CNA Classes Near Lacey, WA: Programs, Costs, and Commute to Federal Way

Lacey's closest Washington State Board of Nursing (WABON) approved nursing assistant program is South Puget Sound Community College's NURS 100, which the college catalog describes as about three months long, offered every fall, winter, and spring quarter, open to applicants 18 and older with no prerequisites. The fixed-calendar alternative is the 4-week, 108-hour Nursing Assistant-Certified (NA-C) course at Huduma CNA Programs in Federal Way: $1,100 tuition plus about $105 in books, skills test on site, about 37 miles north of Lacey by I-5, roughly 43 minutes in light traffic per trip-planning estimates. Each delivers the 108 clock hours the state requires (35 theory, 33 lab, 40 clinical) and each leads to the same $155 two-part exam.

Lacey's choices in one table

SPSCC is the natural pick for a Lacey resident who can wait for the next quarter and wants the lowest out-of-pocket cost with financial aid. The Federal Way course is the pick for a start within weeks, a weekend pattern, on-site testing, or the 40-hour HCA bridge.

What SPSCC offers and requires

The SPSCC catalog lists NURS 100 as a Certificate of Completion program approved by the Washington State Department of Health and DSHS, preparing graduates for nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living, and home care agencies, with eligibility for the state nursing assistant exam on completion. Applicants must be 18 or older; the catalog lists no other prerequisites. Tuition follows the college's per-credit schedule, so check its tuition page for the current quarter and ask which campus, Olympia or Lacey, hosts the section you want. Financial aid applies to quarter enrollment in a way it usually does not to a 4-week private course.

Intercity Transit, which serves Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Yelm with 21 routes, has run a zero-fare program since January 2020, extended through 2028 per public agency reporting. That makes any in-county class free to reach and is one reason the local college wins on total cost for a student without a car.

Getting from Lacey to Federal Way

Trip planners put Lacey to Federal Way at about 37 miles and 43 minutes by car in light traffic: I-5 north past Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Tacoma, then SR 18 or I-5 to Federal Way. The morning northbound peak through Tacoma and the afternoon southbound return can add 20 to 40 minutes. The Federal Way Downtown Station garage, about 1,500 stalls, is next to the school.

Without a car, Intercity Transit's September 2025 service change created Route 610, the Lacey Connector, which runs seven days a week between Olympia Transit Center and the SR 512 Park and Ride in Lakewood with stops at Lacey Transit Center, Hawks Prairie Park and Ride, and Lakewood Sounder Station, per the agency's launch announcement. Route 600, the Lakewood Commuter, covers the same corridor on weekdays from Martin Way Park and Ride. At Lakewood Station or SR 512, Sound Transit Express 574 continues to Federal Way Downtown Station, every 15 minutes at peak and every 15 to 30 minutes off-peak per Sound Transit's route page. Trip planners estimate about 1 hour 32 minutes for the bus chain. The Intercity Transit leg is free; only the 574 fare applies.

• Day cohort, weekdays. Twenty class days. Driving is the faster option; the 610 plus 574 chain works and costs only the Sound Transit fare.
• Weekend cohort. Route 610 runs seven days a week, so the bus chain works on Saturdays and Sundays too; confirm weekend 574 headways.
• HCA bridge. Active Home Care Aides need 5 weekdays or about 2.5 weekends; the plan is in HCA to CNA bridge near Lacey, WA.

Military-connected students at JBLM can use the 610's Berkeley Street stop near Madigan Gate; the base-specific guide is CNA training near Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Costs by line item

Spreading the $1,100 across the course is described in payment plans for CNA training in Washington. Thurston County residents on Basic Food can ask WorkSource about training funds under the process in WorkSource, WIOA, and Basic Food Employment and Training.

Where a Lacey graduate works

Providence St. Peter Hospital at 413 Lilly Road NE sits on Olympia's east side at the Lacey boundary, with 372 licensed beds and a Level III trauma center per public hospital listings, and Providence's location page calls it the leading hospital for Thurston, Lewis, Mason, Grays Harbor, and Pacific counties. Skilled nursing facilities, senior living around Hawks Prairie and Martin Way, home care agencies, and adult family homes across Thurston County make up the rest of the market. Indeed's posting data updated September 2026 lists nursing assistants in Olympia, the nearest reported city, at about $23.19 per hour from 229 salaries, close to the Washington average of about $23.62; both approximate. A Lacey graduate willing to ride north also reaches MultiCare and Virginia Mason Franciscan hospitals in Tacoma and Federal Way via the 610 and 574. Local settings and pay are covered in CNA jobs in Lacey, WA.

The Federal Way course in brief

The CNA Traditional program delivers 35 theory, 33 lab, and 40 clinical hours in 4 weeks under licensed-nurse instructors, with the background check cleared before clinical placement in a licensed nursing facility and the $100 skills test administered on site. It requires a high school diploma or GED; instruction is in English. Under WAC 246-841A-430, students get at least four attempts at the skills competency exam. Cohort dates for the traditional course and the bridge are on the schedules page.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a CNA class in Lacey? South Puget Sound Community College's NURS 100 runs every fall, winter, and spring quarter and takes about three months, per the catalog; ask the college which campus hosts each section.

How far is Federal Way from Lacey? About 37 miles and roughly 43 minutes by car on I-5 in light traffic, per trip-planning estimates. By bus, Route 610 to Lakewood and ST Express 574 to Federal Way take about 1.5 hours.

Is the bus from Lacey really free? Intercity Transit's zero-fare program covers the 610 and 600. The Sound Transit 574 leg charges its own fare.

Why choose a 4-week course over the college? Speed, a fixed $1,100 price, the weekend pattern, on-site testing, and the 40-hour HCA bridge, which the college does not offer.

Is the 4-week course the same standard as SPSCC's? Yes. WAC 246-841A-440 sets 108 clock hours for every approved program; the 4-week course reaches it with longer class days.

What is the total beyond tuition? About $105 for books, $155 for the two exam parts, and the DOH application fee per the current schedule, plus the 574 fare or parking.

The steps after class are in how to become a CNA in Washington State.