Home Health Aides
Health ScienceO*NET 31-1121.00United States
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.
- Median annual earnings
- $35,604
- Projected change
- +21.2%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 4.94M jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
63.2% of the workforce
Growing to 5.99M by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What home health aides do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Maintain records of patient care, condition, progress, or problems to report and discuss observations with supervisor or case manager.
- Provide patients with help moving in and out of beds, baths, wheelchairs, or automobiles and with dressing and grooming.
- Bathe patients.
- Care for patients by changing bed linens, washing and ironing laundry, cleaning, or assisting with their personal care.
- Entertain, converse with, or read aloud to patients to keep them mentally healthy and alert.
- Plan, purchase, prepare, or serve meals to patients or other family members, according to prescribed diets.
- Provide patients and families with emotional support and instruction in areas such as caring for infants, preparing healthy meals, living independently, or adapting to disability or illness.
- Check patients' pulse, temperature, and respiration.
- Perform a variety of duties as requested by client, such as obtaining household supplies or running errands.
- Direct patients in simple prescribed exercises or in the use of braces or artificial limbs.
- Massage patients or apply preparations or treatments, such as liniment, alcohol rubs, or heat-lamp stimulation.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $26,473
- 25th percentile
- $31,479
- 50th percentile
- $35,604
- 75th percentile
- $39,664
- 90th percentile
- $46,122
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $35,604 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+21.2%much faster than average
20254,942,854 jobs
2035 projected5,991,172 jobs
1,048,318 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 63.2%
- Certificate
- 20.9%
- Associate degree
- 8.8%
- Some college
- 7%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Direct Support Professionals45,411 postings
- 02Home Health Aides21,531 postings
- 03Home Care Aides13,091 postings
- 04Personal Care Assistants8,138 postings
- 05Certified Home Health Aides7,132 postings
- 06Patient Care Assistants5,414 postings
- 07Caregivers/Home Health Aides4,637 postings
- 08Home Providers3,241 postings
- 09Direct Support Professionals/Caregivers2,956 postings
- 10Home Health Aides/Personal Care Aides1,578 postings
- 11Residential Direct Support Professionals1,356 postings
- 12Caregivers/Personal Care Assistants1,243 postings
- 13Day Support Professionals1,165 postings
- 14Community Support Professionals975 postings
- 15Home Health Social Workers939 postings
- 16Lead Direct Support Professionals792 postings
- 17Health Care Assistants772 postings
- 18Resident Care Assistants663 postings
- 19In Home Direct Support Professionals575 postings
- 20DSP Drivers563 postings
Top employers
- 01Help At Home4,093 postings
- 02Addus HomeCare3,670 postings
- 03Sevita2,985 postings
- 04State of Nebraska2,309 postings
- 05Ambercare2,188 postings
- 06All Ways Caring HomeCare1,727 postings
- 07Cornerstone Caregiving1,682 postings
- 08BAYADA Home Health Care1,591 postings
- 09Arcadia Home Care & Staffing1,518 postings
- 10Visiting Angels1,268 postings
- 11Care Planning Institute1,243 postings
- 12BrightSpring Health Services1,178 postings
- 13Anchor Health Homecare Services1,144 postings
- 14Elara Caring1,013 postings
- 15Redwood Family Care Network1,009 postings
- 16Merakey861 postings
- 17State Of Illinois801 postings
- 18Right At Home725 postings
- 19Maxim Healthcare Services707 postings
- 20Stand Out Home Care656 postings
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