US behavioral health pay benchmarks
What behavioral health roles are advertised at across the US, by credential, and the four things that move a number more than tenure does.
Pay · Last reviewed August 2026 · Take a Seat People editorial team
Advertised ranges by credential
These are the bands we see on live US behavioral health roles, entry through senior. They are a market guide rather than a wage survey, and the setting a role sits in moves the figure as much as the credential does.
| Credential | Advertised range | What we see in the market |
|---|---|---|
| BCBA — Board Certified Behavior Analyst | $75k – $115k | The single most requested role we recruit. Demand is heaviest in center-based and hybrid ABA across Texas, Florida, California, Arizona and the Carolinas, and strongest of all for BCBAs willing to carry a supervisory caseload. |
| BCaBA — Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst | $52k – $72k | Steady, and rising wherever providers are building a promotion ladder from RBT to BCBA rather than hiring only at the top. |
| RBT — Registered Behavior Technician | $20/hr – $30/hr | High volume, high turnover. The providers who win here pay for drive time, guarantee hours and promote from within; the ones who do not are permanently hiring. |
| SLP — Speech-Language Pathologist | $72k – $108k | Our second-largest search area and structurally short nationwide. School-based caseloads and pediatric feeding are the hardest to fill; teletherapy has widened the candidate pool but not closed the gap. |
| SLPA — Speech-Language Pathology Assistant | $25/hr – $40/hr | Rising sharply as districts and clinics restructure caseloads around a supervising SLP with SLPA delivery. |
| OT — Occupational Therapist | $78k – $108k | Consistently short in pediatrics and school contracts, especially where sensory integration or feeding experience is needed. |
| LCSW — Licensed Clinical Social Worker | $62k – $95k | Broad and persistent. Community mental health and substance use providers compete directly with telehealth platforms for the same licensed pool. |
| LPC / LMHC — Licensed Professional Counselor / Mental Health Counselor | $55k – $85k | High volume nationally, with the tightest markets wherever associate-level clinicians cannot find paid supervision. |
| PhD / PsyD — Clinical Psychologist | $92k – $145k | Acute in autism diagnostic assessment, where waitlists are long and evaluators are scarce. School psychology shortages are structural in most states. |
| PMHNP — Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner | $125k – $175k | The scarcest prescriber in behavioral health. Telepsychiatry has absorbed a large share of supply, which makes in-person and hybrid roles harder to fill than the salary alone suggests. |
| Clinical Director — Clinical Director | $105k – $165k | Growing fast as private-equity-backed and multi-site providers professionalize. The hardest part is finding clinicians who can lead without losing clinical credibility. |
Ranges reflect what we typically see advertised on roles we recruit for in the US. They are a market guide, not a survey, and vary by setting, caseload and experience.
What moves the number
- Setting. Center-based, school, in-home and telehealth roles pay differently for the same credential, and the drive time attached to in-home work is part of the package whether or not it is priced.
- Caseload and billable expectation. A BCBA carrying a capped caseload with protected admin time is a different job from one carrying an uncapped caseload at the same salary.
- Supervision. For RBTs and BTs, guaranteed hours and paid supervision are worth more than a dollar on the hourly rate, because unpaid gaps are what actually cut take-home pay.
- State and metro. Cost of living explains part of the spread; payer mix and authorization pressure explain the rest.
How to use these bands
Employers: post the band. Roles that publish pay, caseload cap and supervision ratio get engagement from clinicians who are already working, which is the group that does not browse job boards.
Candidates: compare the whole package against the band, not the headline salary. Two roles at the same number can differ by a full day a week of unpaid documentation.
Questions people ask
- How much does a BCBA earn in the US?
- BCBA roles we recruit are typically advertised between $75k – $115k. Center-based roles with a capped caseload usually sit mid-band; multi-site or clinical-lead responsibility sits at the top of it.
- Are these figures a salary survey?
- Ranges reflect what we typically see advertised on roles we recruit for in the US. They are a market guide, not a survey, and vary by setting, caseload and experience.
Related
More guides
- How to hire BCBAs in a shortage marketSupervision capacity, not referral volume, is what limits most ABA providers. Here is how the roles that fill are written.
- RBT retention: what actually stops the churnMost RBT attrition is structural, not attitudinal. These are the parts of the job that decide whether a technician is still there in twelve months.
- Licensure compacts and multi-state practiceCompacts are changing which states a clinician can realistically work in. Here is where they stand across the markets we recruit.
- Remote behavioral health work: what genuinely worksTelehealth changed some behavioral health jobs completely and barely touched others. The split is not about seniority.
Pay figures last reviewed August 2026