CNA classes in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
The Winston-Salem metro has 14 state-approved CNA programs, from $282 to $1,205, taking about 8 to 20 weeks. Once you’re certified, you can start earning a median of $18.59/hr at one of the Winston-Salem-area employers mapped on this page: hospitals, nursing homes, home-health agencies, hospices, and assisted-living communities.
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- North Carolina-approved programs only
- Data verified July 14 2026
CNA programs in the Winston-Salem area
Your main public option in Winston-Salem is Forsyth Technical Community College, which runs an eight-week Nurse Aide I course in the city and adds a classroom at its Grady P. Swisher Center on the east side. If you live west toward the Davie County line, Davidson-Davie Community College teaches Nurse Aide I at its Davie campus, and Surry Community College covers the northern end of the metro. For a smaller classroom, two private academies sit inside Winston-Salem: Senior Care Training Center off Westbrook Plaza and Mount Eagle College up on University Parkway. All 14 programs below are state-approved, spanning Winston-Salem plus nearby Mocksville, Dobson, Elkin and Pilot Mountain. 7 of them publish tuition, from $282 to $1,205: the least expensive is Surry Community College at $282, the highest Innovation Institute of Healthcare Solutions at $1,205. The other 7 list cost by request. Every published price is tuition, so budget for the exam (about $140), a background check, and scrubs unless they’re bundled. If price decides it, start from the cheapest and check start dates; if you need evenings or weekends, 0 programs run evening classes and 0 offer weekends.
| Program | City | Format | Length | Total Cost | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson-Davie Community College – Davie Campus | Mocksville | Hybrid | Contact school | $500 | ||
| Innovation Institute of Healthcare Solutions | Winston-Salem | Hybrid | Contact school | $1,205 | ||
| Senior Care Training Center | Winston-Salem | N/A | 20 wk | $1,135 | ||
| Surry Community College | Dobson | In-person | 8 wk | $282 | ||
| Surry Community College – Elkin Center | Elkin | In-person | 8 wk | $282 | ||
| Surry Community College – Pilot Center | Pilot Mountain | In-person | 8 wk | $282 | ||
| Surry Community College – Yadkin Center | Yadkinville | In-person | 8 wk | $282 | ||
| Caduceus Nightingale Academy | Winston-Salem | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Forsyth Technical Community College – Goodwill Center | Winston-Salem | In-person | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Forsyth Technical Community College – Grady | Kernersville | In-person | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Forsyth Technical Community College – Mazie Campus | Winston-Salem | In-person | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Forsyth Technical Community College – Northwest Center | King | In-person | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Mount Eagle College | Winston-Salem | N/A | Contact school | Contact school | ||
| Nurturing Hands Academy | Winston-Salem | N/A | Contact school | Contact school |
Cheapest CNA classes in Winston-Salem
The cheapest CNA class in the Winston-Salem area is Surry Community College at $282, followed by Davidson-Davie Community College at $500 and Senior Care Training Center at $1,135. The catch with those seats is what the price includes: at Surry Community College and the options near it, that rate is usually tuition only, so confirm whether the state exam, background check, and scrubs are extra before you choose on price alone.
| Program | City | Length | Total Cost | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surry Community College | Dobson | 8 wk | $282 | ||
| Davidson-Davie Community College – Davie Campus | Mocksville | Contact school | $500 | ||
| Senior Care Training Center | Winston-Salem | 20 wk | $1,135 | ||
| Innovation Institute of Healthcare Solutions | Winston-Salem | Contact school | $1,205 | ||
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Is the cheapest class the best value?
Not always. The $282 sticker is really about $422 once you add the roughly $140 exam, plus a background check and scrubs, and the cheapest programs rarely bundle any of that. And a faster program like Surry Community College (8 weeks, $282) that costs more but finishes in weeks rather than months can be the better deal if getting to work quickly matters more than saving on tuition.
Ways to pay
Get reimbursed after you’re hired. You may qualify for pro-rata reimbursement of eligible training costs if a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing home hires you within 12 months of paying for your own training (federal rule 42 CFR 483.152). Ask the facility how it handles reimbursement.
Local help paying for class. The NCWorks Career Centers serving Forsyth County can help cover training costs through WIOA if you qualify; ask whether your chosen program is on the WIOA-eligible training list before you enroll.
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Where CNAs work in Winston-Salem
In Winston-Salem, most of your hospital applications will go to one of two big systems. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is the academic hospital on Medical Center Boulevard and the region’s only Level I trauma center, while Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center on Silas Creek Parkway is the single largest nursing-assistant employer in town. If you live west toward Bermuda Run, Davie Medical Center is the closer drive; on the east side toward Greensboro, Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center is nearer. If long-term care fits you better, large continuing-care communities like Arbor Acres on Arbor Road hire CNAs for round-the-clock resident care. The 50 Winston-Salem-area employers below span 10 hospitals and health systems, 10 skilled nursing and rehab centers, 11 home-health agencies, 8 hospice providers, 11 assisted-living communities. Hospitals cluster in Winston-Salem itself, while the list also reaches Kernersville, Clemmons and Elkin. Each listing links to that employer’s careers page.
Hospitals (10)
Nursing homes & skilled nursing (10)
Home health agencies (11)
Hospice care (8)
Assisted living (11)
These employers hire CNAs across the Winston-Salem metro. Get matched to a program near where you want to work.
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What CNAs earn in Winston-Salem
Depending on your setting and experience, expect somewhere between $15.63 and $21.94 an hour (the 10th to 90th percentile across the Winston-Salem metro).
At $18.59/hr, Winston-Salem sits right around the North Carolina statewide median of $18.49.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, Winston-Salem NC metro area (OEWS area 49180)
What moves you up the range
Your pay depends more on setting, shift, and experience than on the city itself. The 50 Winston-Salem-area employers below span hospitals, skilled nursing, home health, and hospice (Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Davie Medical Center), and each sets its own rates and schedules, so compare a few listings on this page against the median above before you take the first offer.
Where you’ll take the CNA exam near Winston-Salem
North Carolina’s nurse aide competency exam is run by Credentia. Finish a state-approved program first, then register and schedule the written and skills test through Credentia’s CNA365 platform. The exam runs about $140. You get 24 months and up to 3 attempts after finishing training. Passing lists you on the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Registry.
Winston-Salem-area test sites
You’ll most likely test at one of these approved test sites, which regularly host nurse aide competency testing (sites verified July 14, 2026). North Carolina’s live test-site list and open dates live inside Credentia’s CNA365 system; confirm the current site and seats there.
Winston-Salem CNA questions
How we verify this page
We build this page from the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Registry and approved-training guide (which programs are state-approved), each program’s own published materials (cost, hours, and schedule), Credentia (the state exam), and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (pay). Tuition and fees change and aren’t guaranteed here, so confirm the current cost directly with the school before you enroll.
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