CNA Salary

The pay scale to determine a CNA salary differs from job to job depending on a variety of factors.  They include your length of experience, location, additional training certifications, the method of payment you receive, and your work schedule. For first time entry level certified nursing assistants, the range may vary from $10-15 per hour depending on the state you’re in.

Having a little training and experience in the field would of course affect the amount of pay that you would get.  As your length of time in the job grows, your salary will also increase.  The lowest that one could receive as an annual CNA salary would be $20,000 based on the latest survey.

The location you live in is also a deciding factor to the amount of salary that you would get.  If you happen to be in an upscale city, you can expect a salary of $28,000 to $35,000 as a beginner.  Those in rural areas will get as low as $20,000.  That is a huge difference especially if you are taking additional training and education.

CNA Salary by U.S State

If you want to get the best certified nursing assistant salary, you should check out job openings in large metropolitan cities. Alaska is currently the top payers for nurse aides with an hourly pay of over $15 on average.  Next to them is New York providing a pay of about $15-20 per hour.  The CNA salary in CA ranges anywhere from $15-$20 an hour not counting overtime pay. This means a CNA can make about $28,800 to $35,000 working full time.

CNA’s in Florida earn on average around $11. North Carolina pays entry level employees around $14 an hour. Workers in Texas can expect to make around $13 an hour. The lowest paying states to be employed in would be Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma which have an hourly rate for nursing assistants of $12-13.

Studies also showed that those with longer experiences in the field have more chances of earning greater than those who have just recently started.  The annual income of those with less than one year of experience range from $11,000 to $14,000; those with one to four years have $14-30,000; five to nine years and you can get as much as $40,000; and those with ten years and up can earn as much as $55,000 annually.  So you see that experience can definitely affect your salary range.

There are also several modes of payment for certified nursing assistants and you can choose from any of them.  You can opt for an higher hourly wage which does not have or include additional benefits from your employer.  There is also the contractual form of employment which offers a lower salary but has other perks and benefits with them.  You can also choose to be a traveling CNA which may have a lower salary but would give you the opportunity to visit various locations.  If you choose to work for charitable institutions, you may expect some of your services to be for free but that would depend on your financial needs.

Another deciding factor in your certified nursing assistant wage is your work schedule. Depending on the whether you work the day or night shift can impact your take home home pay. In addition many CNA positions offer overtime pay at time and a half anytime you work in excess of forty hours in a single week. This can quickly add up to increased earning potential for a nursing assistant.

An entry level nursing assistant career in healthcare may not always give you the preferred salary or wage that you would like.  However, as it is an occupation which requires compassion for your patients, it can bring great personal satisfaction and potential for advancement.  This job offers you a great experience in the health care field and looks great on your resume as you seek to move up to a higher paying position.  Starting out as an entry level certified nursing assistant within the health care industry can help you advance in your medical career much quicker than someone without the same hands on experience. If you wish to improve your chances of earning a higher CNA salary, you may need to acquire additional training as well and education.