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

Pasco is the Franklin County side of the Tri-Cities, and a Nursing Assistant-Certified (NA-C) living there has one hospital in the city, Lourdes Medical Center at 520 North 4th Avenue per the Lourdes Health locations page, plus skilled nursing such as Avalon Health and Rehabilitation Center Pasco, assisted living, and licensed adult family homes spread across the city's fast-growing west side. Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland and Trios Southridge in Kennewick are across the Columbia and within Ben Franklin Transit's connector routes. Indeed's Pasco nursing assistant salary page lists about $19.74 per hour, but from only 6 posted salaries as of July 2026; the larger Kennewick sample (about $20.98, 217 salaries, September 2026) and Richland (about $22.32, 33 salaries, August 2026) give a better picture of the market. Every figure here is approximate.

Pasco's employers by setting

Skilled nursing is where most new Pasco graduates start, because those facilities hire Nursing Assistant-Registered (NAR) employees before the exam and pay above the assisted living rate. Lourdes' rehabilitation unit is the closest hospital-based option for a nursing assistant who wants acute-care experience without leaving the city.

Pay in Pasco, explained honestly

The Pasco number is thin. Six salaries over 36 months is too few to trust, so read Pasco pay as a band rather than a point:

• Floor: Washington's 2026 minimum wage is $17.13 per hour, and the low end of Indeed's Pasco range ($17.20) confirms that agency and adult family home roles start there.
• Skilled nursing: around the Kennewick average of about $20.98 per hour, plus evening, night, and weekend differentials of roughly $1.50 to $4 per hour.
• Hospitals: toward the top of the Richland range, which Indeed lists up to about $27.73 per hour for experienced staff.
• Statewide comparison: Indeed's August 2026 Washington average is about $23.62 per hour; Everett is about $24.89. BLS OEWS puts the Seattle-metro healthcare support mean at about $25.96 per hour (May 2025) against $19.62 nationally. The Tri-Cities sits between those two poles.

That gap explains a pattern among Pasco graduates: train and take a first job in Puget Sound, then return with a year of hospital experience that Tri-Cities employers value. The mechanics of differentials and setting-by-setting pay are in CNA salary in Washington State.

Documents Pasco employers check

1. Credential on the DOH Provider Credential Search: active NA-C, or NAR for a nursing facility hire who then has 4 months from hire to complete training and pass the exam.
2. Background check. Every applicant gets the DOH's name-based statewide check. Pasco has many residents who lived in Oregon, Idaho, or outside the country recently; a fingerprint check may be requested in those cases and takes longer. See the Washington CNA background check.
3. BLS CPR for hospitals and most facilities.
4. TB test and immunizations, often including annual influenza vaccination for hospital staff.
5. Bilingual ability is not a credential but appears as a preference in many Pasco postings, where Spanish-speaking residents are a large share of the patient population.

Order of operations for a Pasco graduate

• Weeks 3 and 4 of class: apply to Avalon Pasco and other Tri-Cities skilled nursing facilities as a NAR with your Certificate of Completion.
• When the $100 skills pass is recorded: register with Credentia for the $55 knowledge test; the order is fixed by state rule.
• After the knowledge pass: submit the DOH application and apply to the Lourdes, Kadlec, and Trios float pools.
• When the NA-C appears on the registry: notify your employer so pay and scope update.
• After 6 to 12 months: reapply for hospital unit positions that listed an experience preference.

The NAR clock is explained in the NAR four-month rule in Washington, and what the credential lets you do is in the Washington CNA scope of practice.

Reaching Pasco employers without a car

Ben Franklin Transit's routes and schedules page, as published in September 2026, lists the 22nd Avenue Transit Center as Pasco's hub, local routes 60 through 68, and connector routes 123 and 170 that tie Pasco to Kennewick's Three Rivers Transit Center and Richland's Knight Street Transit Center. Route 47 serves Trios Southridge on the Kennewick side. Lourdes Medical Center is in central Pasco near the downtown grid, which the local routes cover. Kadlec on Swift Boulevard in Richland is reachable by connector plus a Richland local route; check the current map.

Adult family home and agency work in Pasco's newer subdivisions and out toward Burbank and Connell is a car job, since client homes are spread across Franklin County and shifts often start before the first bus. The Tri-Cities has no rail transit; Amtrak's Empire Builder stops at the Pasco intermodal station but is not a commuter service.

Pasco versus neighboring markets

A Pasco NA-C who is willing to cross the river to Richland is likely looking at the highest Tri-Cities rate, driven by Kadlec, the region's largest hospital. Someone who has not trained yet should read CNA classes near Pasco, WA, which compares Columbia Basin College with a 4-week course in Federal Way.

Frequently asked questions

How much do CNAs make in Pasco? Indeed lists about $19.74 per hour from a very small sample; the Kennewick figure of about $20.98 is a better Tri-Cities benchmark, and Richland is about $22.32. Adult family homes sit near the $17.13 minimum. All approximate.

Which hospital is in Pasco? Lourdes Medical Center on North 4th Avenue, the main campus of Lourdes Health. Kadlec and Trios are in Richland and Kennewick.

Can I start work in Pasco before the exam? Yes, at a skilled nursing facility as a NAR, with 4 months from hire to pass both exam parts. Hospitals generally want the NA-C first.

Do Pasco employers want Spanish speakers? Many postings list bilingual ability as a preference. It is not required by the state credential.

Can I get to Kadlec from Pasco by bus? Yes, using Ben Franklin Transit connector routes 123 or 170 and a Richland local route; confirm the current schedule.

For openings across the state by setting, see CNA jobs in Washington. Pasco Home Care Aides can move into hospital and skilled nursing work through the 40-hour HCA to CNA bridge.