Home health aide jobs: training rules, pay and how to get hired

A home health aide helps people with daily living at home, and Medicare-certified home health agencies must hire aides who meet federal training rules. Those rules set a floor, and your state may require more.

What a home health aide does

BLS says home health and personal care aides monitor the condition of people with disabilities or chronic illnesses and help them with daily living activities. The 2018 Standard Occupational Classification definition, as quoted in an HHS report, says a home health aide monitors the health status of a person with a disability or illness and addresses health-related needs such as changing bandages, dressing wounds or administering medication, under the direction of offsite or intermittent onsite licensed nursing staff. Home health aide training under federal rules covers areas such as reading and recording temperature, pulse and respiration, infection prevention, personal hygiene and grooming, safe transfers, nutrition and fluid intake, and recognizing and reporting changes in a person's condition.

Medicare.gov says Medicare covers part-time or intermittent home health aide care only if the person is also getting skilled nursing care.

Where home health aides work

BLS lists clients' homes, group homes and day services programs as common settings for aides, with many working in clients' homes. Home health aides employed by Medicare-certified agencies work under the agency's supervision. For other settings, see the personal care aide and CNA pages.

Federal training and certification

The federal rule is 42 CFR 484.80, the condition of participation for home health aide services. A qualified home health aide has completed one of these:

• A training and competency evaluation program, which under the rule must include at least 75 hours of classroom and supervised practical training. At least 16 hours of classroom training must come before at least 16 hours of supervised practical training.
• A competency evaluation program that meets the rule.
• A nurse aide training and competency evaluation program approved by the state, with the aide currently in good standing on the state nurse aide registry.
• A state licensure program that meets the rule.

Other points from the rule:

• A registered nurse, or a licensed practical nurse working under one, supervises the practical training.
• The competency evaluation is done by a registered nurse. An aide rated unsatisfactory in more than one required area has not passed.
• An aide needs at least 12 hours of in-service training in each 12-month period.
• After 24 consecutive months with no paid home health services, an aide must complete a program again.

States add their own rules. BLS says some states require home health aides to have a license or certification, and aides may need to meet requirements specific to their state. Carevo does not guess at state rules. Ask your state board of health, and ask each agency what it requires. Some employers also ask for first aid and CPR, according to BLS.

Home health aide salary

BLS reports a national median wage of $17.21 an hour, or $35,800 a year, for home health and personal care aides (SOC 31-1120), May 2025 reference period. BLS publishes home health aides and personal care aides together under that code, so there is no separate home health aide figure in the data we used.

These are wages paid to workers, not prices charged by agencies. They are national figures, so wages in your state and setting can be higher or lower. For nursing assistant pay, see the CNA page.

How to find home health aide jobs

Home health agencies are the main employers. Browse home health agencies and home care agencies in your state, then contact the ones near you and ask whether they are hiring and what training they accept. If you are caring for a relative, see paid family caregiver programs.

Carevo is a connection platform. It is not an employer and it does not place workers.

Caregiver registration is coming to Carevo

Carevo is a connection platform. It is not an employer, it does not place workers and it does not guarantee work. Registration for caregivers is not open yet. If you want to hear when it is, email [email protected].