# 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.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/nursing-assistants
- SOC code: 31-1131.00
- Career family: Healthcare support
- Median annual pay: $42,260 (10th percentile $33,940, 90th percentile $51,980)
- Projected growth: As fast as average, +2.6%
- Openings a year: 196,200
- Typical entry education: Postsecondary certificate
- Bright outlook: yes
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code SRC)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 60 |
| Investigative (I) | 29 |
| Artistic (A) | 0 |
| Social (S) | 78 |
| Enterprising (E) | 13 |
| Conventional (C) | 54 |

## What you'd do

- Assisting and Caring for Others (importance 89/100)
- Getting Information (importance 79/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 78/100)
- Documenting/Recording Information (importance 76/100)
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships (importance 73/100)
- Performing General Physical Activities (importance 70/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 69/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 68/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 66/100)
- Developing and Building Teams (importance 65/100)

## Skills

Service Orientation, Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Monitoring, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Active Learning, Judgment and Decision Making

## Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, English Language, Public Safety and Security, Medicine and Dentistry, Education and Training, Therapy and Counseling, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, Personnel and Human Resources

## Also called

Birth Attendant, Certified Medication Aide (CMA), Certified Nurse Aide (CNA), Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), Certified Nurses Aide (CNA), Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Certified Nursing Attendant (CNA), Certified Residential Medication Aide (CRMA), Clinical Assistant, Competency Evaluated Nurse Aide (CENA)

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5139) (CIP 5139, 880 colleges)
- [Health Aides/Attendants/Orderlies](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5126) (CIP 5126, 93 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Carrington College-Sacramento](https://www.collegesref.com/college/carrington-college-sacramento-420) | Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | $70,686 | $112,176 | $19,872 |
| [Unitek College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/unitek-college-2855) | Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | $72,818 | $108,612 | $14,273 |
| [Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts](https://www.collegesref.com/college/gurnick-academy-of-medical-arts-1131) | Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | $66,307 | $85,529 | $23,410 |
| [Green River College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/green-river-college-1120) | Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | not reported | $76,656 | $9,257 |
| [San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia](https://www.collegesref.com/college/san-joaquin-valley-college-visalia-2362) | Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | $57,680 | $76,313 | $21,000 |
| [San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield](https://www.collegesref.com/college/san-joaquin-valley-college-bakersfield-2353) | Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | $57,680 | $76,313 | $21,000 |
| [Dickinson State University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/dickinson-state-university-818) | Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | not reported | $69,015 | $13,000 |
| [Pacific College-California](https://www.collegesref.com/college/pacific-college-california-2055) | Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | $54,755 | $67,162 | $25,250 |

## Related careers

- [Home Health Aides](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/home-health-aides): $35,800 median pay
- [Paramedics](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/paramedics): $60,600 median pay
- [Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/licensed-practical-and-licensed-vocational-nurses): $64,400 median pay
- [Registered Nurses](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/registered-nurses): $97,550 median pay
- [Acute Care Nurses](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/acute-care-nurses): $97,550 median pay
- [Emergency Medical Technicians](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/emergency-medical-technicians): $44,470 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.