Michael Williams Ph.D.: So much has changed with the current pandemic. With the initial surge of Covid-19 cases, nurses and nursing assistants were in high demand. Nurses were re-deployed within the healthcare system to areas overrun with Covid-19 issues. Elective surgeries and clinic visits were halted, and the healthcare agencies suffered significant financial challenges. As a result, some nursing assistants and nurses were subsequently furloughed.
However, as the healthcare systems recover from economic difficulties, or there is a second surge of Covid-19 cases, nursing assistants and nurses will again be in high demand. Nurses, working within any aspect of the healthcare system, are working harder than ever before. Staffing shortages, even short term, create additional stressors to the nurses providing care to patients.
Nursing administrators are challenged to provide sufficient staff to prevent physical and emotional distress among their nurses. Nursing faculty are working even more, challenged to prepare nursing students for this new world of healthcare. Education for nursing students has changed dramatically. Students are learning much more from simulation and virtual reality than has previously been used.
As a result, new nurse graduates will need more and additional support when they transition from nursing students to full-fledged registered nurses! All nurses will need more generous support from society with the stress of the pandemic. Nurses are, regrettably, at greater risk for anxiety, depression, PTSD, and suicide ideations due to the epidemic's prolonged strain. The physical and emotional health of nurses and all healthcare providers needs to be a societal priority. Despite all of these challenges, nurses will be there!