Nursing assistants work in varied healthcare settings, including skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, assisted living facilities, home health care agencies, and other individual and family service environments. As of May 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated that approximately 1,420,000 nursing assistants were employed in the the U.S., making it one of the largest healthcare occupations. The BLS further estimated that, as of May 2019, the national mean wage for nursing assistants was $30,720 per year, in comparison to a $53,490 annual mean wage for all occupations in the U.S. From state-to-state there was considerable disparity in nursing assistant mean annual wages, with nursing assistants in some regions of the country earning 60% or more than their counterparts elsewhere. Per BLS data of May 2019, the ten states where nursing assistants earned the best annual mean wages were:
| Alaska | $40,320 |
| New York | $38,810 |
| Hawaii | $37,710 |
| California | $36,630 |
| Minnesota | $35,150 |
| Massachusetts | $35,040 |
| Nevada | $34,890 |
| Oregon | $34,780 |
| Connecticut | $34,360 |
| North Dakota | $34,320 |
At the other end of the spectrum, nursing assistant pay was the lowest in these ten states:
| Tennessee | $27,250 |
| West Virginia | $26,900 |
| South Carolina | $26,560 |
| North Carolina | $26,540 |
| Missouri | $26,490 |
| Oklahoma | $26,030 |
| Arkansas | $25,950 |
| Alabama | $24,590 |
| Mississippi | $23,980 |
| Louisiana | $23,340 |
So where does your state rank for nursing assistant pay?
Refer to Nursing Assistant Average Wages by State for additional information.