Certified Nursing Assistant Jobs in Sacramento, CA
Certified nursing assistants in Sacramento work everywhere from the subacute floors of Dignity Health's Bruceville Terrace to Eskaton's care center in Greenhaven, with posted pay running $25 to about $35 an hour for certified staff. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring and how to get certified.
Current certified nursing assistant Openings in Sacramento, CA
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Certified Nursing Assistant Work in Sacramento
Most CNA hiring in Sacramento comes from two places: skilled nursing and subacute care, and the inpatient rehab and hospital units run by the region's big health systems. Senior living is a large employer on its own here, with Eskaton running more than 36 Northern California properties from its Sacramento base, including the care center on Florin Road in Greenhaven. Hospital-run facilities such as Dignity Health's Bruceville Terrace, a 171-bed subacute skilled nursing facility of Methodist Hospital of Sacramento, pay at the top of the local range.
Health care is the largest private sector in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro, and California's health care worker minimum wage (SB 525) sets higher pay floors at hospitals and large health systems than the $16.90 state minimum. That is a big reason CNA pay here runs well above most of the country, and why many aides commute along SR-99, US-50 and I-80 to reach the better-paying hospital units.
Top Sacramento Employers Hiring Certified Nursing Assistants
These Sacramento employers hire certified nursing assistants for skilled nursing, rehab and senior care:
- Dignity Health - Bruceville Terrace, Methodist Hospital of Sacramento's 171-bed subacute skilled nursing facility, hires CNAs with a year of SNF or long-term care experience.
- UC Davis Rehabilitation Hospital - the Lifepoint Health inpatient rehab hospital in Sacramento hires full-time night shift CNAs.
- Eskaton - the Sacramento-based senior living nonprofit hires CNAs across its communities, including Eskaton Care Center Greenhaven.
Certified Nursing Assistant Salaries in Sacramento
- Entry level: about $19 to $23 per hour for newly certified aides.
- Experienced: roughly $23 to $30 per hour, with hospital and rehab units at the upper end.
- Senior / subacute: about $30 to $35 per hour at hospital-run skilled nursing and subacute facilities.
These are estimates built from federal wage data for the Sacramento metro and current local postings. Pay moves with setting and shift: hospital-affiliated and subacute units pay more than assisted living, night shifts can carry a differential, and a year of long-term care experience opens the higher-paying jobs.
How to Become a Certified Nursing Assistant in Sacramento
In California, CNAs are certified by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). You complete a state-approved nurse assistant training program of at least 160 hours, with at least 60 hours of classroom theory and 100 hours of supervised clinical training in a long-term care facility, then pass the state competency exam. Live Scan fingerprinting and a health screening with a TB test are required before you work with patients. American River College on College Oak Drive offers a one-semester, CDPH-approved Certified Nurse Assistant course (NURSE 100) with clinicals in a local skilled nursing facility, plus a Home Health Aide add-on. Eskaton has also run a no-cost CNA Academy for its own new hires at its Greenhaven care center.
What the Job Involves
CNAs provide hands-on daily care under the direction of licensed nurses. Typical tasks include bathing, grooming, dressing and toileting residents or patients, helping with safe transfers and walking, taking vital signs, feeding assistance, repositioning to prevent pressure injuries, and charting the care given. On rehab and subacute units, aides also help patients through therapy routines and watch for changes in condition to report to the nurse.
Skills Employers Look For
- Active California CNA certification
- Current BLS or CPR card
- Safe lifting, transfer and mobility techniques
- Accurate vital signs and charting
- Patience and clear communication with residents and families
- Reliability on nights, weekends and holidays
Career Path and Advancement
Many Sacramento CNAs start in skilled nursing or senior living, gain a year of experience, and move into hospital-affiliated subacute and rehab units for higher pay. The common next step is nursing school: Sacramento City College's vocational nursing program leads to the LVN license, and its LVN-to-RN transition, American River College's associate degree in nursing and Sacramento State's BSN all lead to the registered nurse license. Others branch into medical assisting or phlebotomy.
Related Careers in Sacramento
If CNA work interests you, these related Sacramento roles are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get CNA certified in Sacramento?
Complete a CDPH-approved nurse assistant training program of at least 160 hours, including 100 clinical hours, then pass the California competency exam. American River College offers a one-semester program, and some employers such as Eskaton have trained their own new hires.
How much do CNAs make in Sacramento?
Federal wage data puts the Sacramento metro median for nursing assistants near $23 an hour, while current postings at hospital-run and rehab facilities range from $25 to about $35 an hour. Experience, shift and setting make the biggest difference.
How long does CNA training take in Sacramento?
California requires at least 160 training hours. A college course like American River College's runs one 15-week semester, while employer-run academies have finished in about six weeks of full-time days.
Do Sacramento CNA jobs require experience?
Many entry-level roles in senior living and rehab hire new graduates, though some list six months of acute or long-term care experience as preferred. Higher-paying subacute jobs, such as those at Bruceville Terrace, ask for at least a year of skilled nursing or long-term care experience.
What do I need to bring to a CNA job in Sacramento?
Expect to show your active California CNA certificate, a current BLS card from the American Heart Association, proof of a TB test, and your Live Scan clearance. Some employers also ask for a year of skilled nursing experience, so bring your work history too.
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