A Personal care assistant makes an average of $27,552 annually and $13.25 hourly in the United States of America. However, the Personal Care Assistant Salary ranges between $24,706 and $33,832. It depends on various factors such as education, certification, additional skills, experience time, and locations.
The employment of personal care assistants is expected to increase by 49% between the year 2020 to 2030. It also makes the personal care assistant one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. Go through the blog to know more about the Personal Care Assistant job profile, duties, responsibilities, salary, highest paying cities, and more.
More About Personal Care Assistant
A Personal care assistant assists the elderly, convalescents, or persons with disability with daily living activities. Personal care assistant generally works at the person’s private residence, hospitals, nursing homes, and adult day and daycare centers. The personal care assistant’s salary depends on various factors.
You may have encountered a personal care assistant while visiting your loved ones at a hospital. Moreover, a personal care assistant is not a nurse or medical professional but a trained caretaker. The duties of personal care assistants and licensed practical nurses may overlap sometimes, but they have different duties and requirements.
What Does A Personal Care Assistant Do?
A personal care assistant assists a person unable to perform their basic task. They also provide various services such as cooking, food, dressing, bathing, walking, picking up heavy objects, bringing medicine essentials, and performing other chores. Additionally, the most common type of people whom a personal care assistant serves is the physically disabled, the cognitively impaired, the severely ill, and the elderly.
Some personal care assistants also work with one client at a time; others work with multiple clients simultaneously. For example, a personal care assistant may stay the entire day in a residential setting. Another may travel between clients’ homes throughout the day. Moreover, they help in assisting and performing several tasks. Personal care assistants may work in different settings at one time also. For example, assisting an older woman in the daytime and spending the night assisting a severely ill patient at the hospital. They may work together in hospitals, nursing homes, and adult day care centers.
Personal care assistants working in different settings have different tasks to perform. A personal care assistant who works in an adult day care center with the cognitively impaired person assists them in finding and using the restroom. Personal care also include timely medicines and food, and helping them to go to the washroom. Whereas the personal care assistant who works for an older person at their home helps them in several tasks. It includes bringing groceries, other essentials, and medicines, lift heavy objects, helps them in preparing food, cut up vegetables, reach a plate that is on a high shelf, or watering the plants, assessing their health, or calling up a doctor in an emergency.
Duties And Responsibilities Of A Personal Care Assistant
Here are the responsibilities of a personal care assistant-
- Prepares and maintains records of client progress. Reports changes in the client’s condition to the healthcare professional or their family.
- Performs household chores such as cooking, cleaning, washing, clothes, dishes, etc.
- Cares for individuals and families during incapacitation, family disruption, and recovery.
- Providing compassionate care, companionship, and help to adjust to a new lifestyle.
- Performs healthcare-related tasks such as monitoring important signs and medication following the direction of professional medical staff such as doctors or physiotherapists.
- Brings groceries, medicines, and other essentials.
- Helps clients to go to other locations such as hospitals, medical centers, parks, or religious places.
- Instruct clients to maintain cleanliness and hygiene and intake a nutritious diet.
- Assessing the client’s health. Participate in the case review. Report the progress to the doctor or their loved ones.
- The role and responsibility of a personal care assistant include a wide range of services that go beyond the list mentioned above.
Where Does A Personal Care Assistant Work?
Personal care assistant works with different settings. They work at hospitals, nursing homes, residential settings, adult day care centers, trauma centers, and more. In urban areas, most personal care assistants are employed in large group care settings. While in rural areas, they are mostly employed in private residences.
Personal Care Assistant Salary By State
The table includes the average personal care assistant salary based on the state.
