Home Health and Personal Care Aides Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 31-1120 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$35,797
$17.21/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
Get notified when this number updates
Personal or work email, both work. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.
The national median salary for Home Health and Personal Care Aides is $35,797 per year ($17.21/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $31,928 and $39,478 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $45,032 per year. There are approximately 4,305,810 home health and personal care aides employed in the United States.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+17.0%
Much faster than average
Annual openings
766K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
4.3M
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
10% from new growth90% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Individual and Family Services
NAICS 624100
2.3M
$34,900
Home Health Care Services
NAICS 621600
1.1M
$36,230
Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities
NAICS 623200
321K
$37,400
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly
NAICS 623300
265K
$37,060
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
NAICS 624300
57K
$36,500
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$13.00
$27,040
P25
$15.35
$31,928
P50MEDIAN
$17.21
$35,797
P75
$18.98
$39,478
P90
$21.65
$45,032
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · health sector
Hot
Openings Rate
5.4%
Quits Rate
1.9%
Health Care & Social Assistance openings rebounded to 1.36M (+87K) in March with rate at 5.4%. Hires rose to 700K (+75K). The sector remains structurally tight; compensation pressure persists for clinical roles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average home health and personal care aides salary?
The national median salary for Home Health and Personal Care Aides is $35,797 per year ($17.21/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $31,928 and $39,478 annually.
How much do top-earning home health and personal care aides make?
The 90th percentile salary for Home Health and Personal Care Aides is $45,032 per year ($21.65/hr). The 75th percentile is $39,478 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for home health and personal care aides?
Entry-level Home Health and Personal Care Aides (10th percentile) earn approximately $27,040 per year ($13.00/hr). The 25th percentile is $31,928 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.