Pennsylvania CNA Practice Test — Free NNAAP Prep

Pennsylvania employs roughly 76,000 certified nursing assistants — one of the five largest CNA workforces in the country, anchored by an aging population that ranks among the oldest in the US by median age. The state operates more than 700 licensed nursing facilities and one of the densest hospital networks in the Northeast, both of which run chronic CNA shortages. The Pennsylvania Department of Health has publicly flagged direct-care workforce capacity as one of the state's top long-term care policy priorities.

Demand is concentrated in the Philadelphia metro and the Pittsburgh metro, but Lancaster, Harrisburg, Reading, Allentown, Scranton, and Erie face equally tight or tighter shortages because they combine older populations with smaller healthcare workforces. Rural central Pennsylvania facilities consistently offer sign-on bonuses, shift differentials, and tuition assistance that Philadelphia-area academic systems don't need to match. The state's significant veteran population also supports strong VA and state veterans-home CNA pipelines.

The average CNA wage in Pennsylvania is approximately $16.98/hour, with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metro wages running noticeably higher than central or northern PA. Pennsylvania taxes earned income at a flat 3.07% — among the lowest state income tax rates in the Northeast — and cost of living across most of the state runs well below national medians. Purchasing power for a PA CNA wage is meaningfully better than the same nominal wage in New Jersey, New York, or Maryland.

Pennsylvania requires 75 hours of state-approved Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP) instruction — the federal minimum — though most PA programs run longer because the state mandates additional clinical hours on top of the classroom theory. Programs are offered through community colleges, IUs, career-technical centers, and many Pennsylvania nursing facilities that train candidates in exchange for an employment commitment.

The exam is administered by Prometric on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The written portion covers the six NNAAP content domains — Physical Care Skills, Safety and Emergency Procedures, Infection Control, Resident Rights, Psychosocial Care Skills, and Role of the Nurse Aide. The clinical portion requires demonstrating five randomly selected hands-on skills (always including handwashing) in front of a Prometric evaluator. Once you pass, your name is added to the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry.

You have up to 3 attempts at the exam. If you fail any portion three times, Pennsylvania requires you to complete a new approved NATCEP before retesting. Schedule through prometricncs.com once your training program submits your eligibility. Pennsylvania also requires criminal background and child abuse clearances before certification can be issued — budget calendar time for those, which routinely run a week or more on top of exam scheduling.

The largest CNA employers in Pennsylvania include the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Penn Medicine, Jefferson Health, Geisinger, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Tower Health, Main Line Health, AHN (Allegheny Health Network), and the Veterans Affairs medical centers in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. UPMC alone operates more than 40 hospitals and is one of the single largest CNA employers in the country. Academic systems offer strong LPN/RN pipeline benefits, but most prefer 6–12 months of facility experience before hiring CNAs into acute care.

Long-term care operators are the most common entry point for new Pennsylvania CNAs. Genesis HealthCare (Pennsylvania-headquartered), Premier Healthcare Management, Priority Healthcare Group, Guardian Healthcare, and Mennonite Home Communities run large nursing-home portfolios across the state. Many will pay for your training program in exchange for a 6- to 12-month employment commitment, and several large operators offer differential pay for evening, night, and weekend shifts that meaningfully raise effective hourly earnings.

Home health is growing rapidly in Pennsylvania, particularly across central and western PA where rural geography keeps facility beds scarce. BAYADA (Pennsylvania-founded), Compassus, Encompass Health, LHC Group, Visiting Angels, and dozens of regional agencies recruit CNAs statewide. Home health in PA typically requires a reliable vehicle outside of dense Philadelphia and Pittsburgh cores where transit can sometimes work, and per-visit pay structures often beat facility hourly rates.