Healthcare Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Occupation-level safety SOC 31-1131

Nursing Assistants

Occupation-specific BLS fatality and injury rates set the reading order for Nursing Assistants, then wages beside peers such as Massage Therapists, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Pharmacy Aides, Occupational Therapy Aides.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Nursing Assistants: Massage Therapists ($58K) , Home Health and Personal Care Aides ($36K) , Pharmacy Aides ($38K) , Occupational Therapy Aides ($39K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Nursing Assistants publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 31-1131 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Turn or reposition bedridden patients
  2. 2. Answer patient call signals, signal lights, bells, or intercom systems to determine patients' needs
  3. 3. Feed patients or assist patients to eat or drink
  4. 4. Position or hold patients in position for surgical preparation
  5. 5. Measure and record food and liquid intake or urinary and fecal output, reporting changes to medical or nursing staff
  6. 6. Provide physical support to assist patients to perform daily living activities, such as getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, using the…
  7. 7. Document or otherwise report observations of patient behavior, complaints, or physical symptoms to nurses
  8. 8. Remind patients to take medications or nutritional supplements
  9. 9. Review patients' dietary restrictions, food allergies, and preferences to ensure patient receives appropriate diet
  10. 10. Undress, wash, and dress patients who are unable to do so for themselves
  11. 11. Observe or examine patients to detect symptoms that may require medical attention, such as bruises, open wounds, or blood in urine
  12. 12. Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers

Nursing Assistants: O*NET ranks Service Orientation first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 31-1131 - lead skill Service Orientation at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Service Orientation 4.0
  2. 2. Active Listening 3.6
  3. 3. Social Perceptiveness 3.6
  4. 4. Monitoring 3.3
  5. 5. Reading Comprehension 3.1
  6. 6. Speaking 3.1
  7. 7. Critical Thinking 3.1
  8. 8. Coordination 3.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 3.9
  2. 2. Administration and Management 3.3
  3. 3. English Language 3.3
  4. 4. Public Safety and Security 3.2
  5. 5. Medicine and Dentistry 3.1
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.1
Occupation safety grade
C
Moderate Risk
Transparent derived index from BLS CFOI/SOII, not an official BLS rating · formula
National median still $42,260/yr
$42K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
204,100
Annual openings
1,448,910
Estimated US jobs
Massage Therapists
Highest-pay peer · $58K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Postsecondary nondegree award

Top Paying States for Nursing Assistants

1. California $47,630
2. Oregon $49,830
3. Colorado $47,380
4. Washington $49,180
5. New Hampshire $47,870
6. Vermont $47,130
7. Maine $47,070
8. New Jersey $46,830
9. District of Columbia $47,700
10. New York $48,590

Other Healthcare Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Pharmacy Aides $37,680
  2. 2. Occupational Therapy Aides $39,160
  3. 3. Healthcare Support Workers, All Other $48,430
  4. 4. Medical Transcriptionists $40,410
  5. 5. Home Health and Personal Care Aides $35,800
  6. 6. Massage Therapists $58,450

Nursing Assistants carries an occupation-specific WageDex safety grade of C from BLS CFOI/SOII rates. The national OEWS median is $42,260 inside Healthcare Support Occupations (SOC 31-1131).

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 204,100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements.

Highest published state median in this ranking: California at $47,630. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Massage Therapists at $58,450. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Nursing Assistants pay-rank #10 in Healthcare Support Occupations

Nursing Assistants sits at pay-rank #10 of 17 detailed Healthcare Support Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 31-1131 · national median $42,260 · middle third of Healthcare Support Occupations (#10/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Nursing Assistants salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 31-1131

California · top state for Nursing Assistants

$48K published median

Oregon · #2 state pay

$50K · behind California

Massage Therapists

Highest-pay peer vs Nursing Assistants · $58K

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Lower-pay peer beside Nursing Assistants · $36K

Compare Nursing Assistants

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Nursing Assistants with another occupation →

Safety and risk next reads

Safest Occupations

Roles with the strongest published safety grades

Nursing Assistants full wage map

State and metro pay after the safety lead

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Nursing Assistants mid-table among Healthcare Support Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #10 of 17 detailed Healthcare Support Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Medical Transcriptionists ($40K), Psychiatric Aides ($45K), Phlebotomists ($45K), Occupational Therapy Aides ($39K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do nursing assistants do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Nursing Assistants. Leading ones include: Turn or reposition bedridden patients; Answer patient call signals, signal lights, bells, or intercom systems to determine patients' needs; Feed patients or assist patients to eat or drink; Position or hold patients in position for surgical preparation. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for nursing assistants? ▼
For SOC 31-1131, O*NET importance scores lead with Service Orientation (4.0), Active Listening (3.6), Social Perceptiveness (3.6), Monitoring (3.3). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Nursing Assistants? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $42,260 as the national median for Nursing Assistants. The published 10th-90th range is $33,940 to $51,980. Beside Massage Therapists ($58,450), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Nursing Assistants? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Nursing Assistants is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 204,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Nursing Assistants? ▼
BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Nursing Assistants. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Nursing Assistants? ▼
California ($47,630), Oregon ($49,830), Colorado ($47,380) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Nursing Assistants card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 31-1131. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Nursing Assistants. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics