The Salary of a Resident Care Attendant

Resident care attendants, also known as personal care aides, work for private and government agencies that provide home care services. They primarily take care of people who are cognitively challenged, disabled, chronically sick or elderly. These workers provide housekeeping services such as laundry, changing the bedding or cooking meals. Resident care attendants also grocery shop for their clients and help them run errands. Most aides must go through 75 hours of training to get licensed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They typically get paid by the hour.

Median Wages

• Resident care attendants earned median hourly wages of $9.44 or $19,640 per year, according to May 2010 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Median salaries appear in the middle of salary lists, which vary somewhat from average salaries. The middle 50 percent earned wages between $8.35 and $10.98 or $17,360 and $22,830 annually. The top 10 percent earned at least $12.45 per hour or $25,900 per year. Those in the bottom 10 percent earned a maximum of $7.68 per hour or $15,970 per year.

Average Salary by Industry

• Resident care attendants' salaries can vary significantly by industry. For example, those working for psychiatric and abuse hospitals earned the highest hourly rates at $14.88 or $30,960 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those working for state government agencies earned the second highest wages at $14.06 per hour or $29,250 annually. Resident care attendants employed with home health care service organizations earned considerably lower pay at $9.14 per hour or $19,020 per year. Those working in vocational rehabilitation services, helping people get back to work, earned only slightly more at $10.41 per hour or $21,650 per year.

Average Wages by State

• Resident care attendants' salaries also vary considerably by state. For example, those in Alaska earned the highest average wages at $14.27 per hour or $29,690 annually, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They earned the second highest hourly rates in New Jersey at $12.73 or $26.470 per year. These workers earned significantly lower wages in Texas at $8.36 per hour or $17,390 per year. Those in New Mexico earned only slightly more at $9.15 per hour or $19,020 per year.

Average Wages by Metropolitan Area

• Resident care attendants earned their highest hourly wages in the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, New Jersey metropolitan area at $18.95 or $39,420 annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those in the Fairbanks, Alaska area earned the second highest wages at $16 per hour or $33,280 per year. These home health professionals earned significantly lower wages in the Laredo, Texas area at $7.95 per hour or $16,530 per year. Those in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas metropolitan area earned only slightly more at $8.10 per hour or $16,840 per year.