CNA Jobs in Maple Valley, WA: Employers, Settings, and Starting Pay

Maple Valley is a residential city in southeast King County, and its Nursing Assistant-Certified (NA-C) job market reflects that: assisted living and memory care communities such as Fountain Court Senior Living and Bonaventure of Maple Valley, which senior living directories place inside the city, plus licensed adult family homes on residential streets from Four Corners to Lake Wilderness. Hospital and skilled nursing work is a short drive away: MultiCare Covington Medical Center about 5 miles west, Valley Medical Center in Renton up SR 169, St. Elizabeth Hospital in Enumclaw to the south, and skilled nursing facilities in Kent, Renton, and Auburn. Indeed's August 2026 posting data reports no Maple Valley figure; the Washington average is about $23.62 per hour and Seattle about $23.80, both approximate, with adult family homes near the $17.13 state minimum and hospitals above the average.

Where the jobs are, by drive time from Four Corners

Maple Valley's geography makes SR 18 and SR 169 the two job corridors. Covington, Kent, and Auburn lie along SR 18; Renton lies along SR 169.

Pay by setting for a Maple Valley NA-C

1. Adult family homes and home care. Closest to the 2026 Washington minimum of $17.13 per hour. Maple Valley uses the state minimum with no local add-on. Many of these roles accept either an HCA or an NA-C.
2. Assisted living and memory care. Base rates between the HCA and NA-C markets. Medication aide shifts, which require the medication assistant endorsement, pay more than standard caregiving shifts.
3. Skilled nursing in Kent, Auburn, and Renton. Base near the statewide average of about $23.62 per hour, plus evening, night, and weekend differentials that typically run $1.50 to $4 per hour.
4. Hospitals. MultiCare Covington, Valley Medical Center, and the Federal Way and Auburn hospitals pay at or above the Seattle figure of about $23.80 per hour before differentials. BLS OEWS lists the Seattle-metro healthcare support mean at about $25.96 per hour for May 2025, well above the $19.62 national mean.

A Maple Valley graduate who takes a night shift at a Kent skilled nursing facility can therefore earn more per hour than a day-shift aide at an assisted living community in town, at the cost of a 20-minute drive. Setting-by-setting math is in CNA salary in Washington State.

Credentials and checks Maple Valley employers ask for

• Registry status. Every employer looks you up on the DOH Provider Credential Search. Skilled nursing facilities can hire a Nursing Assistant-Registered (NAR) who then has 4 months from hire to finish training and pass the exam; hospitals and most assisted living communities want the NA-C in place.
• Background checks. The DOH runs a name-based statewide check for the credential itself. Adult family homes and assisted living must also clear caregivers through DSHS; hospitals run their own. A recent move from another state can trigger a fingerprint check. The steps are in the Washington CNA background check.
• BLS CPR for hospitals and nearly all facilities.
• TB screening and immunization records, requested at offer by hospitals and at orientation by many facilities.
• A driver's license and reliable car for adult family home and agency work, which is spread across Maple Valley, Black Diamond, Covington, and Ravensdale.

A sequence that works from Maple Valley

• Weeks 3 and 4 of training. Apply to Kent, Auburn, and Renton skilled nursing facilities as a NAR, and to Maple Valley assisted living communities, listing your Certificate of Completion date.
• Skills test day. After the $100 skills pass is recorded, register with Credentia for the $55 knowledge test. Part 2 cannot be scheduled before Part 1.
• After the knowledge pass. Submit the DOH application with the fee per the current schedule; apply to MultiCare Covington and Valley Medical Center float pools.
• When the NA-C posts to the registry. Notify your employer in writing so scope and pay update. If hired as a NAR, the 4-month clock is explained in the NAR four-month rule in Washington.
• After 6 to 12 months. Apply to hospital unit roles at Covington, Valley, Auburn, or St. Francis Federal Way. The experience preference is employer practice, not a state requirement.

Commuting from Maple Valley without a car

King County Metro's South Link Connections page, current for the 2026 service changes, gives Maple Valley two useful routes:

• Route 168, Maple Valley to Kent Station via Covington and Kent East Hill, seven days a week. It passes Covington's commercial district near MultiCare Covington Medical Center and continues to Kent's East Hill, where Benson Heights and other Kent facilities are, then to Kent Station.
• Route 183, Kent Station to Federal Way Downtown Station via Star Lake, with Sunday service added in 2026, for St. Francis Federal Way and Federal Way senior living.

Valley Medical Center in Renton and St. Elizabeth in Enumclaw are car trips from Maple Valley for shift start times; Metro's southeast King County routes to Renton and Enumclaw run roughly hourly. Adult family homes and agency clients are only practical by car.

Building the resume past year one

Because Maple Valley's own employers are residential and assisted living, a nursing assistant who wants hospital pay usually spends the first year in Kent or Covington skilled nursing or in the Covington hospital float pool. Adding the medication assistant endorsement, which needs 8 hours of medication-specific continuing education and 250 documented hours of medication assistant employment each cycle, raises pay inside Maple Valley's senior living communities without a commute. The standard NA-C renews every year on your birthday through the DOH portal with no continuing education requirement; how to renew is in Washington CNA renewal.

Frequently asked questions

How much do CNAs make in Maple Valley? No Maple Valley-specific figure appears in the August 2026 Indeed data. The Washington average is about $23.62 per hour and Seattle about $23.80, approximate; assisted living pays below that and hospitals above it.

Is there a hospital in Maple Valley? No. MultiCare Covington Medical Center at 17700 SE 272nd Street is the nearest, about 5 miles west, with a 24/7 emergency department per the MultiCare location page.

Which employers near Maple Valley hire before certification? Skilled nursing facilities in Kent, Auburn, and Renton can hire a NAR who then has 4 months from hire to certify. Assisted living communities may hire HCAs while you finish.

Can I reach Maple Valley CNA jobs by bus? Route 168 reaches Covington and Kent facilities and Kent Station; Route 183 continues to Federal Way. Adult family homes, Renton, and Enumclaw are car commutes.

Do assisted living communities in Maple Valley require the NA-C? Many accept an HCA for caregiving roles. The NA-C is required for skilled nursing and hospital work and usually pays more within assisted living as well.

Openings across Washington by setting are covered in CNA jobs in Washington. Not yet trained? CNA classes near Maple Valley, WA compares Green River College with the 4-week CNA Traditional program in Federal Way, about 25 minutes down SR 18.