New Mexico · home health aide (HHA)
How to become a home health aide in New Mexico: the routes that qualify you, who regulates home health agencies in New Mexico, pay, free training options, and all 39 state-approved CNA programs, since a CNA certification also qualifies you as a home health aide.
Your route
Home health agencies in New Mexico are licensed by the New Mexico Department of Health. 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 New Mexico nurse aide registry qualifies you as a home health aide. It’s the route that opens the most doors. See our New Mexico 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 New Mexico nurse aide registry |
| Median pay (NM) | $13.71 an hour* | $18.94 an hour |
*Federal pay data groups home health aides with personal care aides. About 38,910 of them work in New Mexico.
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 39 programs from our New Mexico 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque Heights Healthcare | Albuquerque | Bernalillo | (505) 348-8300 |
| Belen Meadows Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center | Belen | Valencia | (505) 864-1600 |
| Casa Del Sol | Las Cruces | Doña Ana | (575) 523-4573 |
| Central Desert CNA Program | Albuquerque | Bernalillo | (505) 243-3387 |
| Central New Mexico Community College | Albuquerque | Bernalillo | (505) 224-3000 |
| Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center | Santa Fe | Santa Fe | (505) 913-3361 |
| Clayton Nursing & Rehabilitation Center | Clayton | Union | (575) 374-2353 |
| Clovis Community College | Clovis | Curry | (575) 769-2811 |
| Desert Springs Healthcare | Hobbs | Lea | (575) 397-0870 |
| Doña Ana Community College, Espina Campus | Las Cruces | Doña Ana | (575) 527-7500 |
| Doña Ana Community College, Sunland Park Campus | Sunland Park | Doña Ana | (575) 874-7780 |
| Eastern New Mexico University, Roswell | Roswell | Chaves | (575) 624-7000 |
| Eastern New Mexico University, Ruidoso | Ruidoso | Lincoln | (575) 315-1120 |
| La Vita Bella Home Health Program | Rio Rancho | Sandoval | Call the program |
| Lovington Healthcare | Lovington | Lea | (575) 396-5212 |
| Luna Community College | Las Vegas | San Miguel | (505) 454-2500 |
| Mesalands Community College | Tucumcari | Quay | (575) 461-6600 |
| Navajo Technical University | Crownpoint | McKinley | (505) 387-7401 |
| New Mexico Junior College | Hobbs | Lea | (575) 392-4510 |
| New Mexico State University, Alamogordo | Alamogordo | Otero | (575) 439-3600 |
| New Mexico State University, Grants | Grants | Cibola | (505) 287-6678 |
| New Mexico State Veterans Home | Truth or Consequences | Sierra | (575) 894-4200 |
| Northern New Mexico College | Española | Rio Arriba | (505) 747-2100 |
| Northgate Unit of Lakeview Christian Home | Carlsbad | Eddy | (575) 887-3947 |
| OPCO CNA Training Program | Call the program | ||
| Rural Western New Mexico Services | Quemado | Catron | Call the program |
| Salud CNA Training Program | Las Vegas | San Miguel | Call the program |
| San Juan College | Farmington | San Juan | (505) 326-3311 |
| Santa Fe Community College | Santa Fe | Santa Fe | (505) 428-1000 |
| Seven Wonders Education and Learning | Albuquerque | Bernalillo | (505) 916-5206 |
| Sierra Vista Hospital | Truth or Consequences | Sierra | (575) 894-2111 |
| Southeast New Mexico College | Carlsbad | Eddy | (575) 234-9200 |
| Universal Care Home Health Agency | Albuquerque | Bernalillo | Call the program |
| University of New Mexico, Gallup | Gallup | McKinley | (505) 863-7500 |
| University of New Mexico, Los Alamos | Los Alamos | Los Alamos | (505) 662-5919 |
| University of New Mexico, Taos | Ranchos de Taos | Taos | (575) 737-6215 |
| University of New Mexico, Valencia | Los Lunas | Valencia | (505) 925-8500 |
| Western New Mexico University, Deming Campus | Deming | Luna | (575) 546-6556 |
| Western New Mexico University, Main Campus | Silver City | Grant | (800) 872-9668 |
Tip: ask each program whether it also offers a home health aide add-on. For details, costs, and exam steps, see our New Mexico CNA guide.
FAQ
Short answers to what people ask most.
Home health aides in New Mexico work for home health agencies licensed by the New Mexico Department of Health. 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 New Mexico nurse aide registry as a qualified home health aide.
The median pay for home health and personal care aides in New Mexico is $13.71 an hour, about $28,520 a year, based on the May 2025 federal wage survey. New Mexico CNAs earn a median $18.94 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.