Colorado · home health aide (HHA)
How to become a home health aide in Colorado: the routes that qualify you, who regulates home health agencies in Colorado, pay, free training options, and all 81 state-approved CNA programs, since a CNA certification also qualifies you as a home health aide.
Your route
Home health agencies in Colorado are licensed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Medicare and Medicaid agencies must use aides who completed one of the federally approved routes. These are the two most common.
Fastest route
CNA
Agency route
75 hrs
Why we list CNA programs: under federal rules, a state-approved CNA program plus good standing on the Colorado nurse aide registry qualifies you as a home health aide. It’s the route that opens the most doors. See our Colorado CNA guide.
The steps
The general path for most new aides.
Keep your hours up. Federal rules require at least 12 hours of in-service training a year, and if you go 24 months in a row without paid aide work, you must retrain.
Home health aide vs. CNA
The two jobs overlap, but the settings and pay differ.
| Home health aide | CNA | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you work | Clients’ homes, through home health and hospice agencies | Nursing homes and hospitals |
| Training | 75 hours federal minimum, or a CNA certification | State-approved CNA program |
| Official record | Your agency’s training and competency records | The Colorado nurse aide registry |
| Median pay (CO) | $18.53 an hour* | $22.78 an hour |
*Federal pay data groups home health aides with personal care aides. About 44,650 of them work in Colorado.
Help paying
Ways to cover the cost of training.
Many home health agencies train aides they hire, and nursing homes that hire you can’t charge you for CNA training under federal rules.
Directory
All 81 programs from our Colorado CNA guide. Finishing one, passing the exam, and staying in good standing on the state registry also qualifies you as a home health aide for Medicare and Medicaid agencies.
| Program | City | County | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ Nurse Aide School-Pueblo | Pueblo | Pueblo | (719) 314-4865 |
| A+ Nurse Aide Training | Colorado Springs | El Paso | (719) 314-4865 |
| Aims Community College | Greeley | Weld | (970) 378-3553 |
| Aims Community College – Fort Lupton | Fort Lupton | Weld | (970) 378-3553 |
| AMA Healthcare Academy | Aurora | Arapahoe | (720) 536-5708 |
| Angels of Care Academy | Colorado Springs | El Paso | (719) 300-6655 |
| Ann Rose School of Nursing Arts, Inc. | Westminster | Adams | (303) 905-2941 |
| APL Med Academy | Aurora | Arapahoe | (303) 752-0000 |
| Arapahoe Community College | Littleton | Arapahoe | (303) 797-5962 |
| Bent County Health Care Center Nursing Assistant Class | Las Animas | Bent | (719) 456-3131 |
| Care Synergy | Denver | Denver | (303) 780-4600 |
| Colorado CNA School | Castle Rock | Douglas | (720) 736-7555 |
| Colorado Medical Health Training | Centennial | Arapahoe | (303) 757-5858 |
| Colorado Mesa University – Montrose | Montrose | Montrose | (970) 249-7009 |
| Colorado Mesa University Tech | Grand Junction | Mesa | (970) 248-1020 |
| Colorado Mountain College – Edwards | Edwards | Eagle | (970) 846-3407 |
| Colorado Mountain College – Glenwood Springs | Glenwood Springs | Garfield | (970) 846-3407 |
| Colorado Mountain College – Steamboat Springs | Steamboat Springs | Routt | (970) 846-3407 |
| Colorado Mountain College – West Garfield | Rifle | Garfield | (970) 846-3407 |
| Colorado Mountain College-Salida | Salida | Chaffee | (719) 513-7900 |
| Colorado Northwestern Community College | Craig | Moffat | (970) 824-0809 |
| Colorow NATP | Olathe | Montrose | (970) 323-5504 |
| Community College of Aurora | Centennial | Arapahoe | (303) 340-7070 |
| Community College of Denver | Denver | Denver | (303) 365-8300 |
| Compass Nursing Arts | Broomfield | Broomfield | (303) 484-9650 |
| Crowley County Nursing Center NATP | Ordway | Crowley | (719) 267-3561 |
| Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center NATP | Brush | Morgan | (970) 842-2861 |
| Elevate NATP | Lakewood | Jefferson | (720) 799-7249 |
| Emily Griffith Technical College | Denver | Denver | (720) 423-4873 |
| Endura Healthcare NATP | Englewood | Arapahoe | (303) 325-6687 |
| Fairacres Manor NATP | Greeley | Weld | (970) 353-3370 |
| Florence Nightingale College of Nursing | Aurora | Arapahoe | (720) 501-8304 |
| Front Range Community College Larimer – Post Secondary | Fort Collins | Larimer | (970) 204-8583 |
| Front Range Community College Westminster | Westminster | Adams | (970) 204-8583 |
| Full Circle Care Academy | Colorado Springs | El Paso | (719) 496-1165 |
| Gunnison Valley Health Senior Care Center | Gunnison | Gunnison | (970) 641-0704 |
