Personal care aides

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

1.35M

Average Age

44.2

Average Salary

$22,737

Average Male Salary

$26,932

Average Female Salary

$21,842

About

Personal care aides are most often employed by the Individual & family services industry. The average yearly wage for Personal care aides was $22,737 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Personal care aides by wage are Parking lot attendants, Hotel, motel, & resort desk clerks, and Laundry & drycleaning workers.

Personal care aides are part of the Healthcare Support Occupations, along with Home health aides, Personal care aides, Nursing assistants, Orderlies and psychiatric aides, Occupational therapy assistants & aides, and 9 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Personal care aides are Glendale City PUMA, CA, El Centro City PUMA, CA, and Springfield City PUMA, MA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Personal care aides are El Centro City PUMA, CA, South Texas Development Council (South) & Coastal Bend COG (West) PUMA, TX, and Hidalgo County (North & West) PUMA, TX.

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Personal care aides and on wages and locations for those in the field. Individual & family services is the industry that employs the most Personal care aides, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Personal care aides, by average wage, is Offices of chiropractors. Personal care aides are paid most in Milwaukee County (West) PUMA, WI but are relatively concentrated in El Centro City PUMA, CA.

Yearly Wage

$22,737

AVERAGE SALARY

± $565

In 2020, Personal care aides earned an average of $22,737, $33,217 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Laundry & drycleaning workers make somewhat more than Personal care aides while Parking lot attendants make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Personal care aides as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.392

WAGE GINI

In 2019, Personal care aides had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.392, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Personal care aides (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Personal care aides.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Personal care aides

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Personal care aides.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Personal care aides, by number of employees, are Individual & family services, Home health care services, Residential care facilities, except skilled nursing facilities, Administration of human resource programs, Private households, Nursing Care Facilities, Other health care services, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Outpatient care centers, Child day care services, and Civic, social, advocacy organizations, & grantmaking & giving services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Personal care aides, by average wage, are Offices of chiropractors, Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, and Offices of physicians.

Industries by Share

1.35M

2020 Workforce

± 28,369

1.53%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 2.94%

The number of people employed as Personal care aides has been growing at a rate of 1.53%, from 1,327,113 people in 2019 to 1,347,400 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Personal care aides employed by various industries. Individual & family services employs the largest share of Personal care aides at 28.2%, followed by Home health care services with 23.8% and Residential care facilities, except skilled nursing facilities with 14.6%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Personal care aides in the US. The average age of male Personal care aides in the workforce is 41.8 and of female Personal care aides is 44.8, and the most common race/ethnicity for Personal care aides is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

237k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 11,942

1.11M

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 25,774

82.4% of Personal care aides are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Personal care aides.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Personal care aides

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

42.6% of Personal care aides are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 24.6% of Personal care aides, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Personal care aides.

Age by Sex

41.8

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.799

44.8

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.36

The median age of Personal care aides is 44.2, and Male employees are generally 2.98 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Personal care aides from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Personal care aides is Business but a relatively high number of Personal care aides hold a major in Public Administration and Social Service.