How much do home health nurses make in 2026?
Home health nurses are paid from the registered nurse series: BLS OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 29-1141 national median at $97,550 a year ($46.90 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $68,940 and the top 10% at $137,470. BLS publishes no home health wage, so the honest reading is that this specialty sits in the lower-middle of that distribution, with a compensation structure unlike inpatient nursing. Many agencies pay per visit or per point rather than hourly, which means a dense urban territory can out-earn a sparse rural one on identical rates, and OASIS assessment visits pay a premium because they drive the agency's reimbursement. Because home health runs on a daytime visit schedule, there are no night differentials to lean on; weekend and on-call rotations are the main premium instead. Registered nurse employment is projected to grow 4.9% through 2034 with roughly 189,100 openings a year. → Full home health nurse career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $97,550 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Home Health Nurses earn a national median $97,550/yr ($46.90/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1141); the P10 to P90 range is $68,940 to $137,470.
- BLS reports one registered nurse wage, so home health pay is a position inside the $68,940 to $137,470 RN range rather than a separate published figure.
- Per-visit and per-point pay models mean territory density, drive time and case mix affect earnings as much as the quoted rate does.
- OASIS assessment and start-of-care visits carry premiums because they drive agency reimbursement, and they are the clearest way for a home health nurse to lift pay without changing employer.
US Home Health Nurse Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do home health nurses earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 29-1141; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1141, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a home health nurse earn at each career stage?
Home health pay follows caseload autonomy, assessment responsibility and on-call commitment rather than a licence ladder above the RN. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS registered nurse distribution (SOC 29-1141).
By State
Which states pay home health nurses the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national registered nurse median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Home health has a geography problem of its own: Medicare pays agencies on a national payment model with limited local adjustment, so nurses in expensive states are squeezed between local living costs and near-uniform agency revenue. Rural territories pay mileage and drive time instead of higher rates. Nurse Licensure Compact membership governs cross-state practice.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($112,180), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay home health nurses the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the registered nurse national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a home health nurse’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does home health nurse pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Home Health Nurses sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify home health nurse wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a home health nurse actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Home Health Nurse Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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