Nursing assistant salary by state
The US median nursing assistant wage was $42,260 a year, or $20.32 an hour, in May 2025.
At a glance
The US median nursing assistant wage was $42,260 a year, or $20.32 an hour, in May 2025. The federal wage category is nursing assistants. It does not isolate only certified workers, so a certified nursing assistant offer should be matched to its actual duties and requirements. These are gross wages before deductions, not take-home pay.
- The national median was $42,260 a year in May 2025.
- Compare base wages separately from overtime, benefits and travel stipends.
- Use local written offers to test whether a move makes financial sense.
Nursing assistant salary by state
Oregon had the highest published state median at $49,830; Louisiana had the lowest at $30,510.[1]
Subtracting those published medians gives a $19,320 annual gap. That difference does not adjust for living costs or identify the cause.[1]
Median annual pay ($)
- $30,510 to $37,510
- $37,680 to $39,160
- $39,350 to $44,590
- $44,780 to $46,440
- $46,680 to $49,830
US state tiles colored by median annual wage in May 2025. The table gives the published amounts.
| State | Median hourly pay ($) | Median annual pay ($) | Employment | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $20.32 | $42,260 | 1,448,910 | — |
| Alabama | $16.41 | $34,140 | 25,250 | — |
| Alaska | $22.29 | $46,370 | 2,060 | — |
| Arizona | $21.53 | $44,780 | 20,320 | — |
| Arkansas | $16.55 | $34,430 | 17,260 | — |
| California | $22.90 | $47,630 | 110,060 | — |
| Colorado | $22.78 | $47,380 | 22,240 | — |
| Connecticut | $21.53 | $44,790 | 21,380 | — |
| Delaware | $20.21 | $42,030 | 5,530 | — |
| District of Columbia | $22.93 | $47,700 | 3,490 | — |
| Florida | $18.03 | $37,510 | 96,960 | — |
| Georgia | $18.12 | $37,680 | 43,440 | — |
| Hawaii | $21.80 | $45,350 | 5,050 | — |
| Idaho | $18.58 | $38,650 | 7,910 | — |
| Illinois | $22.10 | $45,960 | 68,640 | — |
| Indiana | $18.43 | $38,330 | 33,640 | — |
| Iowa | $18.92 | $39,350 | 22,670 | — |
| Kansas | $18.27 | $38,010 | 24,610 | — |
| Kentucky | $18.45 | $38,370 | 23,410 | — |
| Louisiana | $14.67 | $30,510 | 20,690 | — |
| Maine | $22.63 | $47,070 | 8,540 | — |
| Maryland | $20.79 | $43,240 | 27,720 | — |
| Massachusetts | $22.44 | $46,680 | 38,130 | — |
| Michigan | $19.03 | $39,570 | 43,290 | — |
| Minnesota | $22.44 | $46,680 | 29,120 | — |
| Mississippi | $15.15 | $31,520 | 14,200 | — |
| Missouri | $18.11 | $37,680 | 34,050 | — |
| Montana | $19.67 | $40,900 | 4,390 | — |
| Nebraska | $19.23 | $40,000 | 16,450 | — |
| Nevada | $21.87 | $45,490 | 8,100 | — |
| New Hampshire | $23.02 | $47,870 | 7,810 | — |
| New Jersey | $22.52 | $46,830 | 32,400 | — |
| New Mexico | $18.94 | $39,390 | 4,750 | — |
| New York | $23.36 | $48,590 | 87,990 | — |
| North Carolina | $18.49 | $38,460 | 64,010 | — |
| North Dakota | $22.03 | $45,820 | 6,840 | — |
| Ohio | $18.76 | $39,010 | 63,280 | — |
| Oklahoma | $17.27 | $35,930 | 19,410 | — |
| Oregon | $23.96 | $49,830 | 14,800 | — |
| Pennsylvania | $21.44 | $44,590 | 67,740 | — |
| Rhode Island | $22.33 | $46,440 | 10,220 | — |
| South Carolina | $17.90 | $37,220 | 21,760 | — |
| South Dakota | $18.65 | $38,800 | 6,860 | — |
| Tennessee | $18.27 | $37,990 | 27,040 | — |
| Texas | $18.03 | $37,500 | 88,680 | — |
| Utah | $19.15 | $39,840 | 12,260 | — |
| Vermont | $22.66 | $47,130 | 3,030 | — |
| Virginia | $20.77 | $43,200 | 40,580 | — |
| Washington | $23.65 | $49,180 | 30,270 | — |
| West Virginia | $17.66 | $36,720 | 9,390 | — |
| Wisconsin | $21.70 | $45,130 | 28,370 | — |
| Wyoming | $18.83 | $39,160 | 2,830 | — |
| Puerto Rico | $10.99 | $22,850 | 430 | — |
| Virgin Islands | $17.90 | $37,240 | 110 | — |
Who gets paid more, a nursing assistant or medical assistant?
