Psychiatric Aides
SOC 31-1133 · 2024-2034
Assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under direction of nursing and medical staff. May assist with daily living activities, lead patients in educational and recreational activities, or accompany patients to and from examinations and treatments. May restrain violent patients. Includes psychiatric orderlies.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $48,703per year
- Projected openings
- 5,580
- Projected change
- +5.3%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Service Orientation
- Social Perceptiveness
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $57,921 | 50 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $51,339 | 60 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $47,277 | 520 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $45,128 | 280 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $39,101 | 350 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $38,911 | 1,310 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | Not reported | 100 |
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | Not reported | 100 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | Not reported | 160 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | Not reported | 250 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | Not reported | 60 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $40,019
- A quarter earn under
- $46,540
- Half earn under
- $48,703
- Three quarters earn under
- $58,608
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $79,176
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric Technicians | $50,516 | 16,680 | +27.5% |
| Physical Therapist Aides | $39,301 | 12,050 | +20.3% |
| Nursing Assistants | $48,836 | 172,680 | +10.3% |
| Occupational Therapy Assistants | $83,841 | 6,200 | +32.4% |
| Physical Therapist Assistants | $85,215 | 18,930 | +41.1% |
| Registered Nurses | $144,197 | 228,840 | +13.5% |
Programs that train for this job — 4
Psychiatric Technician
West Hills College Coalinga · Coalinga · $5,400
Nursing Assistant, CNA
First Lady Permanente · Turlock · $2,045
Psychiatric Technician
Hacienda La Puente Adult Education · La Puente · $6,585
PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN, AS
Yuba College · Marysville · $3,278