Certified Nursing Assistant Jobs in New York, NY
Certified nursing assistants in the New York metro earn a median of $23.69 an hour, and nursing homes from Riverdale to southern Brooklyn are hiring on every shift. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring and how to get on the New York State Nurse Aide Registry.
Current certified nursing assistant Openings in New York, NY
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Certified Nursing Assistant Work in New York
Most CNA jobs in New York City are in long-term care. The NYC Health + Hospitals post-acute sites, the Hebrew Home at Riverdale campus on Palisade Avenue, The New Jewish Home in Manhattan and the Bronx, and the MJHS Menorah Center in southern Brooklyn all staff certified nurse aides around the clock. Hospitals hire aides too, often under titles like nursing assistant or patient care associate, as Mount Sinai does at Mount Sinai Brooklyn and Mount Sinai West.
What makes the city different is scale and union pay. Healthcare support jobs are the largest occupational group in the metro, and many nursing homes and League hospitals are organized by 1199SEIU, whose 2026 contract set 4% raises a year for three years. Most aides get to work by subway or bus, so a Bronx or Brooklyn home near your own neighborhood can matter as much as the hourly rate on a night shift.
Top New York Employers Hiring Certified Nursing Assistants
These New York employers have posted CNA or nursing assistant openings on their own careers sites:
- NYC Health + Hospitals - the public system hires CNAs for its post-acute and long-term care sites.
- RiverSpring Living (Hebrew Home at Riverdale) - the Bronx nonprofit nursing home posts CNA openings, some with sign-on bonuses.
- The New Jewish Home - hires full-time, part-time and per diem CNAs for its Manhattan and Bronx nursing homes.
- MJHS Menorah Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care - the Brooklyn nursing home posts part-time day and night CNA shifts with a $1,200 sign-on bonus.
- Mount Sinai Health System - hires nursing assistants and patient care associates at Mount Sinai Brooklyn and Mount Sinai West.
Certified Nursing Assistant Salaries in New York
- Entry level: about $20 to $23 an hour for newly certified aides.
- Experienced: roughly $23 to $27 an hour, about $47,000 to $55,000 a year full time.
- Senior: $27 to $29 or more an hour with seniority, differentials and union steps.
These are estimates based on federal May 2025 wage data for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro, where the nursing assistant median is $23.69 an hour against $20.18 nationally. Night and weekend differentials, union contracts, overtime and sign-on bonuses move pay, and the New York City minimum wage of $17 an hour sits well below what nursing homes actually pay.
How to Become a Certified Nursing Assistant in New York
New York certifies nurse aides through the New York State Department of Health, not the Education Department. You complete a DOH-approved nurse aide training program of at least 100 clock hours, with at least 70 in the classroom and lab and 30 of supervised clinical work in a nursing home, then pass a clinical skills test and a written or oral exam to be placed on the New York State Nurse Aide Registry. Queensborough Community College runs a CNA course through continuing education in Bayside with clinicals at area nursing homes, and The New Jewish Home's SkillSpring program trains eligible young people from the Bronx and Manhattan as CNAs at no cost.
What the Job Involves
CNAs help residents and patients bathe, dress, eat, move and use the bathroom, take and record vital signs, turn and reposition people who cannot move on their own, make beds and keep rooms safe, and report changes in condition to the nurse. In a nursing home you care for the same group of residents shift after shift; in a hospital you support RNs on a busy unit with admissions and discharges.
Skills Employers Look For
- Active listing on the New York State Nurse Aide Registry
- Current CPR or BLS
- Safe lifting, transfers and use of mechanical lifts
- Accurate vital signs and charting
- Patience and respect with older adults and people with dementia
- A second language such as Spanish, Russian, Mandarin or Cantonese
- Reliability on nights, weekends and holidays
Career Path and Advancement
A CNA job is one of the fastest ways into New York health care, and many aides use it as the first step toward nursing. The common path runs from CNA to a practical nursing certificate at BMCC or LaGuardia and the LPN license, then an associate degree and the RN. Some employers help with tuition, and experienced aides can also move into roles such as patient care technician or unit clerk.
Related Careers in New York
If nurse aide work interests you, these related New York roles are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
Who certifies nursing assistants in New York?
The New York State Department of Health. After you finish a DOH-approved training program and pass the skills and knowledge tests, you are listed on the New York State Nurse Aide Registry, which employers check before they hire.
How long does CNA training take in New York?
State-approved programs must run at least 100 clock hours, including 30 hours of supervised clinical work in a nursing home. How long it takes depends on the schedule you pick; Queensborough Community College, for one, runs weekday, weeknight and weekend sections.
How much do CNAs make in New York City?
Federal May 2025 data puts the metro median for nursing assistants at $23.69 an hour, with most between about $23 and $27. New aides usually start around $20 to $23, and union steps, nights and weekends push experienced aides toward $29.
Can I get CNA training for free in New York?
Some employers pay for it. The New Jewish Home's SkillSpring program trains eligible young people as CNAs at no cost, and some nursing homes train new hires in their own approved programs. Ask about training when you apply.
Is a CNA the same as a home health aide in New York?
No. A CNA is certified by the Department of Health through nursing home training and works mainly in nursing homes and hospitals. A home health aide trains under a separate home care program and works in patients' homes, where the New York City home care aide minimum is $19.65 an hour in 2026.
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