Certified nursing assistants · New York
CNA Jobs in
New York
CNA jobs NYC side are where most people start looking, and the demand is real. Our certified nursing assistant jobs New York openings today sit upstate, in Penn Yan, Waterloo, Geneva and Amsterdam — across nursing homes, home care, hospitals and hospice. Paid weekly, and if you are certified in another state, reciprocity costs 50 dollars and we handle the paperwork.
Quick facts
- Weekly pay
- Paid weekly; the contract rate is set per facility — your recruiter confirms the real number on the first call
- Settings
- Nursing homes, home care, hospitals, hospice and assisted living
- Shifts
- Day, evening and night, with rotating contracts and a 4x10 evening block among current openings
- Certification
- New York State Nurse Aide Registry listing required. Certified elsewhere? Reciprocity runs through Prometric at a $50 fee. You cannot work until the registry shows you as Active.
- What sets it apart
- Reciprocity is straightforward but not fast, and there is no temporary permit, so the application is the first thing to start
- Extras
- Paid weekly and a dedicated recruiter. Call (866) 680-2920.
- Pay updated
- October 2026
Verified openings
Current New York CNA Jobs
Nursing Assistant FT D/N
Geneva, NY
Nursing Assistant
View all 28 New York CNA positions
Filter by shift, contract length, facility setting and state.
Certified somewhere else? Here is exactly how New York reciprocity works
CNAs are not licensed, so there is no compact and no multistate certificate. Every state keeps its own nurse aide registry and New York is no exception — the New York State Nurse Aide Registry sits with the Department of Health. New York nurse aide reciprocity does work, provided your certification is active and in good standing where you hold it.
For an NYS CNA certification by transfer, the application is Route 2 — Reciprocity from another state — and it goes to Prometric's New York nurse aide program rather than to the Department of Health directly. The fee is 50 dollars. You send a copy of your current out of state certificate with it.
One detail catches people out. If your current state's registry does not publish expiration dates, you also need a letter from an employer confirming you have done paid nurse aide work in the last two years, signed by a supervisor. Check your own registry listing before you apply, not after.
A fingerprint background check follows. Then the part worth planning around: until the registry shows you as Active, you cannot work as a CNA in New York. No temporary permit exists to bridge that gap. Get the application in before you start looking at start dates.
Route 2, the Prometric application, the 50 dollar fee and the Active requirement checked against Prometric and NYSDOH. Last reviewed October 2026.
Can you get a hospital CNA job in New York?
More New York CNAs search for hospital work than in any other state we have researched, and the reason is reasonable enough. City hospital systems pay better than nursing homes and many are unionized.
The honest position is that most CNA work in New York, as everywhere, is long term care and home care. CNA jobs in NYC hospitals exist and we place into them, but there are fewer of them and they move quickly. A CNA who will only consider a hospital waits considerably longer than one who will take a nursing home contract while something opens up.
Where the work is
CNAs search New York by borough more than by city, because an hour on the subway each way decides whether a job is worth taking. Our own openings today sit upstate in the Finger Lakes — the boroughs are where the demand is, upstate is where our listings are.
Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx
CNA jobs Brooklyn is the largest single borough market, with CNA jobs Queens and CNA jobs Bronx close behind. These three hold most of the city's nursing homes. Manhattan has the fewest CNA roles and the longest commutes to reach them.
Long Island
CNA jobs Long Island mean suburban nursing homes and home care rounds. A car helps and sometimes is required, which is unusual for New York work.
Buffalo and upstate
CNA jobs Buffalo NY is the only market outside the metro with real weight behind it. Rochester, Syracuse and Albany all hire too, in smaller numbers that go quickly. Our live openings today sit in the Finger Lakes — Penn Yan, Waterloo, Geneva and Amsterdam.
Home care across the state
One patient at a time, in their own home, often in the same few blocks each week. Steadier than facility work and a different job entirely.
Earnings
What New York pays
Nationally the median for nursing assistants was $42,260 a year in May 2025, around 20 dollars an hour, on Bureau of Labor Statistics data. New York sits above it, with published state figures landing somewhere between $44,000 and $48,000 depending on which source and which survey year you read.
That spread is worth being honest about. Different outlets quote different New York numbers because some use the mean rather than the median and some are working from older survey years. Adjust any of them for what New York costs and the advantage over the national figure largely disappears.
Read those as permanent staff numbers in any case. Agency shifts price on a different basis entirely, and the setting you work in moves the figure further than which borough you are in.
Plenty of New York CNAs keep two or three agencies on the go at once, and CNA agency NYC work is how a lot of people fill a week without tying themselves to one employer. Comparing agencies, ask two things. Who is your named contact, and what happens to your hours the week a facility cancels.
What drives CNA pay nationally, and why four different figures are in circulation.
National median $42,260 (BLS, May 2025); published New York figures run $44,000 to $48,000.
Frequently asked questions
Can I work while my reciprocity application is processing?
Working before the New York registry lists you as Active is not permitted. There is no temporary permit or grace period for CNAs certified elsewhere, which differs from some states. Plan the application first and the start date second.
Do I need a car?
A car is unnecessary for most CNA work in the five boroughs and often necessary on Long Island and upstate. Home care rounds in the suburbs assume you can drive between visits. City facility work does not.
What do CNAs earn in New York?
New York pays CNAs above the national median, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics put at $42,260 for May 2025. Published New York figures range from about $44,000 to $48,000 a year, and they differ because some sources quote the mean rather than the median. Once the cost of living is taken into account, most of the gap closes.
Apply for New York CNA jobs
Tell us where you are certified and which boroughs you can reach — and whether upstate works, because that is where the live openings are. If you are coming from another state, the reciprocity application is the first thing to sort and we will do it with you.
Looking at other roles in the state? See LPN jobs in New York or registered nurse jobs in New York.