Nursing Assistants
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.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Nursing Assistants. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $33,940 | $16.32 |
| 25th | $37,260 | $17.91 |
| 50th · Median | $42,260 | $20.32 |
| 75th | $47,220 | $22.70 |
| 90th | $51,980 | $24.99 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (39)
Typical tasks
- 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.
- 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.
Expand more tasks (27)
- 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.
- Observe or examine patients to detect symptoms that may require medical attention, such as bruises, open wounds, or blood in urine.
- Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers.
- Supply, collect, or empty bedpans.
- Communicate with patients to ascertain feelings or need for assistance or social and emotional support.
- Record vital signs, such as temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration rate, as directed by medical or nursing staff.
- Gather information from caregivers, nurses, or physicians about patient condition, treatment plans, or appropriate activities.
- Wash, groom, shave, or drape patients to prepare them for surgery, treatment, or examination.
- Prepare or serve food trays.
- Change bed linens or make beds.
- Exercise patients who are comatose, paralyzed, or have restricted mobility.
- Restock patient rooms with personal hygiene items, such as towels, washcloths, soap, or toilet paper.
- Clean and sanitize patient rooms, bathrooms, examination rooms, or other patient areas.
- Assist nurses or physicians in the operation of medical equipment or provision of patient care.
- Record height or weight of patients.
- Transport patients to treatment units, testing units, operating rooms, or other areas, using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds.
- Collect specimens, such as urine, feces, or sputum.
- Provide information, such as directions, visiting hours, or patient status information to visitors or callers.
- Position or hold patients in position for surgical preparation.
- Set up treating or testing equipment, such as oxygen tents, portable radiograph (x-ray) equipment, or overhead irrigation bottles, as directed by a physician or nurse.
- Administer medications or treatments, such as catheterizations, suppositories, irrigations, enemas, massages, or douches, as directed by a physician or nurse.
- Apply clean dressings, slings, stockings, or support bandages, under direction of nurse or physician.
- Stock or issue medical supplies, such as dressing packs or treatment trays.
- Explain medical instructions to patients or family members.
- Transport specimens, laboratory items, or pharmacy items, ensuring proper documentation and delivery to authorized personnel.
Skills used in this work
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Expand more skills (29)
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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