What facilities pay CNAs the most?

Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of certified nursing assistant salary by state for the United States:

Table of Contents Show

Highest-Paid Certified Nursing Assistants By State
Methodology: Certified Nursing Assistant Salary By State
Certified Nursing Assistant Salary By State FAQs
Where do CNAs get paid the highest?
What's the most a CNA can make an hour?
Where is the best place for a CNA to work?
How do I make more money as a CNA?

Hawaii has the highest certified nursing assistant salary of $45,187
Mississippi has the lowest certified nursing assistant salary of $25,164
The national average salary for certified nursing assistants is $32,597
The national hourly pay for certified nursing assistants is $15.67

You can read more on the specific methodology.

Background

Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do certified nursing assistants get paid where I live?

And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for certified nursing assistant by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.

The state with the best salary for certified nursing assistants after this adjustment? That would be Hawaii.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for certified nursing assistant salaries:

Hawaii (Jobs)
Alaska (Jobs)
Vermont (Jobs)
Maine (Jobs)
New Hampshire (Jobs)
Massachusetts (Jobs)
Washington (Jobs)
Oregon (Jobs)
New York (Jobs)
Rhode Island (Jobs)

Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.

Highest-Paid Certified Nursing Assistants By State

Rank	State	Average Certified Nursing Assistant Salary	10th Percentile	90th Percentile
1	Hawaii	$45,187	$37,000	$54,000
2	Alaska	$42,735	$35,000	$51,000
3	Vermont	$40,762	$30,000	$54,000
4	Maine	$38,575	$29,000	$50,000
5	New Hampshire	$37,696	$28,000	$50,000
6	Massachusetts	$36,900	$27,000	$49,000
7	Washington	$36,232	$27,000	$47,000
8	Oregon	$35,586	$26,000	$47,000
9	New York	$35,584	$26,000	$47,000
10	Rhode Island	$35,490	$26,000	$47,000
11	New Jersey	$35,230	$26,000	$47,000
12	Connecticut	$34,189	$25,000	$45,000
13	California	$34,156	$25,000	$45,000
14	Delaware	$33,587	$24,000	$45,000
15	Pennsylvania	$33,411	$24,000	$45,000
16	Nevada	$33,337	$24,000	$44,000
17	Minnesota	$32,324	$24,000	$42,000
18	Wisconsin	$32,207	$24,000	$43,000
19	North Dakota	$32,143	$24,000	$42,000
20	Wyoming	$31,858	$23,000	$42,000
21	New Mexico	$31,749	$23,000	$43,000
22	Michigan	$31,632	$23,000	$42,000
23	Illinois	$31,442	$23,000	$42,000
24	Arizona	$31,418	$23,000	$42,000
25	Maryland	$31,174	$23,000	$42,000
26	Montana	$31,162	$23,000	$40,000
27	Virginia	$30,998	$22,000	$41,000
28	Indiana	$30,924	$23,000	$41,000
29	Idaho	$30,836	$23,000	$40,000
30	Ohio	$30,710	$22,000	$41,000
31	Colorado	$30,603	$22,000	$40,000
32	Utah	$30,522	$22,000	$40,000
33	South Dakota	$29,933	$22,000	$39,000
34	Nebraska	$29,669	$22,000	$39,000
35	Iowa	$29,614	$22,000	$39,000
36	Kansas	$29,224	$21,000	$39,000
37	Kentucky	$29,208	$21,000	$39,000
38	Missouri	$29,187	$21,000	$39,000
39	West Virginia	$29,142	$21,000	$39,000
40	Oklahoma	$28,851	$21,000	$38,000
41	Alabama	$27,943	$20,000	$38,000
42	North Carolina	$27,842	$20,000	$37,000
43	Tennessee	$27,747	$20,000	$37,000
44	Florida	$27,476	$20,000	$37,000
45	Texas	$27,265	$19,000	$37,000
46	Arkansas	$26,863	$19,000	$36,000
47	Georgia	$26,394	$19,000	$35,000
48	South Carolina	$25,978	$19,000	$35,000
49	Louisiana	$25,719	$18,000	$35,000
50	Mississippi	$25,164	$18,000	$34,000

Methodology: Certified Nursing Assistant Salary By State

To better understand certified nursing assistant pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for certified nursing assistants by state.

We took the average annual salary data for certified nursing assistants from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for certified nursing assistants.

Certified Nursing Assistant Salary By State FAQs

What is the highest-paid state for certified nursing assistants?

The highest-paid state for certified nursing assistants is Hawaii with an average salary of $45,187 per year.
What city pays certified nursing assistants the most?
Portland, ME pays certified nursing assistants the most with an average salary of $38,636 per year.
What is the worst state for certified nursing assistants?
The worst state for certified nursing assistants is Mississippi with an average salary of $25,164 per year.

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Where do CNAs get paid the highest?

While Alaska boasts the highest average salary for CNAs, the state also maintains a high cost of living, as do other top states, including New York, California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts. The cities that offer the highest CNA salaries are all located in California.

What's the most a CNA can make an hour?

While ZipRecruiter is seeing hourly wages as high as $24.76 and as low as $8.89, the majority of CNA wages currently range between $12.98 (25th percentile) to $18.03 (75th percentile) across the United States.

Where is the best place for a CNA to work?

Hospitals: Hospital jobs are often at the top of the list for CNAs. The pay and benefits are good, and it's fun to work with a variety of health care professionals. A CNA may be paired with a single nurse or assigned to a group of patients for the shift.

How do I make more money as a CNA?

Work Later Shifts For instance, CNA Plus Academy notes that the higher pay per hour for night shift CNA jobs can lead to substantial pay increases compared to pay for day shifts. In addition, you could earn more for overtime hours and for working during the weekend or on holidays.