Home Health and Personal Care Aides Salary
In Durham-Chapel Hill, NC, home health and personal care aides earn $33,630 at the median, or about $16.17 an hour. The range runs from $28K at the entry level to $42K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 97.57), that's roughly $34,468 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,711/month, about 73.2% of take-home, which is tight.
Where the paycheck goes
What $34K actually covers in Durham-Chapel Hill, month by month
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Durham-Chapel Hill’s Regional Price Parity (97.57). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About home health and personal care aides
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What this looks like in Durham-Chapel Hill
Home health and personal care aides pay in Durham-Chapel Hill tracks closely to the national median, $34K locally vs. $36K nationwide, a 6% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,711/month, which is 74.5% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 97.57) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for home health and personal care aides in metros near Durham-Chapel Hill, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | $34K | $35K |
| Raleigh-Cary | $33K | $33K |
| Greensboro-High Point | $29K | $32K |
| Winston-Salem | $30K | $33K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Entry-level home health and personal care aides (10th percentile) start around $28K. Mid-career wages sit at $34K. Top earners bring in $42K or more, a $14K spread from bottom to top.
Home Health and Personal Care Aides pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Home Health and Personal Care Aides salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $48K | +33% | 103,260 |
| Oregon | $44K | +24% | 42,330 |
| Rhode Island | $44K | +22% | 7,490 |
| District of Columbia | $43K | +19% | 12,810 |
| Vermont | $42K | +16% | 7,700 |
| Massachusetts | $41K | +14% | 117,940 |
| Alaska | $40K | +11% | 6,530 |
| New York | $40K | +11% | 663,140 |
| North Dakota | $39K | +10% | 7,730 |
| Connecticut | $39K | +9% | 49,510 |
| New Hampshire | $39K | +8% | 9,440 |
| Maine | $39K | +8% | 18,630 |
| Colorado | $39K | +8% | 44,650 |
| Minnesota | $38K | +7% | 128,680 |
| Hawaii | $38K | +6% | 6,150 |
| Illinois | $38K | +6% | 134,100 |
| Maryland | $38K | +6% | 46,560 |
| South Dakota | $38K | +5% | 4,210 |
| New Jersey | $37K | +4% | 117,080 |
| Montana | $37K | +2% | 10,400 |
| Kentucky | $36K | +2% | 31,260 |
| Arizona | $36K | +2% | 74,540 |
| Wisconsin | $36K | +2% | 82,430 |
| Nebraska | $36K | +1% | 13,660 |
| Iowa | $36K | +1% | 25,800 |
| Utah | $36K | +0% | 17,130 |
| Indiana | $35K | -2% | 57,050 |
| Michigan | $35K | -2% | 95,020 |
| Idaho | $35K | -3% | 20,770 |
| Ohio | $34K | -4% | 106,940 |
| Delaware | $34K | -4% | 11,820 |
| California | $34K | -4% | 970,150 |
| Florida | $34K | -6% | 90,170 |
| Nevada | $34K | -6% | 17,940 |
| Wyoming | $33K | -7% | 3,410 |
| Missouri | $33K | -8% | 94,810 |
| Tennessee | $32K | -10% | 35,950 |
| Kansas | $31K | -13% | 25,350 |
| North Carolina | $31K | -13% | 58,880 |
| Virginia | $30K | -15% | 70,070 |
| South Carolina | $30K | -16% | 40,750 |
| Pennsylvania | $29K | -18% | 257,370 |
| Georgia | $29K | -18% | 50,870 |
| New Mexico | $29K | -20% | 38,910 |
| West Virginia | $28K | -22% | 18,890 |
| Alabama | $28K | -22% | 20,930 |
| Oklahoma | $28K | -23% | 20,310 |
| Arkansas | $28K | -23% | 19,840 |
| Texas | $24K | -32% | 329,590 |
| Mississippi | $24K | -33% | 21,800 |
| Louisiana | $23K | -37% | 45,060 |
Showing 1–10 of 51 (all 50 states + DC)
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Quick answers
The stuff people actually ask about this job
Can a home health and personal care aide afford a 2BR apartment alone in Durham-Chapel Hill?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $34K, rent takes 74.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,711/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $700/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for home health and personal care aides in Durham-Chapel Hill?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new home health and personal care aides typically earn — is $28K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,925/month. At HUD’s $1,711/month FMR, rent would take 89% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is home health and personal care aide a high-paying job in Durham-Chapel Hill?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $34K locally vs. $36K nationally, a 6% difference.
How does Durham-Chapel Hill compare to the national average for home health and personal care aides?
Durham-Chapel Hill pays $34K median vs. the U.S. average of $36K — that’s -6%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 97.57), the purchasing-power equivalent is $34K — below the national median.
How much do home health and personal care aides make in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC?
The median is $33,630 a year, that works out to about $16 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $27,770, and experienced home health and personal care aides can clear $41,850. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $34K enough to live in Durham-Chapel Hill?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $2,296/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,711/month, which eats 74.5% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a home health and personal care aides salary go in Durham-Chapel Hill?
Durham-Chapel Hill has a Regional Price Parity of 97.57 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median home health and personal care aides salary is worth about $34,468 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do home health and personal care aides get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.