Assisted living sees modest pay hikes, lower turnover

The assisted living industry made significant strides in reducing turnover in the past year, while many job positions received modest raises, according to the 2013-2014 Assisted Living Salary & Benefits Report, published by the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service and LeadingAge.

Among salaried job titles, pay increases of 1–2 percent higher than 2012 were common, with the largest year-over-year pay increases going to assisted living administrators (2.79 percent higher than 2012) and human resource directors (2.72 percent higher than 2012).

Assisted living administrators earn $80,000 on average, but tend to make at least $6,000 more annually if they work at a not-for-profit organization. Directors of nursing earn an average of $59,814 at for-profits, but about $80,000 at not-for-profits.

Among hourly positions, staff RNs and LPNs earned an average of $29.24 and $23.35, respectively. Other hourly earnings vary, but most job positions earn at least $8.80 an hour.

A key factor for 2014 could be President Obama’s push to raise the national minimum wage to $10.10, as announced in this week’s State of the Union address. According to the pay rates report, a wide range of workers—including resident assistants, dementia personal care aides, housekeepers, dishwashers, food service aides and even some certified nurse aides—receive an hourly wage that averages below $10, especially at for-profit facilities.

Assisted living communities have made good progress in reducing staff turnover rates. Nationally, overall turnover rates are down almost 5 percent since last year’s report. Only two job categories—marketing and certified nurse aides—show a higher turnover rate than last year. Turnover rates for RNs, reported as 24.9 percent currently, are significantly lower than last year’s average of 38 percent.

Report data are based on 1,891 respondents, representing for-profits and not-for-profits in all regions of the United States.

The report is available for a fee at www.hhcsinc.com

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.