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Home Health Aide

Types of Degrees Home Health Aide Majors Are Earning

Those studying Home Health Aide can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	51
Associate’s Degree	1
Master’s Degree	345

What Home Health Aide Majors Need to Know

Studies in Home Health Aide emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Home Health Aide graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Home Health Aide emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Transportation — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.0 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Home Health Aide program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Service Orientation — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Home Health Aide careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.0 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Home Health Aide graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.9 / 7
Getting Information	4.7 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.1 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.0 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.0 / 7
Performing General Physical Activities	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7
Handling and Moving Objects	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Home Health Aide professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
FaceTime	Video conferencing software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Spreadsheet software	Spreadsheet software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Computer reading software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
August Systems Visit Wizard	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Mi-Co Mi-Forms	Data base reporting software	—
Voltage SecureMail	Electronic mail software	—
Appletree	Computer based training software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Linux	Operating system software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Home Health Aide graduates include:

• Resident Assistant
• Home Help Aide
• Direct Care Worker
• In Home Caregiver
• Home Health Care Provider
• Home Care Aide
• Companion
• Health Service Worker
• Home Care Attendant
• Home Care Provider
• Caregiver
• Resident Care Assistant (RCA)
• Live In Caregiver
• Home Caregiver
• Direct Care Staffer

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Home Health Aide graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	49.8%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	20.6%
Less than a high school diploma	15.2%
Postsecondary certificate	8.3%
Some college courses	6.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Home Health Aide?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 91% of Home Health Aide degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,551	91.0%
Men	153	9.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Home Health Aide graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	306	18.0%
Asian	21	1.2%
Hispanic or Latino	999	58.6%
Black or African American	312	18.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	12	0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	2	0.1%
Two or More Races	34	2.0%
Race Unknown	17	1.0%
International Students	1	0.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Home Health Aide Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Home Health Aide graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$21,334
4 years	$27,226
5 years	$29,985

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $29,985 — roughly 41% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Home Health Aide Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Home Health Aide graduates earn a median of $27,226 four years after completion — about 28% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Health Aides/Attendants/Orderlies	51.26
Health Aide	51.2601
Health Aides/Attendants/Orderlies, Other	51.2699
Medication Aide	51.2603
Physical Therapy Technician/Aide	51.2605
Rehabilitation Aide	51.2604

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.