support · SOC 31-1120
Home Health and Personal Care Aides
National median $35,800 / yr · 4,305,810 jobs nationally. Same job, very different outcomes by state — see the WageBench Score below.
National median
$35,800
BLS OEWS
Top state by Score
ND
Score 74 · North Dakota
Top-paying metro
Grants Pass
$53,120 median
Top WageBench Score
76
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Top 10 destinations
Same job. Wildly different outcomes by metro. Click any column to re-sort.
| Rank | Area | Annual Median | Take-Home | State Tax | COL Index | NLC | WageBench Score ↓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $48,210 | $48,210 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 76 |
| #2 | North Dakota | $39,440 | $38,651 | 2.0% | 89 | ✓ | 74 |
| #3 | Washington | $47,730 | $47,730 | 0.0% | 107 | ✓ | 74 |
| #4 | South Dakota | $37,740 | $37,740 | 0.0% | 89 | ✓ | 73 |
| #5 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $37,640 | $35,758 | 5.0% | — | ✓ | 70 |
| #6 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $38,900 | $37,188 | 4.4% | — | ✓ | 70 |
| #7 | Colorado | $38,540 | $36,844 | 4.4% | 103 | ✓ | 70 |
| #8 | Kentucky | $36,440 | $34,982 | 4.0% | 90 | ✓ | 70 |
| #9 | Iowa | $36,080 | $34,709 | 3.8% | 88 | ✓ | 70 |
| #10 | Wisconsin | $36,340 | $34,414 | 5.3% | 94 | ✓ | 69 |
National wage distribution
How pay spreads across the workforce — from the 10th percentile (entry / low-COL settings) to the 90th (highest-paying environments).
P10
$27,040
P25
$31,920
MEDIAN
$35,800
P75
$39,470
P90
$45,040
Hourly mean
$17
Hourly median
$17
Annual mean
$36,120
Total US jobs
4,305,810
Every state & metro, ranked
Filter by state, set a minimum WageBench Score, or restrict to Nurse Licensure Compact members. 580 scored areas total.
580 areas · page 1 of 24
| Area | State | Median | Take-Home | State Tax | COL Index | NLC | HPSA | WageBench Score ↓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $48,210 | $48,210 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 21 | 76 |
| North Dakota | ND | $39,440 | $38,651 | 2.0% | 89 | ✓ | 23 | 74 |
| Washington | WA | $47,730 | $47,730 | 0.0% | 107 | ✓ | 21 | 74 |
| South Dakota | SD | $37,740 | $37,740 | 0.0% | 89 | ✓ | 22 | 73 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $37,640 | $35,758 | 5.0% | — | ✓ | 24 | 70 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | CO | $38,900 | $37,188 | 4.4% | — | ✓ | 22 | 70 |
| Colorado | CO | $38,540 | $36,844 | 4.4% | 103 | ✓ | 22 | 70 |
| Kentucky | KY | $36,440 | $34,982 | 4.0% | 90 | ✓ | 23 | 70 |
| Iowa | IA | $36,080 | $34,709 | 3.8% | 88 | ✓ | 21 | 70 |
| Wisconsin | WI | $36,340 | $34,414 | 5.3% | 94 | ✓ | 21 | 69 |
| Nebraska | NE | $36,150 | $34,415 | 4.8% | 90 | ✓ | 20 | 69 |
| Indiana | IN | $35,060 | $33,991 | 3.0% | 93 | ✓ | 23 | 69 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $35,210 | $34,154 | 3.0% | — | ✓ | 23 | 69 |
| Montana | MT | $36,630 | $34,725 | 5.2% | 95 | ✓ | 22 | 69 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | FL | $34,210 | $34,210 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 24 | 69 |
| Ohio | OH | $34,460 | $33,426 | 3.0% | 93 | ✓ | 23 | 69 |
| Wyoming | WY | $33,190 | $33,190 | 0.0% | 93 | ✓ | 23 | 69 |
| Columbus, OH | OH | $34,880 | $33,834 | 3.0% | — | ✓ | 23 | 69 |
| Missouri | MO | $33,080 | $31,591 | 4.5% | 91 | ✓ | 24 | 69 |
| Maryland | MD | $38,040 | $36,138 | 5.0% | 105 | ✓ | 24 | 68 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $34,110 | $34,110 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 24 | 68 |
| Rhode Island | RI | $43,680 | $41,605 | 4.8% | 102 | ✓ | 17 | 68 |
| Maine | ME | $38,580 | $36,342 | 5.8% | 97 | ✓ | 19 | 68 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | IN | $35,060 | $33,991 | 3.0% | — | ✓ | 23 | 68 |
| Tennessee | TN | $32,130 | $32,130 | 0.0% | 92 | ✓ | 23 | 68 |
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Employer benchmark
Download the full national benchmark (PDF)
National percentile wages, 51-state ranking by WageBench Score, top-25 metros, and methodology footer — formatted for HR / compensation review.
WageBench Score blends pay, taxes, COL, demand, license access and livability into one 0-100 number.
How we calculate it →