State Name Annual Salary
| Alaska | $33,160 | |
| North Dakota | $32,320 | |
| District of Columbia | $29,550 | |
| Massachusetts | $28,870 | |
| New Jersey | $28,840 | |
| Washington | $28,650 | |
| Vermont | $27,550 | |
| Maryland | $26,910 | |
| Rhode Island | $26,890 | |
| New Hampshire | $26,470 | |
| Hawaii | $26,393 | |
| Oregon | $26,269 | |
| New York | $25,990 | |
| Connecticut | $25,950 | |
| Wyoming | $25,840 | |
| Minnesota | $25,750 | |
| Iowa | $25,050 | |
| Pennsylvania | $24,776 | |
| Nebraska | $24,710 | |
| Maine | $24,650 | |
| Utah | $24,340 | |
| Colorado | $24,290 | |
| South Dakota | $23,840 | |
| Wisconsin | $23,780 | |
| Arizona | $23,700 | |
| Montana | $23,640 | |
| Indiana | $23,428 | |
| Delaware | $23,220 | |
| Kentucky | $23,175 | |
| Virgin Islands, U.S. | $23,090 | |
| Nevada | $23,020 | |
| Michigan | $23,000 | |
| Ohio | $22,750 | |
| California | $22,548 | |
| Missouri | $22,280 | |
| Florida | $22,210 | |
| Illinois | $21,578 | |
| Georgia | $21,310 | |
| Tennessee | $21,060 | |
| Idaho | $21,044 | |
| North Carolina | $21,010 | |
| Mississippi | $20,720 | |
| South Carolina | $20,620 | |
| Kansas | $20,583 | |
| New Mexico | $19,910 | |
| West Virginia | $19,910 | |
| Virginia | $19,700 | |
| Texas | $19,340 | |
| Oklahoma | $19,280 | |
| Arkansas | $18,766 | |
| Louisiana | $18,640 | |
| Alabama | $18,277 | |
| Puerto Rico | $18,190 |
Highest Paying Cities For Personal Care Assistant
The table includes highest paying cities, hourly rate, and average salary for personal care assistant jobs-
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| Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
| 1 | Portland, OR | $33,219 | $15.97 |
| 2 | Bismarck, ND | $29,994 | $14.42 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $29,398 | $14.13 |
| 4 | Dallas, TX | $28,686 | $13.79 |
| 5 | Saint Paul, MN | $27,599 | $13.27 |
| 6 | Rochester, NH | $27,452 | $13.20 |
| 7 | Sioux Falls, SD | $27,171 | $13.06 |
| 8 | Fort Collins, CO | $26,739 | $12.86 |
| 9 | Phoenix, AZ | $26,281 | $12.64 |
| 10 | Pocatello, ID | $26,214 | $12.60 |
| 11 | Rochester, NY | $25,841 | $12.42 |
| 12 | Billings, MT | $25,350 | $12.19 |
| 13 | Philadelphia, PA | $24,843 | $11.94 |
| 14 | Rockford, IL | $24,332 | $11.70 |
| 15 | Toledo, OH | $24,124 | $11.60 |
Five cities where the demand for personal care assistants are highest:
- Portland, OR
- Bismarck, ND
- Boston, MA
- Dallas, TX
- Saint Paul, MN.
Personal Care Assistant Earnings By Experience
Personal care assistant salaries vary according to their seniority or the year of experience in this field.
Top-level Personal Care Assistant Salary:
- $15.73 per hour.
- $32,718 per year.
Senior-level Personal Care Assistant Salary:
- $13.99 per hour.
- $29,089 per year.
Mid-level Personal Care Assistant Salary:
- $12.27 per hour.
- $25,526 per year.
Junior-level Personal care Assistant Salary:
- $10.77 per hour.
- $22,400 per hour.
Starting-level Personal Care Assistant Salary:
- $9.57 per hour.
- $19,915 per year.
Benefits For Personal Care Assistant
Here are the list of benefits-
- 401(K)
- Continuing education credits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Disability insurance
- Vision insurance
- Flexible spending account
- Mileage reimbursement
- Paid orientation
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Paid sick time
- Prescription drug insurance
- Retirement plan
- Referral program
- Tuition reimbursement.
Bottom Line
Personal care assistant employment is among the most favorable occupations in the United States of America currently. The population in the United States is increasing, so the health and mobility problems and the requirement for the personal care assistant.
Several career explorers have rated the personal care assistant with an A+ employability rating. This means the personal care assistant will provide great employment opportunities in the future soon, and so the salary. The average personal care assistant salary is $27,552 annually.
If you are interested in personal care assistant jobs, I’kare Consulting Firm is here to help you. I’kare is a trusted and reputed medical staffing agency in the United States of America. It provides job opportunities in the most reputed healthcare firms across the country.