How much does a CNA make?
In the medical field, becoming a certified nursing assistant is a very desirable professional due to the high level of personal satisfaction. A CNA is responsible for providing basic patient care under the direct guidance of a registered nurse. If you are thinking about pursing a career as a certified nursing assistant (CNA), the next question that you may want answered is what a CNA salary is. The answer to this question is not so simple. The pay you will earn as a certified nursing assistant is dependent on several factors including medical facility, location, work experience, and education.
CNA Pay by Medical Facility
The amount of money that you earn as a certified nursing assistant will depend on the medical facility in which you work. The different kinds of medical facilities that require nursing assistants include nursing homes, hospitals, mental wards, intermediate care facilities and private residences. In most instances, it is the nursing assistant that work in hospitals that earns the most money.
CNA Salary By City
The location of your cna job is another factor that will affect how much you are paid. Many people believe that CNAs make the most money in large cities like Los Angeles, Boston, and New York City. However, that is not always the case. CNA pay by location is largely driven by supply and demand. Some smaller cities with a shortage of certified nursing assistants will often pay a higher salary.
CNA Work Experience
The salaries for CNAs can begin at $19,000 for entry-level cna jobs to as much as $36,000 for those with more experience. In addition to the base salaries, a certified nursing assistant may receive a signing bonus due to the high demand. A nursing shortage is also caused by nurses upgrading their skills and moving onto other careers in the medical field. That is why cna salaries tend to increase over time. The labor of department also shows that the trend in nursing demand will continue to increase for the foreseeable future due to the aging demographics in our country and the continued need for medical care.
Nursing Education
The typical certified nursing assistant will typically get their cna training, take and pass their exam, get certified and licensed. The cna training class is a 3 credit hour class and takes one semester to complete. Where you take your cna classes is not that important because these are standard courses. Your salary is the same even if you attend the class at a better school. Your local community college will do just fine. From start to finish, it takes less than a year. On the other hand, nursing degrees will take 2 to 4 years and the starting pay is around 30% more.
Average CNA Salary by State and US Territories
- ALABAMA AL $36,000
- ALASKA AK $27,000
- AMERICAN SAMOA AS $27,000
- ARIZONA AZ $29,000
- ARKANSAS AR $29,000
- CALIFORNIA CA $33,000
- COLORADO CO $30,000
- CONNECTICUT CT $35,000
- DELAWARE DE $31,000
- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DC $41,000
- FLORIDA FL $32,000
- GEORGIA GA $35,000
- GUAM GU $33,000
- HAWAII HI $26,000
- IDAHO ID $27,000
- ILLINOIS IL $35,000
- INDIANA IN $34,000
- IOWA IA $32,000
- KANSAS KS $29,000
- KENTUCKY KY $35,000
- LOUISIANA LA $26,000
- MAINE ME $27,000
- MARSHALL ISLANDS MH $33,000
- MARYLAND MD $35,000
- MASSACHUSETTS MA $37,000
- MICHIGAN MI $31,000
- MINNESOTA MN $30,000
- MISSISSIPPI MS $42,000
- MISSOURI MO $35,000
- MONTANA MT $33,000
- NEBRASKA NE $29,000
- NEVADA NV $31,000
- NEW HAMPSHIRE NH $32,000
- NEW JERSEY NJ $34,000
- NEW MEXICO NM $30,000
- NEW YORK NY $39,000
- NORTH CAROLINA NC $32,000
- NORTH DAKOTA ND $34,000
- OHIO OH $30,000
- OKLAHOMA OK $30,000
- OREGON OR $32,000
- PENNSYLVANIA PA $31,000
- PUERTO RICO PR $19,000
- RHODE ISLAND RI $32,000
- SOUTH CAROLINA SC $30,000
- SOUTH DAKOTA SD $30,000
- TENNESSEE TN $33,000
- TEXAS TX $32,000
- UTAH UT $27,000
- VERMONT VT $35,000
- VIRGIN ISLAND VI $41,000
- VIRGINIA VA $35,000
- WASHINGTON WA $29,000
- WEST VIRGINIA WV $39,000
- WISCONSIN WI $27,000
- WYOMING WY $39,000
Other Helpful Resources:
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7347482_average-pay-cna-paid-training.html
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