Nursing Assisting Median Annual Wages

Medical student taking notes in hallway at the university

Sumner College offers a Nursing Assistant Program on the Arizona Campus.

If you’re looking for a career where you can make a difference in the lives of others, a career as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA) may be perfect for you. CNAs and LNAs work alongside nurses and physicians to ensure the comfort and safety of people who are often at their most vulnerable. Through direct interaction, they are a vital link between nurse and their patients.

This four-week program will provide you with knowledge and skills including patient safety and rights, diet and nutrition, ambulatory transfers and CPR. Sumner College is licensed by the Arizona State Board for Postsecondary Education and is approved by the Arizona State Board of Nursing to offer the Nursing Assistant Training Program.

Source: The U.S. Bureau of Labor & Statistics

The median annual wage for nursing assistants was $30,310 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,880, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $44,240.

The median annual wage for orderlies was $29,990 in May 2021. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,970, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $46,470.

In May 2021, the median annual wages for nursing assistants in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Government $37,310
Hospitals; state, local, and private 35,870
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) 29,970
Continuing care retirement communities and assisted living facilities for the elderly 29,900
Home healthcare services 29,280

 

In May 2021, the median annual wages for orderlies in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Government $36,950
Hospitals; state, local, and private 30,010
Ambulatory healthcare services 29,620

 

Although most nursing assistants and orderlies work full time, some work part time. Because nursing and residential care facilities and hospitals provide care at all hours, nursing aides and orderlies may need to work nights, weekends, and holidays.