Healthcare Support · SOC 31-1120

Home Health and Personal Care Aides Salary (2024) — Pay by Metro Area

Home Health and Personal Care Aides earn a national median of $34,900 per year. Because pay tracks local labour markets, the same job ranges from $22,820 in the cheapest metro covered to $46,690 in the most expensive — a 105% gap for identical work. This page ranks 25 metro areas with released data.

US national median
$34,900
3,988,140 workers nationwide
Highest-paying metro
New York, NY
$37,990 median
Lowest-paying metro
Orlando, FL
$32,980 median
Metro spread
$23,870
between best and worst metro

Home Health and Personal Care Aides pay by metro area

Ranked by median annual wage among the metro areas with published estimates for this occupation. Local cost of living is not applied — a lower median in a cheaper metro can still leave more in your pocket.

Median hourly and annual wage for Home Health and Personal Care Aides by metro area, 2024. Hourly shown as annual ÷ 2,080.
Metro area Hourly Annual Employment
New York, NY — NY $18.26 $37,990 605,590
Los Angeles, CA — CA $16.63 $34,600 350,610
Philadelphia, PA — PA $14.20 $29,530 142,460
San Francisco, CA — CA $17.25 $35,870 109,070
Chicago, IL — IL $17.47 $36,340 94,530
Riverside, CA — CA $16.00 $33,280 90,350
Minneapolis, MN — MN $17.38 $36,150 86,260
Boston, MA — MA $19.13 $39,790 63,880
Houston, TX — TX $10.97 $22,820 60,390
Dallas, TX — TX $12.51 $26,030 55,460
Phoenix, AZ — AZ $17.54 $36,480 53,750
Seattle, WA — WA $22.45 $46,690 53,140
San Diego, CA — CA $16.85 $35,050 51,760
St. Louis, MO — MO $14.28 $29,700 42,390
Washington, DC — DC $17.91 $37,260 40,900
Detroit, MI — MI $15.52 $32,290 38,410
Atlanta, GA — GA $13.81 $28,720 27,390
Miami, FL — FL $15.48 $32,200 26,760
Denver, CO — CO $18.17 $37,790 23,790
Baltimore, MD — MD $17.64 $36,700 22,820
Portland, OR — OR $21.31 $44,320 22,190
Charlotte, NC — NC $14.91 $31,010 13,720
Tampa, FL — FL $15.66 $32,570 13,110
Austin, TX — TX $13.35 $27,760 12,070
Orlando, FL — FL $15.86 $32,980 9,400
What the spread means

The gap between New York, NY ($37,990) and Orlando, FL ($32,980) is 15% . For home health and personal care aides this mainly reflects industry mix and regional price levels rather than a difference in the work itself. The middle metro sits at $34,600, which is the better single number for a "typical" market than either extreme.

Frequently asked questions

How much do home health and personal care aides make in the United States?

The national median for this occupation is $34,900 per year, across all areas including non-metropolitan ones. Metro-level medians for this occupation range from $22,820 to $46,690, with a middle value of $34,600.

Which metro area pays home health and personal care aides the most?

New York, NY pays the most among the metros covered, at a median of $37,990, with about 605,590 people employed in the occupation.

Which metro area pays home health and personal care aides the least?

Orlando, FL sits at the bottom of the range, with a median of $32,980.

Do home health and personal care aides earn more in large cities?

Usually, but not always. Large metros tend to show higher nominal pay because they concentrate high-wage industries and a higher cost of living. The spread above is nominal — it is not adjusted for local prices, so a lower median in a cheaper metro can still buy more.

About these figures

Method and limits

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024. The US figure on this page is an employment-weighted benchmark computed across the metro areas covered by this site, not the official national OEWS median, which BLS publishes separately. OEWS excludes self-employed workers and reports wages only, not benefits or total compensation.

See the methodology for how the benchmark and the metro ranking are derived.

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