PublicPay

Nursing Assistant federal salary series 0621

Full-time federal employees in the Nursing Assistant series earned a median of $55,491 in annualized adjusted basic pay in September 2026, 49% below the all-federal median of $109,641. The middle half earned between $51,134 and $60,451.

Median pay
$55,491
full-time, September 2026
Middle 50%
$51,134–$60,451
25th–75th percentile
Employees
14,540
in this series, all schedules
Change in median
+1.6%
vs. September 2025
Pay distribution, full-time employees with published pay, September 2026
Nursing Assistant
All federal (full-time)

What shapes nursing assistant pay

The most common grade with published pay is GS-5 (13,458 employees, median $55,986). The largest employer of this series with published pay is the Department of Veterans Affairs (13,777 employees). Among states with at least 30 full-time employees with published pay, the median is highest in Nevada ($66,967) and lowest in South Carolina ($49,055), a gap that partly reflects locality pay differences. Federal pay depends mostly on grade and step, plus a locality adjustment for where the job is located; see the GS pay scale explainer.

Nursing Assistant pay by grade

Grades with at least 30 full-time employees with published pay. GS grades are listed first; other pay plans follow.

Nursing Assistant pay by grade
Pay plan–grade Employees Median pay Middle 50%
GS-3 343 $39,927 $38,356–$42,467
GS-4 546 $44,480 $42,174–$48,074
GS-5 13,458 $55,986 $51,656–$60,638
GS-6 148 $61,749 $57,176–$68,378

middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) 10th–90th percentile median all-federal median ($109,641)

Nursing Assistant pay by agency

Nursing Assistant pay by agency
Agency Employees Median pay Middle 50%
Department of Veterans Affairs 13,777 $55,736 $51,291–$60,516
Department of Health and Human Services 284 $48,041 $44,809–$52,977
Armed Forces Retirement Home 74 $51,271 $48,883–$58,262

middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) 10th–90th percentile median all-federal median ($109,641)

Nursing Assistant pay by state

The 10 states with the most employees in this series and published pay.

Nursing Assistant pay by state
State Employees Median pay Middle 50%
California 1,292 $66,430 $59,332–$73,913
Florida 1,270 $50,436 $47,525–$53,975
Texas 1,268 $55,189 $51,077–$58,818
New York 749 $60,002 $53,599–$65,457
North Carolina 566 $54,520 $51,313–$58,755
Ohio 543 $51,355 $48,243–$55,110
Pennsylvania 510 $55,463 $51,470–$58,726
Georgia 480 $53,034 $50,004–$56,065
Massachusetts 463 $61,870 $60,151–$66,201
Tennessee 389 $53,922 $49,571–$58,496

middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) 10th–90th percentile median all-federal median ($109,641)

Compare nursing assistant pay across all states and agencies →

Change since September 2025

The median moved +1.6% from $54,638 in September 2025 to $55,491 in September 2026. Headcount went from 14,564 to 14,540 (−0.2%). A change in the median reflects both pay adjustments and who joined or left the workforce, so it is not the same as a pay raise.

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