Home Health Aides
Monitor the health status of an individual with disabilities or illness, and address their health-related needs, such as changing bandages, dressing wounds, or administering medication. Work is performed under the direction of offsite or intermittent onsite licensed nursing staff. Provide assistance with routine healthcare tasks or activities of daily living, such as feeding, bathing, toileting, or ambulation. May also help with tasks such as preparing meals, doing light housekeeping, and doing laundry depending on the patient's abilities.
- O*NET-SOC code
31-1121.00 - Preparation Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Wages
BLS doesn't publish wages for Home Health Aides separately. These are the figures for Home Health and Personal Care Aides (31-1120), a combined BLS occupation that includes it.
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $27,040 | $31,920 | $35,800 | $39,470 | $45,040 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 20,930 | $27,840 | 0.36 |
| Alaska | 6,530 | $39,740 | 0.72 |
| Arizona | 74,540 | $36,420 | 0.83 |
| Arkansas | 19,840 | $27,660 | 0.55 |
| California | 970,150 | $34,320 | 1.92 |
| Colorado | 44,650 | $38,540 | 0.56 |
| Connecticut | 49,510 | $38,990 | 1.05 |
| Delaware | 11,820 | $34,320 | 0.88 |
| District of Columbia | 12,810 | $42,700 | 0.66 |
| Florida | 90,170 | $33,800 | 0.33 |
| Georgia | 50,870 | $29,270 | 0.38 |
| Hawaii | 6,150 | $38,110 | 0.35 |
| Idaho | 20,770 | $34,790 | 0.87 |
| Illinois | 134,100 | $38,060 | 0.79 |
| Indiana | 57,050 | $35,060 | 0.64 |
| Iowa | 25,800 | $36,080 | 0.60 |
| Kansas | 25,350 | $31,260 | 0.64 |
| Kentucky | 31,260 | $36,440 | 0.56 |
| Louisiana | 45,060 | $22,520 | 0.84 |
| Maine | 18,630 | $38,580 | 1.05 |
| Maryland | 46,560 | $38,040 | 0.61 |
| Massachusetts | 117,940 | $40,910 | 1.17 |
| Michigan | 95,020 | $35,000 | 0.78 |
| Minnesota | 128,680 | $38,370 | 1.58 |
| Mississippi | 21,800 | $23,860 | 0.68 |
| Missouri | 94,810 | $33,080 | 1.17 |
| Montana | 10,400 | $36,630 | 0.73 |
| Nebraska | 13,660 | $36,150 | 0.48 |
| Nevada | 17,940 | $33,670 | 0.42 |
| New Hampshire | 9,440 | $38,760 | 0.50 |
| New Jersey | 117,080 | $37,090 | 0.99 |
| New Mexico | 38,910 | $28,520 | 1.61 |
| New York | 663,140 | $39,620 | 2.47 |
| North Carolina | 58,880 | $31,240 | 0.43 |
| North Dakota | 7,730 | $39,440 | 0.65 |
| Ohio | 106,940 | $34,460 | 0.70 |
| Oklahoma | 20,310 | $27,710 | 0.43 |
| Oregon | 42,330 | $44,410 | 0.78 |
| Pennsylvania | 257,370 | $29,420 | 1.53 |
| Rhode Island | 7,490 | $43,680 | 0.54 |
| South Carolina | 40,750 | $30,110 | 0.64 |
| South Dakota | 4,210 | $37,740 | 0.33 |
| Tennessee | 35,950 | $32,130 | 0.40 |
| Texas | 329,590 | $24,230 | 0.85 |
| Utah | 17,130 | $35,880 | 0.36 |
| Vermont | 7,700 | $41,600 | 0.92 |
| Virginia | 70,070 | $30,300 | 0.62 |
| Washington | 103,260 | $47,730 | 1.05 |
| West Virginia | 18,890 | $28,010 | 0.97 |
| Wisconsin | 82,430 | $36,340 | 1.01 |
| Wyoming | 3,410 | $33,190 | 0.44 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nursing Assistants | 3 | 0.960 |
| 2 | Flight Attendants | 1-2 | 0.941 |
| 3 | Occupational Therapy Assistants | 3 | 0.939 |
| 4 | Recreational Therapists | 4 | 0.938 |
| 5 | Respiratory Therapists | 3 | 0.938 |
| 6 | Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | 1-2 | 0.938 |
| 7 | Coroners | 3 | 0.936 |
| 8 | Occupational Therapy Aides | 3 | 0.935 |
| 9 | Paramedics | 3 | 0.933 |
| 10 | Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers | 3 | 0.933 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Home Health Aides, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Trainers | Learning Strategies | 1.13 | 0.924 |
| Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians | Operation and Control | 2.50 | 0.923 |
| Psychiatric Aides | Social Perceptiveness | 1.00 | 0.921 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Home Health Aides, excluding software Home Health Aides already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| eClinicalWorks EHR software | 7 of 20 | 6.7x |
| Billing software | 4 of 20 | 8.4x |
| MEDITECH software | 6 of 20 | 3.6x |
| GE Healthcare Centricity EMR | 3 of 20 | 6.3x |
| Scheduling software | 4 of 20 | 2.6x |
| Medical condition coding software | 3 of 20 | 3.5x |
| Corel WordPerfect Office Suite | 3 of 20 | 2.2x |
| Epic Systems | 3 of 20 | 2.2x |
| 3 of 20 | 1.0x | |
