How Much Money Does a Home Health Aide Make?
Home health aides provide personal care services to seniors, ill, and disabled clients who cannot take care of themselves. A caregiver offers assistance in a patient’s home with daily activities, provides companionship, and sees to patients’ overall well-being.
If you’re thinking of switching careers and becoming a home health aide, or you’re simply curious, how much money does a home health aide make, we have the answers.
Job Prospects and Salaries For Home Health Aides
If you are seeking a job as a home health aide, the great news is that there are plenty of jobs in the industry with job alerts being posted daily, a shortage of certified home health aides, and a good salary waiting for you.
To attract personal care aides, home health agencies offer jobs in clients’ homes, group homes, facilities, and healthcare programs at competitive salaries, making it a viable job option.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for aides will increase by 25 percent between 2023 and 2031, which is much faster than the average for all other occupations.
With a generation of Baby Boomers getting on in years, the demand for home health aid services will continue to grow year after year, ensuring that there will always be jobs.
Approximately 711,700 job openings are projected for home health aides each year over the next eight years, with New York State and California offering the most jobs.
Home Health Aide Salary
The average salary of a home health aide varies depending on their certification, healthcare, homecare skills, and experience, suggesting many opportunities for growth, advancement, and salary increases based on skill level and experience in the field.
Personal care aides are in demand, and the minimum wage increase will help to attract more people to the profession, keep them in their jobs longer, and ensure patient care.
Minimum Wages
Last year on October 1, the New York State Department of Labor increased the minimum wage for home health aides to $17.00 per hour in New York City and $15.20 per hour for the remainder of New York State.
On October 1, 2023, the minimum wage for home health aides in New York City will be increased to $18 an hour and $17.20 an hour in the rest of the state.
Average Salary
An entry-level home health aide who just started a career in the industry with less than one year of experience will earn a minimum wage, including overtime and extra pay. With extra training and experience, a home health aide can quickly earn a better salary.
A certified home health aide with one to four years of experience will earn an average salary of $2,307 monthly or even more.
A mid-career home health aide with five to nine years under the belt could take a salary home of $2,753 every month.
An experienced aide with ten to twenty years of experience and a lot of training that provide specialized personal care services can expect a salary of $3,416 or even more monthly.
The average annual home health aide salary is $31,940, but the range typically falls between $27,684 and $33,036, with the best-paying salary being over $41,000.
Please remember that these are average salaries, and the rates depend on a home health aide’s qualifications, experience, healthcare services provided, and location.
Hours and Rates
Most caregivers work full-time, but many also work part-time on weekends and evenings. The home care agencies they work for and their clients’ requirements directly affect their work hours and rates, how much home health aides earn, and what their average annual salaries are.
Some home health aides have one patient, while others help different patients in a group setting at residential facilities or retirement homes.
Where a home health aide work, the duties and the number of patients will also cause their work schedules to vary and affect their salary.
A home health aide may also get a little extra money in addition to their much-deserved overtime and salary and receive payment for cleaning their own uniform.
Overtime
A home health aide is entitled to get paid for overtime work and must receive 1½ times their regular rate if they work more than 40 hours weekly or 44 hours for residential employees.
Call-In Pay
If a home health aide goes to work and an employer sends them home early, they may ask for call-in pay. Home health aides are entitled to claim the minimum wage rate for a full day’s work.
Spread of Hours
A home health aide may receive extra daily pay if a typical workday is longer than ten hours. The daily rate equals one hour of pay at the minimum rate.
An employer can reduce a home health aide’s salary to below the minimum wage to claim a small allowance for meals and lodgings.
A wage reduction is only permitted if the employer does not charge the home health aide for food and accommodations.
Factors that Influence Salaries
Many factors influence the average wage and salary of personal care aides. Income depends on the caregiver’s certifications, work experience, the level of home health care services, working hours, and where they work.
Clients who need higher levels of care will pay more for home health services, and an aide with more training and experience in the field will earn a better salary.
Salaries in the top healthcare industries are higher, including individual and family services, residential intellectual and developmental disability facilities, continuing care retirement communities, assisted living facilities, and in-home healthcare.
The location also plays a role in the annual salary of a caregiver. A home health aide will earn more money in certain states. Washington State pays aides the most, followed by Vermont, Alaska, Massachusetts, and North Dakota.
The Best Home Health Aide Salaries
The average hourly rate for a home health aide who works in Washington State is $22.96, the highest salary in the country.
In Vermont, a home health aide can rake in $21.16 per hour; in Alaska, $20.82 per hour; in Massachusetts, $17.79 per hour; and in North Dakota, $17.32 per hour.
Being a home health aide is a rewarding occupation in an industry that offers plenty of lucrative employment opportunities and excellent annual wages and benefits.
If you are seeking employment as a home health aid, want a competitive salary, and want to work in New York City, contact Parent Care at 718-486-7100 today. Join a dynamic team of caregivers who make a huge difference in the daily lives of the people they care for and assist.
