Resident care aide vs health care assistant

The differences between resident care aides and health care assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a health care assistant has an average salary of $34,892, which is higher than the $28,846 average annual salary of a resident care aide.

The top three skills for a resident care aide include CPR, home health and assist residents. The most important skills for a health care assistant are patients, customer service, and healthcare.

Resident care aide vs health care assistant overview

	Resident Care Aide	Health Care Assistant
Yearly salary	$28,846	$34,892
Hourly rate	$13.87	$16.77
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	164,696	242,669
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	48	50
Years of experience	-	-

Resident care aide vs health care assistant salary

Resident care aides and health care assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Resident Care Aide	Health Care Assistant
Average salary	$28,846	$34,892
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $37,000	Between $25,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	-	Antioch, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Medical University of South Carolina
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between resident care aide and health care assistant education

There are a few differences between a resident care aide and a health care assistant in terms of educational background:

	Resident Care Aide	Health Care Assistant
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Resident care aide vs health care assistant demographics

Here are the differences between resident care aides' and health care assistants' demographics:

	Resident Care Aide	Health Care Assistant
Average age	48	50
Gender ratio	Male, 13.9% Female, 86.1%	Male, 18.8% Female, 81.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 8.1% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	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	7%	5%

Differences between resident care aide and health care assistant duties and responsibilities

Resident care aide example responsibilities.

Recognize by physicians for ability to meticulously prepare patient's chest and attach leads to obtain excellent quality EKG tracings.
Operate medical devices (hoyer, sit to stand, walkers, wheelchairs) [].
Take care of residents per ADL's (dressing, basic hygiene, toileting, medication reminders and ambulation).
Perform wound, catheter, and colostomy care.
Escort residents to meals with walkers or wheel chairs.
Assist in emptying a catheter as well as providing the daily peri-care.

Health care assistant example responsibilities.

Monitor / enforce OSHA standards and coordinate / lead daily, weekly, and monthly safety meetings to educate staff.
Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
Facilitate physical therapy exercises, positional rotation, monitor medication compliance and effects, provide companionship, carry out ADL's.
care professional, extremely competent, providing guidance and counseling for rehabilitation of mentally disturb patients.
Process consults requests for electrophysiology, EKG and other services.
Assist train staff in the event of cardiac arrest and actively participate in CPR.

Resident care aide vs health care assistant skills

Common resident care aide skills

CPR, 18%
Home Health, 15%
Assist Residents, 12%
Patients, 11%
Vital Signs, 6%
RCA, 5%

Common health care assistant skills

Patients, 20%
Customer Service, 11%
Healthcare, 10%
Patient Appointments, 8%
Direct Patient Care, 8%
Medical Equipment, 7%

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Resident Care Aide vs Health Care Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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