ABA Programs by City
Metro guides to BCBA programs, each with a verified count of programs actually located in that city, the employers hiring BCBAs there, and where students complete supervised fieldwork.
Key Takeaways
- 0150 metro guides across 30 states, each covering the programs you can attend locally, the employers hiring BCBAs there, and where students complete their supervised fieldwork.
- 02Every program count is verified. Each one counts programs confirmed against the institution's own catalog at the degree level claimed, which is why they run below what most directories list. Across 50 metros the total is 130.
- 03Your metro decides your fieldwork, not your coursework. Most programs here are delivered online, so the local question that matters is placement: which clinics, districts and hospital systems near you take trainees.
- 04Each guide names the local employers. Anchor institutions, school districts and health systems, so you can see the market you would qualify into before you enroll anywhere.
- 05City guides pair with the state guides. Licensure is set at state level, so the state page carries the license requirements while the city page carries what is within commuting distance.
Each guide covers one metro: the programs you can attend there, what they cost where the university publishes it, the employers hiring BCBAs locally, and where students actually complete their supervised fieldwork.
Fieldwork is the part your location decides. Coursework is largely portable — most programs here are delivered online even when the campus is down the road — but the 1,500 or 2,000 supervised hours have to happen somewhere you can reach repeatedly. That is why every guide names the local clinics, school districts and hospital systems alongside the program list, and why the employer section is worth as much of your attention as the program table.
Our BCBA fieldwork requirements guide covers the hour rules and the monthly supervision percentages that set how demanding a placement has to be, and the state guides carry the license requirements, which are set at state level rather than by metro.
§ City directory
ABA Programs by City (2026)
Program counts are in-city programs verified against each institution's own catalog, which is why they run below what most directories claim.
Alabama
ABA Programs in Birmingham
Birmingham has the lowest housing costs of the fifty metros here, UAB holds Alabama's UCEDD, and two ABAI-accredited programs sit within two hours.
Arizona
ABA Programs in Phoenix
Phoenix has one university running BCBA-track programs: ASU in Tempe. No Arizona program is ABAI-accredited. Where the fieldwork and jobs actually are.
California
ABA Programs in Fresno
Fresno has two ABA master's, more than San Francisco, San Jose and Riverside combined, and the only California housing market below the national average.
California
ABA Programs in Los Angeles
Accredited BCBA programs in the Los Angeles metro: CSUN, Cal State LA, USC, Pepperdine, and National. Tuition, the SB 946 mandate, and LA salary data.
California
ABA Programs in Riverside
No ABA master's is based in the Inland Empire, the 12th-largest US metro. The four reachable routes, and why California asks for no state license.
California
ABA Programs in Sacramento
Sacramento State holds one of California's two ABAI accreditations and posted an 89% BCBA pass rate (2023-2024). Add the UC Davis MIND Institute and a $127,270 ceiling.
California
ABA Programs in San Diego
Two of the biggest online ABA master's are headquartered in San Diego, plus a CSU certificate. And the campus that quietly closed but is still listed.
California
ABA Programs in San Francisco
No Bay Area university runs an ABA master's. The routes students use, why California needs no license, and the $132,510 top decile that pays for it.
California
ABA Programs in San Jose
Silicon Valley has no ABA master's and the most expensive housing in America. The reachable programs, the local one mistaken for a BCBA route, and the pay.
Colorado
ABA Programs in Denver
Denver has one in-city ABA master's: CU Denver. Compare it against Greeley and online options, plus Colorado's 2028 license deadline and $62,810 metro pay.
Connecticut
ABA Programs in Hartford
Connecticut has three ABA master's and none accredited. Its license renews annually in your birth month, and UConn's UCEDD sits inside the Hartford metro.
District of Columbia
ABA Programs in Washington
Three ABA programs serve the DC metro, one in each jurisdiction: The Chicago School, George Mason and Mount St. Mary's. Plus the three-license problem.
Florida
ABA Programs in Jacksonville
Jacksonville pays the highest ABA-adjacent median in Florida and is the only Florida metro above the national figure. UNF runs the local M.Ed. and certificate.
