Short answer: the Nebraska median for nursing assistants is about $19.23 an hour, and for home health and personal care aides about $17.38, according to the latest federal wage survey. The long answer is that the hourly wage is the least useful number for judging home health work, because it ignores the thing that makes home health different: the drive.
The numbers
| Credential | Median hourly | Approx. annual (full time) | Employed in Nebraska |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home health and personal care aides | $17.38 | $36,150 | n/a |
| Nursing assistants (CNAs) | $19.23 | $40,000 | about 16,450 |
| Licensed practical nurses | about $24.59 | about $51,150 | n/a |
| Registered nurses | $40.74 | $84,700 | about 24,720 |
A few things to know about these figures. They are medians, so half of workers earn more and half less. They cover every setting, and home health typically pays a bit less than hospitals for the same credential. They do not separate Lincoln and Omaha from the rest of the state, and rural counties usually sit below the median. And, critically, they measure the wage per hour worked, which in home health means the visit, not the drive to it.
Why the hourly wage undercounts home health
A facility CNA works eight hours and is paid eight hours. A home health CNA might work six visit-hours spread across five homes and 90 miles, and be paid for six hours. If the agency does not pay travel time, or pays it at a lower rate, and does not reimburse mileage, the real hourly rate can be several dollars below the number on the offer letter.
Work it through at the median. A CNA at $19.23 doing six paid visit-hours plus two hours of unpaid driving and 90 unreimbursed miles is, at the 2026 IRS mileage rate of 72.5 cents, giving back $65 in car costs and two hours of time. Effective rate for the eight-hour day: about $6.30 an hour. That is not a typo, and it is why turnover in home care runs 25 to 35 percent a year.
What per-visit pay with mileage looks like
Rayva prices home health differently. Instead of an hourly wage that ignores the car, every visit is offered with three parts:
- Base rate for the visit type. A personal care visit and a wound care visit are different work and priced differently.
- Mileage from where you are to the patient, at a per-mile rate you can see.
- Boost on storm days or when a county is short, up to 2x.
An example CNA offer on Rayva: a personal care visit in Beatrice from Lincoln, base $46, mileage $29 for the 40-mile drive, no boost. $75 on the offer, $75 in your account. Rates vary by county, visit type and day, and Rayva's fee is paid by the agency or family, never taken from your rate.
Compare that to the same visit at the state median with no travel pay: about $19 for the hour of care, and $29 of your own money spent getting there.
Pay by credential on Rayva
Each credential has its own visit types and base rates. The credential pages walk through what each license gets offered and the Nebraska rules that apply:
- CNAs: personal care, mobility, vitals, respite
- Home health aides: personal care, meals and household support, medication reminders
- LPNs: medication administration, wound care, catheter and ostomy care, monitoring
- RNs: skilled visits, start-of-care assessments, aide supervision
Where in Nebraska
Rayva opens county by county as caregivers join. The Nebraska page lists the five clusters filling first (Lincoln, Omaha, Grand Island, Kearney and North Platte) and the counties each covers. If you give care anywhere in the state, joining the waitlist is free and counts toward your county.
Wage figures are Nebraska statewide medians from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 release, as republished by the sources below. The LPN figure is the most recent state median available and may lag a year. Rayva example offers are illustrative.
Sources
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Nebraska home health and personal care aides (via CaresLink)
- BLS OEWS 2025, Nebraska nursing assistants (via AmericaByNumbers)
- BLS OEWS 2025, Nebraska registered nurses (via AmericaByNumbers)
- Nebraska LPN median salary (Nightingale College, citing BLS)
- IRS standard mileage rates for 2026
- BLS OEWS home page, for the official state tables
