ABA Therapist Statistics & Demographics
Did you know there are more than 33,633 ABA therapists currently employed in the United States?
ABA Therapist Statistics & Demographics
ABA Therapy Statistics & Facts
- There are more than 33,633 ABA therapists currently employed in the U.S.
- There are over 100 ABA therapy companies in the U.S. alone.
- 85.60% of all ABA therapists are women, and 15.4% are men.
- Most ABA therapists are located in New York, NY and Indianapolis, IN.
- There are 57,000 BCBAs currently employed in the U.S.
How Many ABA Therapists Are There?
There are more than 33,633 ABA therapists currently employed in the United States.
ABA Therapist Success Rates
- In 1987, a study conducted found that 90% of patients with autism had behavioral improvements after ABA interventions.
- In 2005, 48% of children with autism had success in normal classrooms when ABA therapy was introduced at a young age.
- ABA therapy is responsible for 45% of therapies introduced to children with autism that are successful in the long term.
- 50% of children with autism that receive ABA therapy they need before turning four years old have increased social and speaking skills. IQ levels are raised as well.
- According to Swallows and Graupner in 2005, 48% of patients on the spectrum had fast advances in learning and test scores after receiving ABA therapy.
ABA Therapist Demographics
76.6% of ABA therapists are White, 10.8% are Hispanic or Latino, and 7.7% are Black or African American.
Average Age Of ABA Therapists
The average age of an ABA therapist is 42 years old.
Where Are ABA Therapists Most In Demand?
ABA therapists are most in-demand in New York, NY.
ABA Therapist Job Outlook
- ABA therapists are predicted to experience more than a 20% job growth rate by 2029, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- There was a 1,942% increase in demand for BCBAs between 2010 and 2018.
- All ABA therapists levels are expected to see significant job growth in the coming years.
- There was a 1,098% increase in demand for BCaBAs between 2010 and 2018.
- The demand for BCBAs increased by 127% and by 184% for BCaBAs from 2017 to 2018.
Average ABA Therapist Salary
- The average yearly salary for ABA therapists is $36,263.
- Minneapolis, MN pays the highest average salary of $40,715.
- ABA therapists have an average starting salary of $30,000.
- The top 10% of the highest-paid ABA therapists can earn $43,000 or more.
- BCBAs make close to $98,000 per year, on average. Top earners can earn over $110,000 per year.
- BCaBAs make, on average, $50,000 per year or $25.20 per hour.
- RBTs make, on average, $50,140 per year or $21.54 per hour.
How Effective Is ABA Therapy?
In 1987, the inventor of ABA therapy, Dr. Ivar Lovaas proved that early intervention and intensive behavior therapy enabled children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to succeed.
Lovaas found that 90% of children make large gains through ABA therapy.
He also found that 47% of the children studied in his research were “indistinguishable from their peers” after receiving intensive ABA therapy.
Success Rates of ABA Therapy
Several studies on Applied Behavior Analysis report how successful ABA therapy can be for children with autism.
In recent years, ABA therapy-related studies continue to show promising results. Though there are always controversial aspects to ABA and the studies that do this, the overall consensus is favorable.
When contentions are made, it’s usually about the methodology of the studies themselves, something intended to be corrected in future studies.
The American Psychiatric Association and the Surgeon General of the US are two bodies that have endorsed the use of ABA.
Many nonprofits and reputable private companies in the medical world have done the same.
