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What is the average tenure of a CNA (certified nursing assistant) in the United States?
The average CNA in the United States stays in the job for just two years. Marie, a Haitian certified nursing assistant at a Boston nursing home, had worked there for 12 years — six times the national average — before the termination of her Temporary Protected Status forced her off the schedule.
Two years is a remarkably short average, and it points to a profession defined by burnout, difficult conditions, and limited financial incentive to stay. As explored in This American Life, this context is essential to understanding just how exceptional Marie's 12-year commitment really was.
Twelve Years Where Most Last Two — What Marie's Tenure Says About the Work
Marie began working at her Boston nursing home in 2014 with a starting salary of $10,000 a year. Over the following 12 years, her employer recognized her dedication consistently — her salary had doubled by the time she was removed from the schedule. That trajectory is unusual in a field where most workers leave within 24 months.
Her longevity made her departure all the more visible to her colleagues and employer. When a CNA leaves after two years, it is unremarkable — almost expected. When one leaves after 12, it registers as a genuine loss, both human and operational. This is the dimension that the episode of This American Life makes concrete through Marie's story.
"When I started here in 2014, my salary was $10,000. My salary was very low. Every year, they saw the way I'm working and the work I've done. And every year they gave me more."
Marie — Haitian CNA, Boston nursing home. Marie worked at the same facility for 12 years, far exceeding the national average tenure of two years for certified nursing assistants. Her position was ended not by choice or performance, but by the Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, which affected more than 300,000 people.
TPS Termination Cut Short What Institutional Loyalty Could Not
Marie's story is not a cautionary tale about the profession's turnover problem — it is almost its opposite. She was exactly the kind of worker nursing homes struggle to retain: experienced, trusted, and steadily rewarded. What ended her career at the facility was not burnout or a better offer, but a federal policy decision.
The Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti displaced more than 300,000 Haitians who had been living and working legally in the United States. For Marie, that policy translated directly into losing her place on the work schedule — despite a 12-year track record her employer demonstrably valued. The full account is documented in this episode of This American Life, reported by WBEZ Chicago.
It is also worth noting that TPS itself is not a new or unusual provision — the status has been extended to some countries for more than 25 years. For many recipients, it has functioned as a de facto long-term residency, enabling exactly the kind of stable, embedded professional contribution that Marie embodied. Listeners curious about the broader implications can find the full story on This American Life.
See also
Why did Marie not tell her co-workers at the nursing home that she was on TPS and about to lose her job?
Marie said she simply did not want to tell them. If something happened and she could not come in, she would tell them on that day — but not before.
What happened to Marie, the Haitian CNA working at a Boston nursing home, when TPS ended?
Marie, a certified nursing assistant who had worked at a nursing home in Boston for 12 years, was taken off the schedule by her boss Colin after a decision linked to the termination of TPS for Haitians by the Trump administration.
How many Haitians were affected when the Trump administration ended TPS for Haiti?
The Trump administration's termination of TPS for Haitians affected more than 300,000 people. Many of those individuals had been living and working in the United States, some for decades.
Key takeaways
- The average CNA in the US stays in the role for just two years — making long tenures exceptionally rare in the profession.
- Marie worked at her Boston nursing home for 12 years, starting in 2014 at $10,000 a year; her salary had doubled by the time she left.
- Her departure was not voluntary — it was triggered by the Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, which displaced more than 300,000 people.
- Her 12-year tenure made her loss particularly felt by her employer and colleagues, precisely because such loyalty is so rare in CNA work.
Marie's story — and what it reveals about care work, immigration policy, and institutional loyalty — is told in full on This American Life.
Listen to the episode on Listenly