Compared with the local labor market
Certified Nursing Assistant pay vs. Arkansas
Across all employers in Arkansas, the median wage for Nursing Assistants — about 17,260 people — is $34,430. Department of Veterans Affairs pays a median base salary of $39,171 for this role, 14% above that figure — above the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Department of Veterans Affairs sits in the local pay range
$28,840
$30,200
$34,430
$36,070
$39,020
Department of Veterans Affairs median · $39,171
The bar is the range of annual wages for Nursing Assistants across every employer in Arkansas, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Veterans Affairs’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Nursing Assistants — about 1,448,910 people — is $42,260. Department of Veterans Affairs’s median base salary is 7% below that national figure, about the 35th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$33,940
$37,260
$42,260
$47,220
$51,980
Department of Veterans Affairs median · $39,171
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Arkansas range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Department of Veterans Affairs is $39,171, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
This role across Arkansas
Certified Nursing Assistant is held in 3 Arkansas departments. In Department of Veterans Affairs, the median of $39,171 ranks #1 of 3.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Certified Nursing Assistant role in other Arkansasdepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Certified Nursing Assistant beyond Arkansas
This role is reported in 7 jurisdictions. In Arkansas, the median of $39,171 ranks #3 of 7. See Certified Nursing Assistant across all of Arkansas →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Certified Nursing Assistantroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.