Florida
ABA Programs in Miami
BCBA programs in Miami: FIU's ABAI-accredited M.S., the University of Miami's 42-credit M.S., and Albizu's certificate. Only FIU is accredited.
Florida
ABA Programs in Orlando
Rollins runs an ABAI-accredited M.A. with practicum built in; UCF offers a $370-per-credit public route. Florida requires no license. Here is the market.
Florida
ABA Programs in Tampa
USF runs an ABAI-accredited campus M.S. at $431 per credit and a separate online M.A. at a flat $25,200. Florida asks for no state license at all.
Georgia
ABA Programs in Atlanta
Accredited BCBA programs in Atlanta: Georgia State and West Georgia (online), plus UGA nearby. Georgia licensure, the Marcus Autism Center, and pay data.
Illinois
ABA Programs in Chicago
Accredited ABA programs in the Chicago metro: The Chicago School, UIC, and NIU. Tuition, the new IDFPR behavior analyst license, and Chicago salary data.
Indiana
ABA Programs in Indianapolis
Indiana mandated autism insurance coverage in 2001 and licensed behavior analysts only in 2021. The Indianapolis routes, the Riley network, and the pay.
Kentucky
ABA Programs in Louisville
The University of Louisville runs a 30-credit online M.Ed. and hosts the Kentucky Autism Training Center. Two states meet in this metro, and housing is cheap.
Maryland
ABA Programs in Baltimore
UMBC is ABAI-accredited, Johns Hopkins and Towson add two more routes, and Kennedy Krieger holds three federal designations at one institution.
Massachusetts
ABA Programs in Boston
BCBA-qualifying programs in the Boston metro: Simmons, Northeastern, Regis, UMass Boston, Endicott. Two are ABAI-accredited. Tuition and MA licensure.
Michigan
ABA Programs in Detroit
Detroit has three ABA master's across Dearborn, Detroit and Rochester, a licensing board since 2016, and housing cheaper than the national average.
Michigan
ABA Programs in Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids has the fourth-best cost-adjusted pay of the fifty metros here and no local program. Western Michigan's accredited department is fifty miles south.
Minnesota
ABA Programs in Minneapolis
The University of Minnesota discontinued its ABA emphasis, so the Twin Cities routes are Capella and St. Cloud State. Plus the flattest pay curve here.
Missouri
ABA Programs in Kansas City
Kansas City pairs the eighth-highest top decile in this guide with the third-cheapest cost of living. Two states, two licenses, no program inside the line.
Missouri
ABA Programs in St. Louis
UMSL runs a cohort M.S. and Webster an online M.A. recognized at ABAI Tier 2A. Missouri has a suicide-assessment CE rule, and housing is 21% below national.
Nevada
ABA Programs in Las Vegas
UNLV runs the only ABA program in the metro at $383 per credit. Nevada licensed in 2009 through a standalone board, and one district covers the whole valley.
New York
ABA Programs in New York City
Accredited BCBA programs in the NYC metro, including Long Island and northern NJ. Tuition, format, NY licensure rules, and metro-specific salary data.
North Carolina
ABA Programs in Charlotte
BCBA programs in Charlotte: UNC Charlotte runs an M.Ed. ABA concentration and a post-master's certificate, Northeastern an M.S. None is ABAI-accredited.
North Carolina
ABA Programs in Raleigh
Raleigh has no ABA master's and sits thirty miles from the UNC TEACCH program and North Carolina's federally designated developmental disabilities center.
Ohio
ABA Programs in Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati runs two online behavior analysis master's. The metro spans Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, and all three license separately.
Ohio
ABA Programs in Cleveland
John Carroll runs a twice-monthly hybrid M.S. preparing graduates for both the BCBA and Ohio's COBA. Cleveland State adds an online certificate.
Ohio
ABA Programs in Columbus
Ohio State runs the state's only ABAI-accredited ABA master's, online at a flat $894 per credit. Its pass rate deserves a look. Plus Nisonger Center.
Oklahoma
ABA Programs in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City has the lowest price level of the fifty metros here and the sixth-best cost-adjusted pay. Three programs, a 2009 license, and a local UCEDD.
