Skip to content

CNAs & PCTs

Certified nursing assistant salary in California

Open certified nursing assistant jobs in California post a median of $26.50 an hour, the middle half $23.50–$29 (about $55,100 a year full time), $4.50 above the national posted median. From 177 jobs at 31 employers that state their pay.

$26.50
Median posted /hr
$24–$29
Middle half /hr
$55,100
A year, full time
estimate, 2,080 hours
$22.90
BLS median in CA
May 2025

The jobs themselves: Certified nursing assistant jobs in California · Certified nursing assistant pay nationwide

What certified nursing assistants are paid in California

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint).

Posted hourly rates of 177 open jobs in California. Lowest posted $16.50, highest $70.16.

Posted on open jobs in California

$23.50–$29/hr

Middle half of 104 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $26.50. 67% of the 264 open certified nursing assistant jobs in California state an hourly rate.

CNA alerts

CNA in California: new openings every week

A weekly email with the newest CNA openings in California, taken from the employers' own careers sites. Free, stop anytime.

Only job openings in your inbox. Leave anytime with one click.

Certified nursing assistant pay by town in California

Towns where at least three open jobs state an hourly rate, the towns with the most such jobs first.

TownMedian postedPosted rangeJobs (employers)
Los Angeles$27.75$18.37–$40.1413 (6)
Marina del Rey$27$24–$29.999 (1)
Quincy$30$21.41–$41.847 (1)
Visalia$22$18–$30.577 (2)
Chula Vista$27.25$25–$29.896 (1)
Downey$27.25$25.57–$29.126 (1)
Westminster$23.75$20.51–$306 (1)
San Francisco$34.75$24–$47.945 (2)
Oakland$29$22–$43.505 (4)
Escondido$26.50$23–$32.545 (1)
Inglewood$25.75$25.705 (1)
Santa Barbara$24.50$23–$265 (1)
West Covina$24$23–$34.505 (2)
San Diego$29.75$25.81–$33.574 (2)
Napa$27.75$20–$36.554 (2)
Saratoga$27.50$25–$304 (1)
Burlingame$41$34.25–$47.943 (1)
Palo Alto$38.75$36.01–$41.383 (1)
Alameda$35$32.07–$40.783 (1)
Sacramento$34.50$28.75–$42.043 (2)
Redding$29$23–$35.333 (1)
Covina$28.75$23–$34.503 (1)
Anaheim$27.25$23–$35.333 (2)
Oxnard$27.25$25–$29.503 (1)
Santa Monica$26.75$25–$31.423 (1)
Baldwin Park$26.50$20.51–$30.173 (2)
Glendale$26.50$23–$32.083 (2)
Brea$22.75$18–$26.793 (1)

Median of employers' rates in the town, the lowest and highest rate posted, and the jobs and employers behind them. A town opens its own job page.

Certified nursing assistant pay by employer in California

What each employer posts for certified nursing assistants here, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first.

EmployerMedian postedPosted rangeJobs stating pay
Providence$28.25$25–$36.5519
PACS Group$21.75$17.75–$2816
ScionHealth$23.75$18–$70.1614
Prime Healthcare$29$23–$36.3713
Sutter Health$34.75$28.15–$47.9411
Cedars-Sinai$27.50$24–$40.1410
CommonSpirit Health$27.25$16.50–$36.4310
Sharp HealthCare$27.25$25–$32.8710
Emanate Health$28.75$23–$34.509
Plumas District Hospital$30$21.41–$41.847
Kaiser Permanente$28$25.57–$33.577
Transforming Age$27.50$22–$306
Kaweah Health$25.50$20.38–$30.576
Palomar Health$26$23–$32.545
Covenant Living$24.50$23–$265
Alameda Health System$36.50$32.04–$43.504
Select Medical$28.25$24–$32.304
Stanford Health Care$38.25$36.01–$41.383
First Steps Recovery$20.50$19–$233
San Antonio Regional Hospital$27.75$23–$33.422
Central Valley Specialty Hospital$23.50$23–$252
Compass Health$22.25$21–$242
Eisenhower Health$25.50$19.72–$31.461
AltaMed Health Services$25$251
Sonoma Specialty Hospital$24.50$23–$261
Vista Community Clinic$24.50$23–$261
Lompoc Valley Medical Center$23.75$19.79–$27.831
Cogir Management, USA$21.50$21–$221
InnovAge$21.25$18.37–$24.331
Coalinga Regional Medical Center$21$211
Hollenbeck Palms$21$211

Median of each employer's jobs in California (a range at its midpoint), and its lowest and highest rate here. An employer's name opens its pay for certified nursing assistants nationwide when it has such a page.

