Over 1,388,000 nursing assistants were working in the USA as of May 2024 according to data released earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The twelve-state Southeastern U.S. was home to more than 389,000 of those nursing assistant jobs.  Per BLS data, the Southeast was the worst region in the country for nursing assistant pay as every state in the region had an annual mean wage level for nursing assistants that fell below the national average.  Moreover, eight of the ten states in the country with the lowest nursing assistant annual mean wage levels were in the Southeast.  A further examination of BLS data from May 2024 details the following about nursing assistant pay in the Southeastern U.S.:

Nursing Assistant Pay in the Southeastern U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AL	24,560	$32,670	49th
AR	17,620	$33,350	48th
FL	91,280	$38,320	35th
GA	42,460	$37,090	42nd
KY	22,910	$37,960	39th
LA	20,550	$31,700	51st
MS	13,130	$31,750	50th
NC	61,280	$37,980	38th
SC	21,000	$35,970	46th
TN	23,030	$37,040	43rd
VA	42,760	$40,160	29th
WV	8,860	$36,320	45th
U.S.	1,388,510	$41,173	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on July 15, 2026