Healthcare Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 31-1133

Psychiatric Aides

O*NET task statements lead this Psychiatric Aides card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Physical Therapist Assistants, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, Orderlies, Medical Equipment Preparers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Psychiatric Aides: Physical Therapist Assistants ($68K) , Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers ($38K) , Orderlies ($38K) , Medical Equipment Preparers ($48K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Psychiatric Aides publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 31-1133 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients
  2. 2. Provide patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities with routine physical, emotional, psychological, or rehabili…
  3. 3. Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff
  4. 4. Restrain or aid patients as necessary to prevent injury
  5. 5. Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers
  6. 6. Record and maintain patient information, such as vital signs, eating habits, behavior, progress notes, treatments, or discharge plans
  7. 7. Maintain patients' restrictions to assigned areas
  8. 8. Organize, supervise, or encourage patient participation in social, educational, or recreational activities
  9. 9. Provide patients with assistance in bathing, dressing, or grooming, demonstrating these skills as necessary
  10. 10. Aid patients in becoming accustomed to hospital routines
  11. 11. Serve meals or feed patients needing assistance or persuasion
  12. 12. Clean and disinfect rooms and furnishings to maintain a safe and orderly environment

Psychiatric Aides: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 31-1133 - lead skill Speaking at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Psychology. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 3.9
  2. 2. Social Perceptiveness 3.9
  3. 3. Service Orientation 3.9
  4. 4. Active Listening 3.8
  5. 5. Monitoring 3.8
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.4
  7. 7. Active Learning 3.3
  8. 8. Coordination 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Psychology 4.0
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 3.6
  3. 3. Therapy and Counseling 3.1
  4. 4. English Language 3.1
  5. 5. Administrative 3.0
  6. 6. Sociology and Anthropology 3.0
National median after O*NET task lead
$44,910
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients
$45K
National median
↓ -0%
Growth 2024-2034
5,300
Annual openings
35,520
Estimated US jobs
Physical Therapist Assistants
Highest-pay peer · $68K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Psychiatric Aides

1. Oregon $48,300
2. Minnesota $55,040
3. Alaska $49,300
4. Washington $52,570
5. Illinois $48,670
6. Rhode Island $51,100
7. New York $50,220
8. Maryland $51,440
9. Nevada $51,400
10. Hawaii $52,310

Other Healthcare Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Orderlies $38,290
  2. 2. Physical Therapist Assistants $68,380
  3. 3. Medical Equipment Preparers $47,700
  4. 4. Phlebotomists $45,230
  5. 5. Healthcare Support Workers, All Other $48,430
  6. 6. Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers $38,150

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Psychiatric Aides (SOC 31-1133). The national OEWS median is $44,910 inside Healthcare Support Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Physical Therapist Assistants, Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers, Orderlies, Medical Equipment Preparers. Lead published task: Listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients.

Employment Projections expect -0% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 5,300 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Oregon at $48,300. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Physical Therapist Assistants at $68,380. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Psychiatric Aides pay-rank #9 in Healthcare Support Occupations

Psychiatric Aides sits at pay-rank #9 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 31-1133 · national median $44,910 · middle third of Healthcare Support Occupations (#9/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Psychiatric Aides salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 31-1133

Oregon · top state for Psychiatric Aides

$48K published median

Minnesota · #2 state pay

$55K · behind Oregon

Physical Therapist Assistants

Highest-pay peer vs Psychiatric Aides · $68K

Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers

Lower-pay peer beside Psychiatric Aides · $38K

Compare Psychiatric Aides

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Psychiatric Aides with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Psychiatric Aides full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Psychiatric Aides mid-table among Healthcare Support Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #9 of 17 detailed Healthcare Support Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Phlebotomists ($45K), Medical Assistants ($46K), Nursing Assistants ($42K), Medical Transcriptionists ($40K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do psychiatric aides do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Psychiatric Aides. Leading ones include: Listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients; Provide patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities with routine physical, emotional, psychological, or rehabili…; Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff; Restrain or aid patients as necessary to prevent injury. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for psychiatric aides? ▼
For SOC 31-1133, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (3.9), Social Perceptiveness (3.9), Service Orientation (3.9), Active Listening (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Psychology, Customer and Personal Service, Therapy and Counseling. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Psychiatric Aides? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $44,910 as the national median for Psychiatric Aides. The published 10th-90th range is $32,090 to $60,440. Beside Physical Therapist Assistants ($68,380), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Psychiatric Aides? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Psychiatric Aides is -0%. Projected annual openings: about 5,300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Psychiatric Aides? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Psychiatric Aides. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Psychiatric Aides? ▼
Oregon ($48,300), Minnesota ($55,040), Alaska ($49,300) 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 Psychiatric Aides card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 31-1133. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Psychiatric Aides. 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