Certified Nursing Assistant Jobs in Milwaukee, WI
Certified nursing assistants in Milwaukee are posted at about $20.80 to $31.20 an hour at Aurora St. Luke's, with steady demand from Froedtert, the Milwaukee VA and senior living communities on the lakefront. Here are the current CNA openings, then who is hiring and how to get on the Wisconsin registry.
Current certified nursing assistant Openings in Milwaukee, WI
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Certified Nursing Assistant Work in Milwaukee
CNAs are the usual entry point into Milwaukee healthcare. The hospital systems hire them for inpatient units, such as internal medicine at Froedtert Hospital on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus, and Aurora St. Luke's on the south side hires both unit CNAs and a resource team that floats across its Wisconsin division. Senior living is the other big employer: communities such as Saint John's On The Lake on N Prospect Ave staff nursing assistants around the clock, and some, such as Milwaukee Catholic Home, train new aides in exchange for a work commitment.
Wisconsin actively recruits nurse aides. Through the state's WisCaregiver Careers program, employers arrange training, and the state says aides who stay with their employer six months after certification receive a $500 retention bonus. Aurora runs its own paid train-to-work class near St. Luke's on W Oklahoma Ave, where trainees are hired as CNA Trainees before they test.
Top Milwaukee Employers Hiring Certified Nursing Assistants
These Milwaukee employers name CNA jobs on their own careers sites:
- Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center - Advocate Health's south side hospital hires CNAs for part-time night shifts and its Wisconsin division resource team.
- Froedtert Hospital - the academic medical center on the MRMC campus hires certified nursing assistants for inpatient units such as internal medicine.
- Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center - the Milwaukee VA on W National Ave posts nursing assistant jobs at GS-3 to GS-5 through USAJOBS.
- Saint John's On The Lake - the senior living community on N Prospect Ave lists certified nursing assistant openings on its nursing staff.
- Milwaukee Catholic Home - the senior living community runs a CNA training course tied to full-time employment.
Certified Nursing Assistant Salaries in Milwaukee
- Entry level: about $19 to $22 an hour for newly certified aides.
- Experienced: roughly $22 to $27 an hour, more on nights and weekends.
- Senior: about $27 to $31 an hour for experienced acute-care CNAs at the top of hospital pay ranges.
These are estimates. Aurora posts $20.80 to $31.20 an hour for CNAs in 2026, VA nursing assistant jobs recently paid $39,686 to $64,976 a year, and federal O*NET data puts the Milwaukee-Waukesha median near $21.97 an hour. Hospital experience, night shift and float-pool work push pay up, and some employers add free or refunded training.
How to Become a Certified Nursing Assistant in Milwaukee
Wisconsin requires a state-approved nurse aide training program of at least 75 hours, including 16 hours of clinical work, then a written or oral knowledge test and a skills test. Passing puts you on the Wisconsin Nurse Aide Registry, run by the Department of Health Services (DHS) through its TestMaster Universe system. Milwaukee Area Technical College offers its Nursing Assistant technical diploma at the Downtown Milwaukee, Mequon, Oak Creek and West Allis campuses, with a bilingual Spanish option. You must pass the exam within one year of finishing training.
What the Job Involves
Nursing assistants give hands-on daily care under the supervision of nurses. Tasks include bathing, dressing and grooming patients, helping them eat, walk and use the bathroom, turning and repositioning bedbound patients, taking vital signs, recording intake and output, and reporting changes in condition to the nurse. It is physical work with a lot of time on your feet.
Skills Employers Look For
- Active listing on the Wisconsin Nurse Aide Registry
- BLS certification, or willingness to get it soon after hire
- Safe lifting, transfers and repositioning
- Accurate vital signs and charting
- Patience with older adults and memory care residents
- Reliability on nights, weekends and holidays
Career Path and Advancement
A CNA is the first rung of the Milwaukee nursing ladder. MATC requires nursing assistant training before you can petition into its Practical Nursing diploma or its Registered Nursing associate degree, so many local nurses started as aides. Hospital CNAs often move into patient care technician or unit secretary roles, and senior living aides into medication aide or lead roles while they finish nursing school.
Related Careers in Milwaukee
If nursing assistant work interests you, these Milwaukee healthcare guides are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
How many training hours does a CNA need in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin requires a state-approved nurse aide training program of at least 75 hours, including at least 16 hours of clinical work. Many local programs run longer; Aurora's train-to-work class is 88 hours.
How much do CNAs make in Milwaukee?
Aurora posts $20.80 to $31.20 an hour for nursing assistants in 2026, and the Milwaukee-Waukesha median is about $22 an hour. Night shifts, hospital experience and float-pool roles pay toward the top of that range.
Can I work as a nursing assistant before I pass the exam?
Yes, in a Wisconsin nursing home you can provide nursing-related care for up to four months from the start of your employment, but you must pass the competency exam within 120 days of starting full-time work as a nurse aide.
Can I get free CNA training in Milwaukee?
Some employers pay for it. Aurora hires CNA Trainees and trains them near St. Luke's, Milwaukee Catholic Home refunds most of its course cost to graduates who pass and take a full-time job there, and the state's WisCaregiver Careers program pairs trainees with employers.
How do I keep my Wisconsin CNA certification active?
You must do paid nursing assistant work under the supervision of an RN or LPN, at least eight hours in every 24-month period. If you go longer than 24 months without it, you need to test again before working in a federally certified facility.
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