support · SOC 31-1131
Nursing Assistants
National median $42,260 / yr · 1,448,910 jobs nationally. Same job, very different outcomes by state — see the WageBench Score below.
National median
$42,260
BLS OEWS
Top state by Score
ND
Score 74 · North Dakota
Top-paying metro
San Jose
$56,840 median
Top WageBench Score
74
North Dakota
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 | North Dakota | $45,820 | $44,904 | 2.0% | 89 | ✓ | 74 |
| #2 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $51,990 | $51,990 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 74 |
| #3 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $49,110 | $46,949 | 4.4% | — | ✓ | 72 |
| #4 | Washington | $49,180 | $49,180 | 0.0% | 107 | ✓ | 70 |
| #5 | Wisconsin | $45,130 | $42,738 | 5.3% | 94 | ✓ | 70 |
| #6 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $46,220 | $44,801 | 3.1% | — | ✓ | 70 |
| #7 | South Dakota | $38,800 | $38,800 | 0.0% | 89 | ✓ | 70 |
| #8 | Colorado | $47,380 | $45,295 | 4.4% | 103 | ✓ | 70 |
| #9 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $56,080 | $52,715 | 6.0% | — | — | 69 |
| #10 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | $45,690 | $43,268 | 5.3% | — | ✓ | 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
$33,940
P25
$37,260
MEDIAN
$42,260
P75
$47,220
P90
$51,980
Hourly mean
$21
Hourly median
$20
Annual mean
$42,700
Total US jobs
1,448,910
Every state & metro, ranked
Filter by state, set a minimum WageBench Score, or restrict to Nurse Licensure Compact members. 571 scored areas total.
571 areas · page 1 of 23
| Area | State | Median | Take-Home | State Tax | COL Index | NLC | HPSA | WageBench Score ↓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | ND | $45,820 | $44,904 | 2.0% | 89 | ✓ | 23 | 74 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $51,990 | $51,990 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 21 | 74 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | CO | $49,110 | $46,949 | 4.4% | — | ✓ | 22 | 72 |
| Washington | WA | $49,180 | $49,180 | 0.0% | 107 | ✓ | 21 | 70 |
| Wisconsin | WI | $45,130 | $42,738 | 5.3% | 94 | ✓ | 21 | 70 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $46,220 | $44,801 | 3.1% | — | ✓ | 21 | 70 |
| South Dakota | SD | $38,800 | $38,800 | 0.0% | 89 | ✓ | 22 | 70 |
| Colorado | CO | $47,380 | $45,295 | 4.4% | 103 | ✓ | 22 | 70 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $56,080 | $52,715 | 6.0% | — | — | 24 | 69 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $45,690 | $43,268 | 5.3% | — | ✓ | 21 | 69 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $56,840 | $53,430 | 6.0% | — | — | 24 | 69 |
| Iowa | IA | $39,350 | $37,855 | 3.8% | 88 | ✓ | 21 | 69 |
| Maine | ME | $47,070 | $44,340 | 5.8% | 97 | ✓ | 19 | 69 |
| Wyoming | WY | $39,160 | $39,160 | 0.0% | 93 | ✓ | 23 | 69 |
| Missouri | MO | $37,680 | $35,984 | 4.5% | 91 | ✓ | 24 | 69 |
| Columbus, OH | OH | $42,970 | $41,681 | 3.0% | — | ✓ | 23 | 69 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $42,770 | $40,632 | 5.0% | — | ✓ | 24 | 69 |
| Ohio | OH | $39,010 | $37,840 | 3.0% | 93 | ✓ | 23 | 69 |
| Pennsylvania | PA | $44,590 | $43,221 | 3.1% | 98 | ✓ | 21 | 69 |
| Kentucky | KY | $38,370 | $36,835 | 4.0% | 90 | ✓ | 23 | 68 |
| Maryland | MD | $43,240 | $41,078 | 5.0% | 105 | ✓ | 24 | 68 |
| North Carolina | NC | $38,460 | $36,825 | 4.3% | 94 | ✓ | 24 | 68 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $39,710 | $38,022 | 4.3% | — | ✓ | 24 | 68 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $45,290 | $44,158 | 2.5% | — | ✓ | 21 | 68 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | TN | $39,510 | $39,510 | 0.0% | — | ✓ | 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 →