Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$19,866
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$2,654
11.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$22,487
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$22,520
Kept after tax
$19,866
Worth in national money
$22,487
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for home health and personal care aides. The middle earner takes $22,520, ranking 51 of 51 states — about 37.09% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Louisiana, this one sits low: 479 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $22,520 you keep $19,866, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $22,487 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $24,430, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Louisiana ranks 51 of 51 for home health and personal care aides, with a median of $22,520 — about 37.09% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Home health and personal care aides occupies position 479 of 484 in Louisiana's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for home health and personal care aides on $22,520 is $19,866. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $22,487 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $24,430 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Home Health and Personal Care Aides
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $19,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $22,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $32,130 |
| This salary | $22,520 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Louisiana | $19,866 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $20,155 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,746 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $22,169 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,060 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Louisiana earn less than $22,520. The published range is $19,190 up to $32,130, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $19,866 take-home in Louisiana comes from $22,520. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 479 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $22,487 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 479.
- Reported values are medians; for home health and personal care aides in Louisiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $19,190 to $32,130. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $19,866, from $22,520, assumes a single Louisiana filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 479 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 51 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $22,487, worked from $22,520, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Louisiana address, on work sitting at 479 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $24,430, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $19,190 and the top tenth $32,130, so most people doing this work in Louisiana sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $22,487 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $19,866.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Louisiana is $24,430. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($19,190 to $32,130) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $22,487 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $19,866 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.