The national median for nursing assistants was $42,260; for medical assistants, it was $45,690. Both describe May 2025 straight-time wages.[1]
Those national figures do not compare the same people, employers or schedules. Use them to frame a question about local offers, rather than choose an occupation on pay alone.[1]
How to read these wage estimates
The annual wage is a standardized full-time equivalent for occupations reported hourly. A shorter schedule can produce lower annual earnings even when the hourly rate matches the median.[1]
The figures describe the May 2025 wage period, published a year later. They lag the offers available today and should not be treated as current advertised rates.[1]
What these figures leave out
These are straight-time gross wages. They exclude overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits, and cannot separate travel contracts or stipends.[1]
The survey covers wage and salary jobs and leaves out self-employed workers. Empty cells mean no usable published estimate, not unpaid work or no jobs.[1]
What this means for your next offer
Ask about the unit, staffing expectations, paid training and shift premiums. Similar starting wages can come with very different schedules.
Use the state figure as a starting reference, then compare the employer, setting and paid hours. A higher state median alone does not mean a move improves your budget.
Prepare your questions with the salary negotiation guide. Use the paycheck calculator to estimate deductions from a concrete offer.
Data and method
Nursing assistants: pay by state, May 2025
Employment and annual pay percentiles for nursing assistants (SOC 31-1131) in each state, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories BLS publishes, with the United States first. All industries, May 2025 estimates.
- Source
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Release
- May 2025 estimates, released May 15, 2026
- Period
- May 2025
- Method
- Rows are BLS's cross-industry estimates (NAICS 000000, detailed occupation 31-1131) from the May 2025 state file (states, the District of Columbia and territories) and national file (the United States row). Figures are copied as published. Cells BLS marks "*" or "**" (estimate not available) or "#" (at or above $115.00 an hour or $239,200 a year) are left empty, and the note column says which. BLS computes annual pay as hourly pay times 2,080 hours where it publishes hourly figures.
- License
- Public domain
- Retrieved
Limits
- Wages are straight-time gross pay. They exclude overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits, so they understate total pay for many clinicians; travel and agency pay and stipends cannot be separated.
- Each estimate blends six semiannual survey panels, November 2022 to May 2025, adjusted to May 2025. OEWS is not a time series: BLS advises against comparing years to measure growth.
- Employment counts wage and salary jobs and excludes the self-employed.
- BLS withholds estimates that do not meet its publication standards; those cells are empty, and a state with no estimate at all has a row with every figure empty. Wages at or above $239,200 a year are published only as that floor and are also empty here.
- The figures describe May 2025 and were published May 15, 2026; BLS publishes new estimates once a year.
Sources & approach
Scope: US wage and salary estimates for the stated period, not a quote for an individual job or a promise of earnings. Check the written offer and the applicable employer terms before deciding.
Based on the public sources linked below. Job.com selected and organized the data; no internal company data is used.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Accessed October 23, 2026
See an error? Email support@job.com. Corrections are listed on the corrections page.
Read our editorial standards
