CNA Salary by State
August 22nd, 2010The basic pay structure of Certified Nursing Assistants differs from US state to state. CNAs are normally paid on hourly basis. Typically working in a big city is financially more rewarding as the Certified Nursing Assistants get higher hourly CNA salary compared to the salaries of their colleagues working as a CNA in rural areas. Of course prospective Certified Nursing Assistants must take into consideration the higher monthly expenses they will have in the bigger cities of the USA, so in general the higher CNA salaries earned in bigger cities are based on the overall much higher monthly costs and the higher demand for CNA professionals in these cities because of their bigger population. It is very important that the prospective CNA professionals make their decision where to start their CNA career not only based on the information about higher CNA wages in certain state/city of the USA, but in relation with their personal goals. Certified Nursing Assistant also gets paid on the basis of their experience. Certified Nursing Assistants who have completed a CNA Training program and after that successfully have passed the CNA certification test for a particular state of the USA will have the legal right to start a CNA career with entry level salary, but if the CNA professional has additional training and certification higher CNA salary can be expected even at the start of the professional’s CNA career. Certified Nursing Assistants with more experience typically earn higher hourly CNA salary. Less experienced or inexperienced Certified Nursing Assistants can still expect to earn a hourly wage between $8 to $11. For example any Certified Nursing Assistant with working experience of 12 months or more, can expect to get hourly salary of around $12 to $14. The CNA salary sometimes, depending on the institution where the Certified Nursing Assistant works, comes with additional benefits that add up to the CNA salary. Many nursing homes provide attractive benefits to CNAs and also pay hourly salary comparable to that in other big hospitals and provide free training. Displayed below are typical average entry level hourly salaries of CNAs in some of the US states with great demand for Certified Nursing Assistants:
Pennsylvania $11.64
California $11.58
Florida $10.75
Illinois $10.45
Texas $9.84
North Carolina $9.73
Georgia $9.22
In order to get more detailed information about typical CNA salary levels based on different criterias, it is advisable the prospective CNA professionals who consider to complete CNA training program and pass the state CNA certification test to research sites such as PayScale to learn more about CNA wages.
In order to get CNA certification all the prospective Certified Nursing Assistants have to undergo training as well as pass CNA certification exam. Just because of the completed CNA training program and the CNA certificate obtained, prospective health care professionals can easily get better salary compared to that of non Certified Nursing Assistants. Also if a prospective CNA have attended training provided by a health care institution, such as hospital, assisted living facility, adult day health center or nursing home, and has shown great personal and professional qualities, this fact can lead to higher CNA salary in that health institution even from the beginning of the CNA’s career, based on the judgement of the supervising professional who has performed the training. CNA salary statistics provided by PayScale.com clearly indicate that gaining on-job practical working experience can definitely help to increase CNA’s salary. Other important factor for salary increase is education. Based on the completed CNA education and additional training, health care professional employed as a Certified Nursing Assistant can get promotion or negotiate better salary.
After successful completion of the basic CNA training, a prospective Certified Nurse Assistant can undergo any of the various related certification and training programs available to enhance chances for a better salary. CNA Certification Salary report by PayScale.com illustrates how certifications like Basic Life Support or Certified Nursing Administration can influence CNA salary. It further discloses the difference between the salaries of Advanced Certified Nurse Assistants and regular CNAs. It is also advisable for a Certified Nurse Assistant with some CNA experience to consider investing time and money in a 2-4 year Nursing Degree in order to become a Registered Nurse (RN).
