Pay increases for home care aides (HCAs) and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) rose faster in 2025 than in 2024, leading to lower turnover rates.
Wage bumps also increased at a slightly faster rate than the year prior, according to the Home Care Salary & Benefits report released by the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS) on Friday. In 2025, the national average hourly rate for HCAs and CNAs increased by 4.93%, compared to 4.86% in 2024.
Regular wages were not the only pay that increased. Sign-on bonuses for HCA increased from $2,129 in 2024 to $2,304 in 2025.
“These continued pay increases for home care aides/CNAs, along with increased sign-on bonuses for new hires, are helping agencies reduce turnover rates, with turnover rates for home care aides/CNAs decreasing from 36.31% in 2024 to 34.17% in 2025,” a statement from HCS read.
Over 1,100 agencies responded to HCS’ survey, submitting data on over 52,200 employees across the U.S. The report is supported by LeadingAge and Visiting Nurse Associations of America as well as the National Alliance for Care at Home.
Wage increases for HCAs and CNAs varied from state to state and from organization to organization. Workers in Oklahoma and Alabama received the hourly rate of $16.52 and $17.37, respectively. Massachusetts and New Hampshire workers received the highest pay rates, at $23.00 and $23.55.
Workers in visiting nurse associations received the highest average pay, at $22.29 per hour. Hourly rates at hospital-based agencies were $21.19, while not-for-profit agencies paid an average of $20.22 and for-profit agencies paid an average of $18.75.
With an often bleak recruitment landscape, home-based care providers have increasingly focused on retention to mitigate the workforce crisis. The report found that retention rates have improved in the industry.
Over 36% of surveyed agencies found that turnover had decreased in the past year. Less than 21% reported that turnover had increased.
“People spend so much time recruiting staff and then training staff, only for those staff within the first couple of months [to] move on because what they anticipated may not have been there,” Bill Dombi, senior counsel for Arnall Golden Gregory law firm, previously told Home Health Care News. “Devoting time to retention is the most efficient, economical and successful way to deal with the workforce shortages today.”
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