Night shift certified nursing assistant pay in California

Where one employer posts both night and other certified nursing assistant jobs in the same state (12 such employers and states), the night jobs post the same base rate as the rest (the median gap is $0): most employers state their night differential apart from the base pay, so check the posting for it.

Employer, stateNight jobs, medianOther jobs, median
Providence, CA$27.50 (7)$28.25 (12)
PACS Group, CA$20.75 (2)$21.75 (14)
ScionHealth, CA$23.75 (8)$24.50 (6)
Cedars-Sinai, CA$27.50 (5)$27.50 (5)
Sharp HealthCare, CA$27.25 (6)$27.25 (4)
Emanate Health, CA$28.75 (5)$28.75 (4)
Kaiser Permanente, CA$28 (3)$27.75 (4)
Kaweah Health, CA$25.50 (1)$25.50 (5)

A job counts as a night job when its title names nights ("Nights", "NOC", "7p-7a"). Jobs in brackets.

Best-paid open certified nursing assistant jobs in California

The open jobs posting the highest hourly rates tonight, at most two from one employer.

What BLS measures in California

What people employed in the occupation earned in the state, at every level of experience, from the BLS survey. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, California. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation10th pct25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctEmployed
Nursing Assistants (31-1131)$19.28 (source: BLS OEWS, Nursing Assistants, opens in a new tab)$22.04 (source: BLS OEWS, Nursing Assistants, opens in a new tab)$22.90 (source: BLS OEWS, Nursing Assistants, opens in a new tab)$26.35 (source: BLS OEWS, Nursing Assistants, opens in a new tab)$29.38 (source: BLS OEWS, Nursing Assistants, opens in a new tab)110,060 (source: BLS OEWS, Nursing Assistants, opens in a new tab)

BLS median by metro area

Certified nursing assistant salary in California: common questions

How much does a certified nursing assistant make in California?

Open certified nursing assistant jobs in California that state an hourly rate post a median of $26.50, the middle half $23.50–$29 (177 jobs from 31 employers). Full time that is about $55,100 a year. BLS measured a median of $22.90/hr ($47,630 a year) for people employed in the occupation in California (May 2025).

Where in California do certified nursing assistants earn the most?

By the median rate open jobs post, in the towns with the most jobs stating pay: Los Angeles ($27.75), Marina del Rey ($27), Quincy ($30) and Visalia ($22). The town table lists 28.

Which employers in California pay certified nursing assistants the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least three open jobs here: Stanford Health Care ($38.25), Alameda Health System ($36.50) and Sutter Health ($34.75).

How does California compare with the rest of the country?

The posted median in California ($26.50) is $4.50 above the national posted median of $22. In the BLS survey California ranks 6 of 52 by median wage.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 177 of 264 open certified nursing assistant jobs in California (67%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none; "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out.

Certified nursing assistant pay in other states

Certified nursing assistant salary nationwide →Every healthcare salary →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used, a range at its midpoint. In the state's median and middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; a town's median follows the same rule. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates far from the occupation's median are left out. A state has a page while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate there. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours. BLS figures are as published.
  1. CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
  2. BLS OEWS May 2025: Nursing Assistants (SOC 31-1131), every state, published May 15, 2026
  3. BLS OEWS May 2025: Nursing Assistants, national, published May 15, 2026
  4. BLS OEWS May 2025: Nursing Assistants by metropolitan area, published May 15, 2026

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). Certified nursing assistant salary in California. Data as of October 24, 2026. https://carejobs.now/salaries/certified-nursing-assistant/california

How the board counts