Iowa · home health aide (HHA)
How to become a home health aide in Iowa: the routes that qualify you, who regulates home health agencies in Iowa, pay, free training options, and all 43 state-approved CNA programs, since a CNA certification also qualifies you as a home health aide.
Your route
Home health agencies in Iowa are licensed by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing. 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 Iowa nurse aide registry qualifies you as a home health aide. It’s the route that opens the most doors. See our Iowa 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 Iowa nurse aide registry |
| Median pay (IA) | $17.34 an hour* | $18.92 an hour |
*Federal pay data groups home health aides with personal care aides. About 25,800 of them work in Iowa.
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 43 programs from our Iowa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AM Training Institute | West Des Moines | Dallas | (515) 224-3908 |
| American Institute of Caring | West Des Moines | Dallas | (515) 661-6730 |
| Cass Health | Atlantic | Cass | (712) 250-8053 |
| Des Moines Area Community College | Ankeny | Polk | (515) 964-6800 |
| DID School of Careers | Iowa City | Johnson | (319) 867-2180 |
| Eastern Iowa Community College | Davenport | Scott | (563) 441-4100 |
| Edgewood Convalescent Home | Edgewood | Clayton | (319) 480-4924 |
| Evans Memorial Home | Cresco | Howard | (319) 480-4924 |
| Hawkeye Community College | Waterloo | Black Hawk | (319) 296-4456 |
| Health Tech Associates | West Des Moines | Dallas | (515) 537-1000 |
| HeartCert | Cedar Rapids | Linn | (651) 267-2314 |
| Humboldt County Memorial Hospital | Humboldt | Humboldt | (515) 332-4200 |
| Ignite Pathways | Woodbine | Harrison | (712) 647-3527 |
| Indian Hills Community College | Ottumwa | Wapello | (641) 683-5337 |
| Iowa Central Community College | Fort Dodge | Webster | (515) 574-1330 |
| Iowa Lakes Community College | Estherville | Emmet | (712) 852-5227 |
| Iowa Valley Community College District | Marshalltown | Marshall | (641) 844-5656 |
| Iowa Veterans Home | Marshalltown | Marshall | (641) 752-1501 |
| Iowa Western Community College | Council Bluffs | Pottawattamie | (712) 325-3259 |
| Keystone Care Center | Benton | Benton | (319) 442-3234 |
| Kirkwood Community College | Cedar Rapids | Linn | (319) 398-4970 |
| Martin Health Center | Cedar Falls | Black Hawk | (319) 277-2141 |
| Mercy College of Health Sciences | Des Moines | Polk | (515) 643-6671 |
| Mill Valley | Bellevue | Jackson | (319) 480-4924 |
| Mount Carmel Bluffs | Dubuque | Dubuque | (563) 845-7606 |
| North Iowa Area Community College | Mason City | Cerro Gordo | (641) 422-4439 |
| Northeast Iowa Community College | Calmar | Winneshiek | (844) 642-2338 |
| Northwest Iowa Community College | Sheldon | O'Brien | (712) 324-5061 |
| Pella Regional Health Center | Pella | Marion | (641) 621-2285 |
| Pleasant View Care Center | Whiting | Monona | (712) 458-2417 |
| Prairie View | Sanborn | O'Brien | (712) 930-3228 |
| Saint Luke's Traditional Care Center | Cedar Rapids | Linn | (319) 480-4924 |
| Signature Healthcare | Waukee | Dallas | (515) 252-0000 |
| Southeastern Community College | West Burlington | Des Moines | (319) 208-5278 |
| Southwestern Community College | Creston | Union | (641) 782-1441 |
| Stone Healthcare Academy | Ankeny | Polk | (515) 289-4621 |
| Stonehill Franciscan Services | Dubuque | Dubuque | (563) 557-7180 |
| Sunrise Retirement Community | Sioux City | Woodbury | (712) 276-3821 |
| Traditions Memory Care | Newton | Jasper | (641) 791-1127 |
| WesleyLife | Johnston | Polk | (515) 271-6789 |
| West Bend Health and Rehabilitation | West Bend | Palo Alto | (515) 887-4071 |
| Western Iowa Tech Community College | Sioux City | Woodbury | (319) 254-6772 |
| Westview Care Center | Britt | Hancock | (641) 843-3835 |
Tip: ask each program whether it also offers a home health aide add-on. For details, costs, and exam steps, see our Iowa CNA guide.
FAQ
Short answers to what people ask most.
Home health aides in Iowa work for home health agencies licensed by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing. 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 Iowa nurse aide registry as a qualified home health aide.
The median pay for home health and personal care aides in Iowa is $17.34 an hour, about $36,080 a year, based on the May 2025 federal wage survey. Iowa CNAs earn a median $18.92 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.