Careers / Nursing Assistants

Nursing Assistants — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$42,260

United States, 2025

Employment

1,448,910

United States, 2025

Typical education

High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)

Job Zone 3

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Provide or assist with basic care or support under the direction of onsite licensed nursing staff. Perform duties such as monitoring of health status, feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, or ambulation of patients in a health or nursing facility. May include medication administration and other health-related tasks. Includes nursing care attendants, nursing aides, and nursing attendants.

O*NET code
31-1131.00
Job zone
3
Experience required
None

Typical tasks

  • Answer patient call signals, signal lights, bells, or intercom systems to determine patients' needs.
  • Feed patients or assist patients to eat or drink.
  • Measure and record food and liquid intake or urinary and fecal output, reporting changes to medical or nursing staff.
  • Provide physical support to assist patients to perform daily living activities, such as getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, standing, walking, or exercising.
  • Document or otherwise report observations of patient behavior, complaints, or physical symptoms to nurses.
  • Remind patients to take medications or nutritional supplements.
  • Review patients' dietary restrictions, food allergies, and preferences to ensure patient receives appropriate diet.
  • Undress, wash, and dress patients who are unable to do so for themselves.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$33,940
10th
$37,260
25th
$42,260
Median
$47,220
75th
$51,980
90th

10th percentile

$33,940

25th percentile

$37,260

75th percentile

$47,220

90th percentile

$51,980

Most important skills

  • Service Orientation4.0
  • Active Listening3.6
  • Social Perceptiveness3.6
  • Monitoring3.3
  • Speaking3.1
  • Coordination3.1
  • Reading Comprehension3.1
  • Critical Thinking3.1
  • Judgment and Decision Making2.9
  • Active Learning2.9
  • Time Management2.9
  • Writing2.8

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 8 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

8

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Service Orientation4.03.9Not selected3.9
Social Perceptiveness3.63.3Not selected3.3
Active Listening3.63.0Not selected3.0
Monitoring3.33.0Not selected3.0
Critical Thinking3.13.1Not selected3.1
Speaking3.13.0Not selected3.0
Coordination3.13.0Not selected3.0
Reading Comprehension3.13.0Not selected3.0

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
San Jose, CA$56,8405,3502025
San Francisco, CA$56,08011,7902025
Seattle, WA$51,99016,5302025
Napa, CA$50,3704602025
Portland, OR$50,3508,8902025
Bend, OR$50,0806202025
Boulder, CO$49,8601,0302025
OR$49,83014,8002025
Grants Pass, OR$49,7704202025
New York, NY$49,27079,4802025
Santa Rosa, CA$49,2401,2502025
WA$49,18030,2702025
Bremerton, WA$49,1608502025
Denver, CO$49,11010,3502025
Mount Vernon, WA$49,0205002025
Vallejo, CA$48,9009402025
Vineland, NJ$48,8907702025
Salinas, CA$48,8701,0702025
Salem, OR$48,8401,3902025
Corvallis, OR$48,8303402025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Nursing Assistants to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.