CNA vs EMT: pay, outlook, education and work, side by side.
Every row comes from one named source and says which career leads on that one dimension. There is no overall score.
CNA vs EMT: BLS classifies them as different occupations (SOC 31-1131 and 29-2042). The national median annual wage is $42,260 for CNAs and $44,470 for EMTs (BLS, May 2025). BLS projects national employment to change +2.6% for CNAs and +5.8% for EMTs from 2025 to 2035. Typical entry-level education: Postsecondary nondegree award vs Postsecondary nondegree award. Which fits better depends on what you value; the table shows who leads on each dimension, with no overall winner.
Side by side
Data Differences smaller than a stated threshold read “About the same” (pay 5%, growth 2 points, openings 10%, one education level, ORS 10 points, O*NET 0.2).
Pick what matters to you; the matching rows are highlighted. Nothing is combined into a score.
| Dimension · source | CNASOC 31-1131 | EMTSOC 29-2042 | Leads on this dimension |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual wageBLS OEWS, May 2025 (national) | $42,260 | $44,470 | About the same |
| EmploymentBLS OEWS, May 2025 | 1,448,910 | 180,510 | Not ranked |
| Projected employment change, 2025–35BLS Employment Projections (national) | +2.6% | +5.8% | EMT |
| Projected numeric change in jobs, 2025–35BLS Employment Projections (national) · A count, not a rate: it scales with the size of the occupation. | +39,000 jobs | +10,600 jobs | Not ranked |
| Projected openings (annual average)BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35 | 196,200 a year | 13,800 a year | CNA |
| Typical entry-level educationBLS Employment Projections · typical, not a legal requirement | Postsecondary nondegree award | Postsecondary nondegree award | About the same |
| Typical work experience in a related occupationBLS Employment Projections | None | None | About the same |
| Typical on-the-job trainingBLS Employment Projections | None | None | Not ranked |
Choose based on what matters to you
Data Each line restates a measured difference from the table; nothing here predicts how you will feel about a job.
- faster projected national growth matters (+5.8% vs +2.6%)
Largest employing industries
Data Share of all jobs in each occupation, BLS Employment Matrix 2025.
CNA
- Nursing and residential care facilities (47.4% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Hospitals; state, local, and private (32.4% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Ambulatory healthcare services (7.8% of all jobs in this occupation)
EMT
- Ambulatory healthcare services (50.6% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals (24.1% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Hospitals; state, local, and private (19.9% of all jobs in this occupation)
Go deeper
CNA career hub · CNA salary · CNA how to become · EMT salary
Common questions
Which pays more, CNA or EMT?
Which is growing faster?
Which is better?
How this page is built
BLS classifies them as different occupations (SOC 31-1131 and 29-2042). Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025 national median for each occupation's SOC code. Outlook: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 (growth, numeric change and annual openings are separate metrics). Requirements rows: 2025 preliminary BLS Occupational Requirements Survey, shown only when both roles have detailed-occupation estimates. Work environment: O*NET 31.0 work context. This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. TryHired has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Searches this page answers include “cna vs emt”, “emt vs cna”, “emt vs cna pay” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
- Any one employer's pay, schedule or culture.
- Job security, ease of hiring or work-life balance: these are not measured here.
- Which career you will prefer: the rows describe the occupations, not you.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, 2025–35 national projections (growth, openings, typical entry-level education and experience).
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey, 2025 estimates (preliminary: two of the third wave's samples, collected August 2023 to July 2025; released January 16, 2026), public domain.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (all jobs, including self-employed).