CNA Salary 2026
CNAs earn a median of $42,260 (BLS, May 2025), below the $50,980 national median. Why four different figures circulate, and what the LPN gap is worth.
CNA Salary: The Real Number and Why It Varies
Median CNA salary stands at $42,260 annually in the BLS release for May 2025. The figure across all US occupations is $50,980, placing nursing assistants roughly 17 percent underneath it.
That is not the figure most salary pages lead with, and there are four different numbers in circulation for this role. The reasons are worth understanding, because one of them is not obvious.
What the Number Actually Is
- Nursing assistants
- $42,260
- The correct CNA figure. BLS SOC 31-1131
- Nursing assistants and orderlies
- $41,870
- A combined category. Often quoted as CNA pay, incorrectly
- Orderlies
- $38,290
- A separate occupation entirely
- All US occupations
- $50,980
- The benchmark CNA pay sits below
CNA pay, CNA income, CNA wages and certified nurse aide salary all describe the same role. Nurse aide pay is an older convention that persists in some states. An annual CNA salary and an hourly one are the same figure expressed differently, and average CNA pay figures you find will usually be means rather than medians, which read slightly higher.
Hospitals pay nursing assistants a median of $42,310, fractionally above the national figure, on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook for May 2025. Nursing homes employ more CNAs than hospitals do.
The full distribution
- Bottom 10 percent
- Under $33,940
- New to the registry, part time, lower cost states
- 25th percentile
- $37,260
- Established aides in most settings
- Median
- $42,260
- The CNA salary most quoted
- 75th percentile
- $47,220
- Hospitals, agency shifts, high cost states
- Top 10 percent
- Over $51,980
- Agency work, lead aide roles, expensive markets
Why figures differ
Why You Will Find Four Different CNA Salaries
- Survey year
- $39,530
- The May 2024 figure, and it still appears on pages published this year. Lower numbers are older still.
- The wrong occupation
- $41,870
- BLS publishes a combined nursing assistants and orderlies category at $41,870. Several sites quote that as CNA pay. Orderlies are a different job at $38,290.
Search this and you will meet $42,260, $41,970, $39,530 and $38,200, all offered as the CNA salary. Two reasons explain the spread and only one of them is obvious.
If a page does not tell you which occupation code and which survey year its number comes from, you cannot judge whether it is right. Ours is nursing assistants, SOC 31-1131, May 2025.
What the LPN Route Is Actually Worth
Licensed practical nurses earn a median of $64,400 against $42,260 for nursing assistants. The difference is $22,140 a year, or 52 percent — the full spread sits on the LPN pay page.
Unlike the step from assistant to therapist in the therapy professions, this one does not require a graduate degree. LPN programs typically run about a year, and many CNAs complete them while continuing to work.
The caveat is the market. BLS projects practical nursing to grow at 3 percent, the slowest in healthcare, as hospitals move work towards registered nurses. The pay step is real and the profession you are stepping into is not expanding quickly.
Why Agency Shifts Pay Differently
Agency CNA work is usually priced per shift rather than as a weekly package, which makes it the simplest comparison in healthcare staffing. An hourly agency rate sits above an equivalent staff rate because it carries no guaranteed hours.
That trade is the whole thing. Facility demand moves with census, and a shift that evaporates pays nothing at all. Find out what happens on a cancellation and whether any minimum is guaranteed before you weigh the rate against a salary.
Travel contracts work differently again, bundling a taxed hourly rate together with untaxed housing and meal money that depends on keeping a home elsewhere.
Find out what agency shifts pay near you
Tell us your state registry status and which shifts you can cover. A real rate comes back.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do CNAs make?
The nursing assistant median for May 2025 was $42,260, which lands roughly 17 percent under the $50,980 figure spanning all US occupations. With 1,558,700 people doing the work, it is the third largest healthcare occupation in the country.
Why do CNA salary figures differ between websites?
Published CNA figures differ for two reasons, and the second catches most people out. Some pages still carry $39,530, which is the May 2024 release. Others quote a BLS category that bundles two occupations together at $41,870, mixing orderlies in with nursing assistants. The correct May 2025 figure is $42,260.
How much more do LPNs earn than CNAs?
Licensed practical nurses earn about $22,140 more at the median, $64,400 against $42,260 on May 2025 BLS data, which is 52 percent. The programs run roughly twelve months and are commonly done part time by people already working as aides.
Does agency work pay CNAs more?
Agency rates generally run above staff rates for identical work, because nothing is guaranteed. A shift that gets cancelled pays nothing at all, so the uplift is really compensation for carrying that risk. Establish the cancellation terms first, then weigh the number against a salary.
Figures: BLS OEWS May 2025, code 31-1131, LPN comparison from 29-2061, with the Occupational Outlook Handbook. All linked above. Last reviewed October 2026.