Money · 1 of 5
What nursing assistants make
Typical
$42,260
Starting out
$33,940
Experienced, with shift extras
$51,980
The national median is $42,260 a year, and the bottom tenth start near $33,940. These figures are the federal wage survey line for nursing assistants, the one that names the certified nursing assistant title. A separate and lower line covers personal care aides, who do similar work in people's homes without the nursing certificate, and their median is about $35,800.