Whether you’re a certified nurse aide (CNA) in New Mexico researching how your wages compare to those of your local peers or considering nurse aide certification (also referred to in other states as nursing assistant certification), you’ve come to the right place. This guide aims to provide readers with consolidated data to understand the CNA market in New Mexico.
What’s the average CNA salary in the state of New Mexico? First, we compare the mean CNA salary per hour to the overall national mean for the profession and the average in nearby states in the following table:
As you can see, the data shows that the average nursing assistant salary in New Mexico is lower than the national average and those of a few neighboring states. Nevertheless, these figures are broad and don’t reflect the variations in the cost of living between states or the differences between rural, metropolitan, and suburban areas.
This resource provides publicly available information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the MIT Living Wage Calculator about average CNA salaries, employment, location quotient, and living wage in New Mexico (most recent information as of February 2024). While Nursa currently offers independent contractor CNAs in New Mexico the opportunity to access per diem jobs that pay on an hourly basis rather than access to salaried or wage-based employment opportunities, this information may be a helpful frame of reference for you as you assess the market landscape both in regard to per diem jobs and employment opportunities.
Additional columns of the above table show the number of CNAs employed in the respective area and the location quotient. The BLS uses the location quotient to quantify the relationship between employment distribution for a specific location and employment distribution across the nation. In this table, when an area has a location quotient lower than one, the CNA profession for the area has a smaller share of the area’s total employment than the CNA profession for the nation’s total employment.
What Are the Highest Paying Cities for CNAs in New Mexico?
As you can see in the table above, the Santa Fe and Albuquerque metropolitan areas show the highest income averages for CNAs, followed closely by the Northern nonmetropolitan area, according to the data. However, with PRN nursing jobs, any city offers the potential for finding high-paying jobs. Explore PRN jobs in the cities below:
CNAs have the potential to earn higher wages by working in certain settings such as Medsurg, ER, and ICU.
What’s the Cost of Living in New Mexico?
Knowing how much you can earn in New Mexico may help you choose the best nurse assistant jobs when considering independent contractor work or applying for salaried or wage-based employment. Several factors, including geographic location and family size, influence the cost of living in New Mexico. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, the living wage for a single working adult with no children in New Mexico is $20.10.
How Much Do Nursing Assistants Make in New Mexico?
As is true with the income of other nursing professionals, such as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs), nursing aide income can vary significantly. There are over 4,000 CNAs working in New Mexico, and their pay rates vary as follows:
How Can I Become a CNA in New Mexico?
New Mexico has both school-based and facility-based nurse aide training programs located throughout the state. For help finding approved CNA classes in New Mexico, the state’s Department of Health recommends contacting the Nurse Aide Registry program coordinator.
CNA Certification in New Mexico
The New Mexico CNA registry is officially the Nurse Aide Registry (NAR). In addition to providing oversight for the state’s CNA training programs, the NAR assists with New Mexico CNA license lookup, license verification, reciprocity, and reinstatement.
How Can I Find CNA Jobs in New Mexico?
CNAs and patient care techs (PCTs) are employable in several healthcare settings. Qualified workers are in high demand for CNA and PCT jobs in New Mexico. Nursa has seen evidence of this in the number of high-paying per diem CNA jobs posted by hospitals and other healthcare facilities in need throughout New Mexico.
What Are Per Diem Independent Contractor Jobs for CNAs?
Nursa is a leading healthcare marketplace platform that connects CNAs, PCTs, RNs, and LPNs to PRN nursing jobs in facilities that have a need. When these facilities have shift call-offs and vacancies, they post the shifts to Nursa so that CNAs like you can see it’s available for pickup. PRN shifts are not traditional long-term employment; they are independent contractor work, so you only commit to one shift at a time. The flexibility and independence this allows CNAs to have in setting their own schedules is an advantage for many. Additionally, PRN shifts generally offer higher than usual pay rates, which is another significant perk. Join Nursa today and search for CNA jobs in hospitals and other facilities near you.
