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Report · 2026 · BLS May 2025 data

Caregiver Pay Report 2026

What home health aides, personal care aides and CNAs earn in every U.S. state, where the gaps are, and what they mean for home care agencies setting pay and prices.

Key findings

2.1×

Aides in Washington ($22.95/hr) earn 2.1 times as much as aides in Louisiana ($10.83/hr) — about $25,200 more a year for a full-time caregiver.

12

states pay home health and personal care aides a median under $15 an hour. Only 5 (District of Columbia, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington) pay $20 or more.

$3.11

an hour is the national gap between CNAs ($20.32) and aides ($17.21). It's widest in Pennsylvania ($7.30) and narrowest in South Dakota ($0.50).

38%

of the 4.3 million U.S. home health and personal care aides work in just two states: California (970k) and New York (663k).

$22.04

an hour is the difference in what an agency must charge to pay the median wage in Washington versus Louisiana, on the same costs and profit ($41.74 vs $19.70).

The CNA pay gap, state by state

How much more nursing assistants earn than home health and personal care aides, per hour. Where the gap is wide, agencies that need certified staff compete with nursing homes and hospitals for them.

Alabama: +$3.02AL+$3.02Alaska: +$3.18AK+$3.18Arizona: +$4.02AZ+$4.02Arkansas: +$3.25AR+$3.25California: +$6.40CA+$6.40Colorado: +$4.25CO+$4.25Connecticut: +$2.78CT+$2.78Delaware: +$3.71DE+$3.71District of Columbia: +$2.40DC+$2.40Florida: +$1.78FL+$1.78Georgia: +$4.05GA+$4.05Hawaii: +$3.48HI+$3.48Idaho: +$1.86ID+$1.86Illinois: +$3.80IL+$3.80Indiana: +$1.57IN+$1.57Iowa: +$1.58IA+$1.58Kansas: +$3.24KS+$3.24Kentucky: +$0.93KY+$0.93Louisiana: +$3.84LA+$3.84Maine: +$4.08ME+$4.08Maryland: +$2.50MD+$2.50Massachusetts: +$2.77MA+$2.77Michigan: +$2.20MI+$2.20Minnesota: +$3.99MN+$3.99Mississippi: +$3.68MS+$3.68Missouri: +$2.21MO+$2.21Montana: +$2.06MT+$2.06Nebraska: +$1.85NE+$1.85Nevada: +$5.68NV+$5.68New Hampshire: +$4.38NH+$4.38New Jersey: +$4.69NJ+$4.69New Mexico: +$5.23NM+$5.23New York: +$4.31NY+$4.31North Carolina: +$3.47NC+$3.47North Dakota: +$3.07ND+$3.07Ohio: +$2.19OH+$2.19Oklahoma: +$3.95OK+$3.95Oregon: +$2.61OR+$2.61Pennsylvania: +$7.30PA+$7.30Rhode Island: +$1.33RI+$1.33South Carolina: +$3.42SC+$3.42South Dakota: +$0.50SD+$0.50Tennessee: +$2.82TN+$2.82Texas: +$6.38TX+$6.38Utah: +$1.90UT+$1.90Vermont: +$2.66VT+$2.66Virginia: +$6.20VA+$6.20Washington: +$0.70WA+$0.70West Virginia: +$4.19WV+$4.19Wisconsin: +$4.23WI+$4.23Wyoming: +$2.87WY+$2.87
CNA median minus aide median, per hour+$0.50+$7.30

Every state, ranked by median aide pay

  1. 1Washington$22.95
  2. 2Oregon$21.35
  3. 3Rhode Island$21.00
  4. 4District of Columbia$20.53
  5. 5Vermont$20.00
  6. 6Massachusetts$19.67
  7. 7Alaska$19.11
  8. 8New York$19.05
  9. 9North Dakota$18.96
  10. 10Connecticut$18.75
  11. 11New Hampshire$18.64
  12. 12Maine$18.55
  13. 13Colorado$18.53
  14. 14Minnesota$18.45
  15. 15Hawaii$18.32
  16. 16Illinois$18.30
  17. 17Maryland$18.29
  18. 18South Dakota$18.15
  19. 19New Jersey$17.83
  20. 20Montana$17.61
  21. 21Kentucky$17.52
  22. 22Arizona$17.51
  23. 23Wisconsin$17.47
  24. 24Nebraska$17.38
  25. 25Iowa$17.34
  26. 26Utah$17.25
  27. 27Indiana$16.86
  28. 28Michigan$16.83
  29. 29Idaho$16.72
  30. 30Ohio$16.57
  31. 31California$16.50
  32. 32Delaware$16.50
  33. 33Florida$16.25
  34. 34Nevada$16.19
  35. 35Wyoming$15.96
  36. 36Missouri$15.90
  37. 37Tennessee$15.45
  38. 38Kansas$15.03
  39. 39North Carolina$15.02
  40. 40Virginia$14.57
  41. 41South Carolina$14.48
  42. 42Pennsylvania$14.14
  43. 43Georgia$14.07
  44. 44New Mexico$13.71
  45. 45West Virginia$13.47
  46. 46Alabama$13.39
  47. 47Oklahoma$13.32
  48. 48Arkansas$13.30
  49. 49Texas$11.65
  50. 50Mississippi$11.47
  51. 51Louisiana$10.83

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, via the official BLS API. “Aides” are home health and personal care aides (SOC 31-1120), the federal category covering most in-home caregivers; “CNAs” are nursing assistants (SOC 31-1131). Figures cover all employers, not only home care agencies, and are hourly wages before benefits. Bill-rate figures use the Hirecise rate calculator's standard cost assumptions and are estimates, not what agencies charge.

What this means for home care agencies

Pay is set locally — so check your own state

The national median of $17.21 hides a $12.12 spread between states. A top-10% wage in Louisiana ($15.45) would be below the bottom 10% in Washington ($19.29). Start from your state's figures: caregiver pay by state.

Budget for certification

CNAs earn more than aides in every state. If a role needs a certification, price the job — and the service — at CNA pay, not aide pay.

Your wage sets your price

At the U.S. median aide wage, an agency needs about $31.30 an hour to make a 10% profit on typical costs. Work out your own with the home care rate calculator.

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