| Healthcare Training Institute | Aurora | Denver | (303) 993-5635 |
| Heart to Heart Academy | Colorado Springs | El Paso | (719) 374-5385 |
| Inspire CNA School | Westminster | Adams | (720) 372-7166 |
| IntelliTec College | Pueblo | Pueblo | (719) 542-3181 |
| Just CNA | Denver | Denver | (720) 734-4348 |
| Lamar Community College | Lamar | Prowers | (719) 336-2248 |
| Life Care Center – Greeley | Greeley | Weld | (970) 330-6400 |
| Life Care Center of Longmont | Longmont | Boulder | (303) 776-5000 |
| Meeker CNA Training Program | Meeker | Rio Blanco | (970) 878-9300 |
| Metro Life Medical Education | Wheat Ridge | Jefferson | (720) 292-3203 |
| Morgan Community College – Burlington | Burlington | Kit Carson | (719) 346-9300 |
| Morgan Community College – Limon | Limon | Lincoln | (719) 775-8873 |
| Morgan Community College – Post Secondary | Fort Morgan | Morgan | (970) 542-3330 |
| Morgan Community College – Wray | Wray | Yuma | (970) 332-5755 |
| Northeastern Junior College – Haxtun | Haxtun | Phillips | (970) 521-6701 |
| Northeastern Junior College – Post Secondary | Sterling | Logan | (970) 521-6701 |
| Northeastern Junior College – Yuma | Yuma | Yuma | (970) 521-6701 |
| Northern Colorado CNA Education | Fort Collins | Larimer | (970) 699-2699 |
| Northern Colorado Training Institute – Loveland | Loveland | Larimer | (800) 276-0274 |
| Otero College | La Junta | Otero | (719) 384-6800 |
| Pikes Peak State College – Post Secondary | Colorado Springs | El Paso | (719) 526-3219 |
| Pikes Peak State College Area Vocational Program | Colorado Springs | El Paso | (719) 526-3219 |
| Pima Medical Institute – North | Denver | Adams | (303) 426-1800 |
| Pueblo Community College | Pueblo | Pueblo | (719) 549-3295 |
| Pueblo Community College – Fremont Campus | Cañon City | Fremont | (719) 296-6100 |
| Pueblo Community College Southwest – Mancos | Mancos | Montezuma | (970) 564-6201 |
| Rangely District Hospital NATP | Rangely | Rio Blanco | (970) 675-5011 |
| Red Rocks Community College | Arvada | Jefferson | (303) 914-6010 |
| Rocky Mountain NATP-402 GS | Glenwood Springs | Garfield | (970) 946-9898 |
| Rocky Mountain NATP-Glenwood Springs | Glenwood Springs | Garfield | (970) 946-9898 |
| Rocky Mountain NATP-Silver Heights | Castle Rock | Douglas | (970) 946-9898 |
| South Denver School of Nursing Arts | Centennial | Arapahoe | (303) 945-4203 |
| Southeast Colorado Hospital & Long Term Care Center | Springfield | Baca | (719) 523-2141 |
| Spanish Peaks Southern Colorado NATP | Walsenburg | Huerfano | (719) 738-4511 |
| St. Joseph Hospital Foundation | Denver | Denver | (303) 812-4897 |
| Sunflower Health Academy | Denver | Denver | (720) 557-6891 |
| Technical College of the Rockies | Delta | Delta | (970) 874-6541 |
| Trinidad Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center NATP | Trinidad | Las Animas | (719) 846-9291 |
| Trinidad State Junior College/San Luis Education Center-Valley Campus | Alamosa | Alamosa | (719) 846-5542 |
| Valley Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center | Mancos | La Plata | (970) 533-9031 |
| Volunteers of America Nurse Aide Program | Montrose | Montrose | (970) 901-9623 |
| Voyager Nurse Aide Program | Colorado Springs | El Paso | (719) 900-5555 |
| Weisbrod Memorial County Hospital and Nursing Home (Kiowa County District Hospital) | Eads | Kiowa | (719) 438-5401 |
| Western Colorado Area Health Education Center | Grand Junction | Mesa | (970) 434-5474 |
| Western Colorado University Nurse Aide Course | Gunnison | Gunnison | (970) 943-2311 |
Tip: ask each program whether it also offers a home health aide add-on. For details, costs, and exam steps, see our Colorado CNA guide.
FAQ
Short answers to what people ask most.
Home health aides in Colorado work for home health agencies licensed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Medicare and Medicaid agencies must hire aides who meet the federal training and competency rules. Ask the agency you're applying to which credential it requires.
The two most common routes are completing a 75-hour home health aide training and competency evaluation, or becoming a CNA. Federal rules count a CNA in good standing on the Colorado nurse aide registry as a qualified home health aide.
The median pay for home health and personal care aides in Colorado is $18.53 an hour, about $38,540 a year, based on the May 2025 federal wage survey. Colorado CNAs earn a median $22.78 an hour.
Yes, for Medicare and Medicaid home health agencies, if the CNA completed a state-approved program and is listed in good standing on the state nurse aide registry.
Yes. Federal rules require at least 12 hours of in-service training every 12 months for aides at Medicare and Medicaid agencies.