Have you ever asked yourself, “What is the average salary for behavior technician?” Perhaps you are curious about a career change and considering becoming a behavior technician. The job description for a behavior technician varies from employer to employer, so it is important to learn about the average salary as well as the skills needed for this career. Behavior technicians help children who have emotional and behavioral disorders. While behavior technicians can be found in both public and private schools, many are employed by state or county agencies.
As a behavior technician, you’ll be expected to work with children who have been diagnosed with developmental disabilities or disorders. You’ll need to have a high school degree and a valid driver’s license. You’ll also need to be able to work well in a team environment and understand the need for confidentiality. A good salary for this position is about $40,000 per year.
Salary for behavior technician
Registered Behavior Technician Salary – Your Complete Guide to RBT Pay
Chances are, if you are looking into becoming a registered behavior technician, it’s not for the money.
Maybe you have a family member or other loved one who needs behavioral therapy services. Plenty of RBTs come to the field because they are already caregivers to a parent or child who benefits from behavioral therapy. These people qualify for the RBT offered by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) because it helps them perform the kinds of hands-on, round-the-clock therapy that helps the quality of life of someone they care about.
Other RBTs are just passing through on their way to bigger and more responsible positions in the world of applied behavior analysis. Maybe you want to take a job as an RBT for a while to see how you like the work before committing to the time and cost of a full master’s program in applied behavior analysis that it takes to become a professional ABA therapist. Or maybe you’re working your way through one of those programs, and prefer to double up your experience by earning money in the same field you are studying.
RBTs just enjoy working with kids and adults that have the kind of disabilities that behavioral therapy is proven to manage, and getting paid for it only makes it better.
There’s no question that anybody that’s earned RBT certification deserves far more than they make in such critical jobs. But no matter what your motivation, understanding what the typical registered behavior technician salary is will help you make the best decisions when it comes to training and looking for work in the field.
Figuring Out the Average Salary for Registered Behavior Technicians
Of course, all RBT jobs are a little different, which means the pay for each of them is different too. Before you have the right position for yourself lined up, the best you can do is look at what the average salary for registered behavior technicians is.
But that’s easier said than done!
For starters, it’s a little hard to pin down exactly what RBTs can expect to make. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is the federal agency responsible for tracking salary and job market data for hundreds of job categories, doesn’t track information about registered behavior technicians separately. Instead, it counts them as part of the larger category of psychiatric technicians and aides.
Next, you have to think about regional differences. Just like other positions, the average salary for registered behavior technicians is affected by factors like cost-of-living and local demand for behavioral services. Although your take-home pay might look hefty, you also have to think about what your expenses are and how that impacts what you keep.
For example, these are the averages for the psychiatric technician category, which includes RBTs, in seven different states around the country:
- California – $58,400
- Texas – $34,640
- Washington – $43,670
- Florida – $33,110
- New York – $41,850
- Georgia – $33,470
- Illinois – $39,720
California offers the highest average. But according to U.S. News and World Report, it’s also the second highest state for cost-of-living in the country. That can make those numbers not quite as attractive at the end of the day!
How much does a registered behavior technician make?
Going by BLS data for the psychiatric technicians and aides category, the average RBT salary in 2020 was about $33,140, or $15.93 per hour. With additional training and experience, RBTs can expect to make more money, however. The top ten percent in the field brought in more than $48,880 per year in 2020. Although the BLS category is not an exact match for RBT jobs, you should find most of them fall within that general salary range.
