This research brief provides the latest annual snapshot of U.S. nursing assistants employed in nursing homes, including key demographics and a variety of wage and employment trends. This research brief estimates that there are nearly 600,000 nursing assistants employed in nursing homes in the U.S. These nursing assistants earn a median wage of $12.84 an hour and about $21,200 a year – in turn, 15 percent live in poverty (compared to 7 percent of all U.S. workers).
Key Takeaways
Nearly 600,000 nursing assistants deliver personal care, assistance with daily activities, and clinical support to 1.5 million nursing home residents across the U.S.
Due in part to the physical nature of the job, nursing assistants are injured 3.4 times more frequently than the typical American worker.
Nursing assistants comprise over one-third of the nursing home workforce.
Stephen McCall is a Data and Policy Analyst at PHI. In this capacity, he studies and writes about a variety of issues facing the direct care workforce–with the goal of reforming state and national policies.
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Caring for the Future
Our new policy report takes an extensive look at today's direct care workforce—in five installments.