Oregon
ABA Programs in Portland
Portland posts the highest metro median and the highest cost-adjusted pay of the fifty metros here. Three programs serve it, and Oregon licensed in 2013.
Pennsylvania
ABA Programs in Philadelphia
BCBA programs in Philadelphia: Temple, Saint Joseph's, and nearby ABA master's options. Tuition, PA licensure rules, and metro-specific salary data.
Pennsylvania
ABA Programs in Pittsburgh
Pitt runs a 33-credit M.Ed. and Duquesne a 39-credit online M.S.Ed. Pennsylvania licenses no behavior analysts, and the BSL is a different credential.
Rhode Island
ABA Programs in Providence
Salve Regina in Newport runs an ABAI-accredited 42-credit evening M.S. at a flat $800 per credit. Rhode Island licenses through its Department of Health.
Tennessee
ABA Programs in Memphis
The University of Memphis runs a 36-credit campus M.S. and UTHSC holds Tennessee's UCEDD here. The metro spans three states and pays the lowest median.
Tennessee
ABA Programs in Nashville
Nashville holds one of the country's most significant developmental disabilities centers and the second-lowest median here. Vanderbilt and Lipscomb compared.
Texas
ABA Programs in Austin
St. Edward's runs a 30-credit accelerated online M.Ed. and Texas State a public route in San Marcos. Austin pays the most in Texas and costs the most too.
Texas
ABA Programs in Dallas-Fort Worth
BCBA programs in the DFW metroplex: UNT in Denton runs two, a 49-credit on-campus M.S. and a 30-credit online M.A. Texas licensure, employers and fieldwork.
Texas
ABA Programs in Houston
ABA programs in Houston, anchored by University of Houston-Clear Lake, plus online routes, Texas LBA licensure, and real Houston BCBA salary data.
Texas
ABA Programs in San Antonio
UTSA runs an ABAI-accredited M.S. at $425 per credit with practicum built in, and Texas A&M-San Antonio adds a 33-credit online route. TDLR licenses.
Utah
ABA Programs in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake has the sixth-highest top decile in this guide and three Wasatch Front programs, including one priced by church membership rather than residency.
Virginia
ABA Programs in Richmond
Richmond hosts Virginia's federally designated developmental disabilities center and Va-LEND, and has no ABA master's. Here is the honest map, and a correction.
Virginia
ABA Programs in Virginia Beach
Old Dominion runs a 24-credit online ABA certificate, the metro's only local offering. Virginia licenses through its Board of Medicine, unusually.
Washington
ABA Programs in Seattle
Seattle has one ABA master's, UW's ABAI-recognized M.Ed., on campus at $620/credit or online at $589. Plus WA's LBA license and $73,580 metro pay.
Wisconsin
ABA Programs in Milwaukee
Wisconsin has no active in-state ABA master's. UW-Milwaukee runs a 22-credit online certificate, and the metro pays the seventh-highest entry floor here.
No city guides match your search. Try the city name, the state, or its two-letter abbreviation.
How to find BCBA programs near me
Start by deciding whether you actually need a program nearby. Most BCBA-qualifying coursework is delivered online, including at universities with a campus down the road from you, so the classroom rarely has to be local. What has to be local is the 1,500 or 2,000 hours of supervised fieldwork — those happen at a clinic, school district or hospital you can reach repeatedly, often for well over a year.
So the useful search is not "which university is closest" but "which employers near me take trainees, and who supervises them". That is what each metro guide answers: the named providers, districts and hospital systems hiring behavior analysts locally, and how far students realistically travel between coursework and placement.
If your metro is listed above, that guide is the fastest route — it carries the verified in-city program count, local pay against local prices, and the fieldwork picture. If it is not, go to your state guide instead. Licensure is set at state level, not city level, so the state page answers the part of the question your address genuinely changes.
Metros without a guide yet
More city guides are published regularly. These are next in the queue.
Dallas–Fort Worth · San Diego · Washington, DC · Detroit · Minneapolis–St. Paul · Tampa
Until one of these exists, the state guide is the better entry point — it carries every program in the state plus the licensure picture, which is set at state level anyway. Browse ABA programs by state for all fifty states and D.C.
Common questions