CNA Jobs in Bellevue, WA: Employers, Settings, and Starting Pay

CNA jobs in Bellevue, WA cluster around Overlake Medical Center, the city's hospital at 1035 116th Ave NE, and a large assisted-living, memory-care, and adult-family-home sector serving one of Washington's wealthiest suburban populations. Kaiser Permanente's Bellevue Medical Center adds clinic and urgent-care roles, EvergreenHealth in Kirkland is a short drive north, and since March 28, 2026 the 2 Line has connected Bellevue Downtown Station to Seattle, putting UW Medicine, Harborview, Swedish, and Virginia Mason within a train ride. Indeed job-posting data (August 2026) shows a Washington nursing assistant average of about $23.62 per hour, Seattle about $23.80, and Kirkland about $23.73; Bellevue itself is not reported separately, and the Kirkland figure is the nearest Eastside reference.

Overlake Medical Center

Overlake is a nonprofit hospital that finalized an affiliation with MultiCare in 2024, per MultiCare's site, and it holds a state Level 3 stroke center designation with a 24-hour emergency department and birth center. Public employer rankings list it among Bellevue's largest employers, with roughly 3,800 staff. For a nursing assistant, the postings to watch:

• Inpatient nursing assistant on medical, surgical, and telemetry units, with day, evening, and night shifts.
• Emergency department technician, which usually adds EKG or phlebotomy expectations to the NA-C.
• Float pool, the usual entry for a new NA-C who can take variable units.
• Birth center and pediatrics support, where openings are fewer and experience preferences stricter.

Because of the MultiCare affiliation, an Overlake nursing assistant may later transfer within MultiCare, including Tacoma General and Auburn Medical Center, without re-verifying credentials from scratch. Hospitals in the region commonly list 6 to 12 months of experience as preferred, so the typical path runs through a long-term care job first.

The Eastside employer map

Times and connections are approximate, from Sound Transit and King County Metro published information as of September 2026. Bellevue Transit Center is partly closed for Stride construction through October 2026, with routes such as 550, 556, 560, and 566 relocated to nearby streets, and a Metro restructure later in 2026 replaces route 271 with routes 220 and 270, so check current stop locations before an interview.

Assisted living and memory care: Bellevue's volume employer

Bellevue's long-term care postings are weighted toward assisted-living and memory-care communities, many of them high-end, rather than the skilled nursing facilities that dominate South King County. For a new NA-C that matters in three ways:

1. They hire on a Certificate of Completion with the exam pending, and some also accept HCAs, so a graduate can start earning before the NA-C posts.
2. Duties lean toward personal care and nurse-delegated tasks, including medication assistance, rather than the heavier transfer loads of a skilled nursing floor.
3. Pay varies widely. Some Bellevue communities advertise above the state posting average to compete for staff; others sit near the 2026 state minimum of $17.13 per hour. Read the posted rate, not the community's reputation.

The delegation rules that govern medication assistance in these settings are explained in nurse delegation for Washington CNAs, and the medication assistant endorsement (8 hours of medication-specific CE and 250 documented hours per cycle) is covered in the medication assistant endorsement in Washington.

Pay references for Bellevue

All figures are approximate. Bellevue's cost of living is high, so compare any offer with the differentials on offer and the commute; a Seattle hospital rate with a night differential reached by the 2 Line can outpace a Bellevue assisted-living rate reached by car. Statewide comparisons by setting are in CNA salary in Washington State.

What Bellevue employers verify

• Active NA-C on the DOH Provider Credential Search, or a NAR for facility employment while the exam is pending under the 4-month rule.
• Background check: DOH's name-based statewide check at application, plus the employer's own; adult family homes and assisted living are required to check staff.
• BLS CPR, required by Overlake, Kaiser, EvergreenHealth, and most communities.
• TB test and immunizations, usually the same records used for clinical placement.
• Reliable transportation for adult family home and agency roles, which employers often state outright.

If your credential is listed under a former name, fix it with DOH before you apply; the steps are in Washington CNA name change, address change, and duplicate credential.

A hiring sequence for the Eastside

1. Final weeks of training: apply to assisted-living and memory-care communities in Bellevue and to skilled nursing facilities in Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond; ask each about NAR or Certificate-of-Completion hiring.
2. Skills pass recorded: register with Credentia for the $55 knowledge test the same day.
3. Knowledge pass: file the DOH application and put Overlake float pool and technician applications in the queue.
4. NA-C on the registry: tell your employer for the pay change; set alerts for EvergreenHealth and the Seattle systems reachable on the 2 Line.
5. 6 to 12 months later: apply to Overlake and Seattle unit positions that listed an experience preference.

Frequently asked questions

How much do CNAs make in Bellevue, WA? Indeed's August 2026 data does not list Bellevue. Kirkland, the nearest reported Eastside city, is about $23.73 per hour and Seattle about $23.80; expect assisted living to vary widely and hospital roles with differentials to exceed those figures.

Does Overlake hire new graduate nursing assistants? Overlake posts nursing assistant, technician, and float pool roles; experience is usually preferred, not required. Apply with an active NA-C and BLS CPR.

Can I reach Seattle hospitals from Bellevue without a car? Yes. The 2 Line runs from Bellevue Downtown Station to International District/Chinatown in about 22 minutes, with 1 Line connections to the rest of the city.

Which Bellevue employers hire before certification? Assisted-living and memory-care communities often hire on a Certificate of Completion, and skilled nursing facilities can hire a NAR with 4 months to certify.

Do I need to train in Bellevue to work in Bellevue? No. Employers verify the NA-C on the DOH registry. The 108-hour CNA Traditional program at Huduma CNA Programs in Federal Way, reachable by the 2 Line and 1 Line, produces the same credential.

The statewide market is described in CNA jobs in Washington, and the training options for Eastside residents are in CNA classes near Bellevue, WA.