Nursing assistants

Detailed Occupation

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2023 Workforce
1.32M
Average Age
39.3
Estimated Job Growth
4.4%
10-year projection
Average Salary
$32,444
Average Male Salary
$37,409
Average Female Salary
$31,807

About

Nursing assistants are most often employed by the Nursing Care Facilities industry. The average yearly wage for Nursing assistants was $32,444 in 2023.

Healthcare Support OccupationsService Occupations

Employment

Employment and salary information for the Nursing assistants workforce. Nursing assistants workforce in 2023 was 1,322,764 people, of which 88.6% were women and 11.4% were men. Nursing assistants are paid most in Fort Bend County (Northwest) PUMA, TX but are relatively concentrated in Broward County (Central)--Lauderhill & Lauderdale Lakes Cities PUMA, FL.

Employment Over Time

Metric
Grouping
150,238
Male Workforce
± 9.51k
1,172,526
Female Workforce
± 26.5k

The Nursing assistants workforce in 2023 was 1,322,764 people (88.6% women and 11.4% men). This implies an average annual growth of −10.2% between 2018 (1,473,467) and 2023 (1,322,764).

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Employment by Location

Level
Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Nursing assistants.

During 2023, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were District of Columbia ($46,291), New York ($40,411), and California ($40,083).

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Yearly Wage Ranking

$32,444
AVERAGE WAGE
#469 in the ranking (2023)
$67,727
NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE
For all occupations across the US

In 2023, Nursing assistants earned an average of $32,444, $35,283 less than the average national salary of $67,727

The graph shows the ranking of Nursing assistants in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2023.

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Wage Distribution

Gender
0.335
WAGE GINI

In 2023, Nursing assistants had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.335, which is lower than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Nursing assistants (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Nursing assistants compared to the entire workforce in the country.

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Industry

Information on the industries that employ Nursing assistants and on wages for those in the field. Nursing Care Facilities is the industry that employs the most Nursing assistants, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Nursing assistants, by average wage, is Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments ($141,192).

Occupations by Industries

Metric
Value
1.32M
2023 Workforce
± 28,115
−2.85%
1 YEAR GROWTH
± 3.07%

This graphic shows the share of Nursing assistants employed by various industries. Nursing Care Facilities employs the largest share of Nursing assistants at 42.1%, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals with 34.9% and Home health care services with 11.7%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Nursing assistants in the US. The workforce of Nursing assistants in 2023 was 1,322,764 people, with 88.6% woman, and 11.4% men. The average age of male Nursing assistants in the workforce is 37.6 and of female Nursing assistants is 39.5, and the most common race/ethnicity for Nursing assistants is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Nursing assistants in 2023 was 1,322,764 people, with 88.6% woman, and 11.4% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 20 to 24 years (214,625 people), 25 to 29 years (166,178  people), and 30 to 34 years (146,942 people). Among them they concentrated 39.9% of the total workforce.

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Ethnicity

Gender

In 2023, 15.5% of Nursing assistants workers were Hispanic and 84.5% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (55.5%), Puerto Rican (12.5)%, and Cuban (4.98)%

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Races

In 2023, 44.9% of the Nursing assistants workforce were White, of which 89.4% were women and 10.6% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (34.5%) and Two or More Races (8.37%).

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Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Nursing assistants from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Nursing assistants is Health but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2023 were Science Technologies.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.
Type of Majors
Degree

The most common majors achieved by Nursing assistants in 2023 (counting all academic degrees) were Health (34,267 people), Business (17,087 people), and Biology (12,651 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

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Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Nursing assistants workers were Some college (469,497 people), High School or Equivalent (464,748 people), and Associates Degree (146,421 people).

The graphic shows the Nursing assistants workforce by gender and educational level.

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Projections

Projections on job growth for Nursing Assistants from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 4.02%, but Nursing Assistants are expected to see a growth of 4.4% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow more than the national average.

Job Growth

4.4%
Estimated Job Growth
10-year Projection
4.02%
National Growth
10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Nursing assistants. This profession is expected to grow more than than 4.02%, the average rate of national job growth.

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