| Database software | 3 of 20 | 0.8x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 3.38 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.88 | 3.62 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.12 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.38 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.25 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Science | Essential skill | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.12 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 4.20 | 5.10 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.78 | 5.70 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 3.72 | 3.07 |
| English Language | 3.54 | 3.99 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.50 | 3.49 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 3.46 | 2.80 |
| Production and Processing | 3.20 | 2.97 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 3.18 | 3.93 |
| Foreign Language | 3.15 | 2.90 |
| Education and Training | 3.08 | 3.28 |
| Transportation | 3.06 | 2.50 |
| Law and Government | 3.03 | 3.32 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 3.01 | 2.24 |
| Mathematics | 2.99 | 2.51 |
| Administration and Management | 2.98 | 3.71 |
| Sales and Marketing | 2.98 | 3.07 |
| Administrative | 2.93 | 3.57 |
| Economics and Accounting | 2.91 | 3.21 |
| Communications and Media | 2.83 | 2.96 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 2.80 | 2.71 |
| Computers and Electronics | 2.72 | 3.22 |
| Biology | 2.51 | 2.77 |
| Telecommunications | 2.50 | 2.89 |
| Mechanical | 2.50 | 2.58 |
| Food Production | 2.49 | 2.25 |
| Physics | 2.48 | 1.96 |
| Chemistry | 2.47 | 2.51 |
| Geography | 2.35 | 2.47 |
| History and Archeology | 2.35 | 2.20 |
| Engineering and Technology | 2.26 | 2.34 |
| Fine Arts | 2.20 | 1.95 |
| Design | 1.95 | 2.24 |
| Building and Construction | 1.71 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Oral Comprehension | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Oral Expression | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.88 | 3.75 |
| Near Vision | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Information Ordering | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Far Vision | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Sharing | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Trunk Strength | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Written Expression | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Static Strength | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Category Flexibility | 2.88 | 2.75 |
| Stamina | 2.88 | 2.62 |
| Manual Dexterity | 2.88 | 2.38 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.75 | 2.38 |
| Originality | 2.62 | 2.88 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Perceptual Speed | 2.62 | 2.25 |
| Visualization | 2.50 | 2.62 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.25 | 2.25 |
| Control Precision | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Dynamic Strength | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Number Facility | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Depth Perception | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Memorization | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Reaction Time | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Response Orientation | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Explosive Strength | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 2.00 | 1.50 |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.50 | 0.62 |
| Rate Control | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.25 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.12 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Linux hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft Excel hot
- Microsoft Office software hot
- Microsoft Outlook hot
- Microsoft PowerPoint hot
- Microsoft SharePoint hot
- Microsoft Windows hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Oracle Database hot
- Python hot
- SAP software hot
- Salesforce software hot
- UNIX hot
- AIGHD OASIS
- FaceTime
- Mi-Co software
- Microsoft Exchange
- Web browser software
Where it concentrates
BLS doesn't publish wages for Home Health Aides separately. These are the figures for Home Health and Personal Care Aides (31-1120), a combined BLS occupation that includes it.
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 46,380 | 5.65 | $23,960 |
| Grants Pass, OR | 4,640 | 5.48 | $53,120 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | 21,990 | 5.04 | $23,500 |
| El Centro, CA | 8,020 | 4.42 | $34,320 |
| Las Cruces, NM | 6,430 | 2.90 | $27,840 |
| Springfield, MA | 15,840 | 2.84 | $40,860 |
| Redding, CA | 5,500 | 2.78 | $34,320 |
| Chico, CA | 5,940 | 2.74 | $34,320 |
| Laredo, TX | 8,140 | 2.69 | $23,510 |
| Midland, MI | 2,700 | 2.62 | $36,950 |