Portland City Guide
ABA Programs in Portland
Portland pays the highest metro median of any of the fifty metropolitan areas on this site, and once local prices are accounted for it still pays the most. That is an unusual combination and it deserves the top of this page. Below: the three ABA programs Portland students use, Oregon's licensing board, and the cross-river complication that catches out anyone working in Vancouver.
Key Takeaways
- 01Portland's metro median of $75,420 (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 21-1018) is the highest of the fifty metros on this site, ahead of Seattle, San Jose and San Francisco.
- 02It is also the highest after adjusting for local prices. At 5.4% above the national average on the BEA index, $75,420 here is worth about $71,556 nationally — the best real figure in this guide.
- 03The floor is the highest too: a 10th percentile of $50,970, the only metro here above $50,000 at that point in the distribution.
- 04Three programs serve the metro. Portland State runs a 45-credit M.A. in Special Education at $550 per credit in-state, Oregon Tech a 45 to 47-credit online M.S. at a flat $495, and the University of Oregon an accelerated online M.S. that can finish in about a year.
- 05Oregon has licensed behavior analysts since 2013 through a dedicated Behavior Analysis Regulatory Board. Cross the Columbia to Vancouver and you need a Washington license as well.
The first thing to say about Portland is the number. Its metro median for the occupation behavior analysts are counted in is $75,420 — the highest of the fifty metropolitan areas covered on this site, above Seattle, San Jose and San Francisco. Its 10th percentile of $50,970 is the only one in this guide above $50,000. And because Portland's overall price level runs only 5.4% above the national average, it is also the best-paying metro here after adjusting for what things cost. That is a rare combination: high pay usually arrives attached to high costs, and in Portland it mostly does not.
Three programs serve the metro and none of them is ABAI-accredited, which is worth saying plainly. Portland State University runs a 45-credit M.A. in Special Education, in person and online, at $550 per credit for Oregon residents. Oregon Tech runs a 45 to 47-credit online M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis at a flat $495 per credit regardless of residency, with a Portland-metro presence alongside its Klamath Falls base. The University of Oregon runs an accelerated online M.S. that can be completed in about a year, which is the fastest route in the Pacific Northwest.
Oregon has licensed behavior analysts since 2013, when Senate Bill 365 created the Behavior Analysis Regulatory Board, with the license itself effective from October 2014. The complication is the river: Vancouver sits inside this metro and inside Washington, which licenses separately, so a cross-river caseload means two credentials.
Metro scope
Includes: Portland, Vancouver, Hillsboro, Gresham, Beaverton, Tigard, Lake Oswego, Oregon City. The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro, spanning the Columbia River into Washington — Portland and its eastern suburbs through Gresham, the Washington County tech corridor from Beaverton to Hillsboro, Clackamas County to the south, and Vancouver and Clark County on the Washington side.
Note: This metro crosses a state line and both states license, which makes the Columbia a genuine professional boundary. Oregon licenses behavior analysts through the Behavior Analysis Regulatory Board, created by Senate Bill 365 in 2013 with the licensed behavior analyst credential effective from October 2014. Washington licenses separately through its Department of Health and has since 2015. A Portland-based behavior analyst who takes clients in Vancouver needs both, and Vancouver is close enough to downtown Portland that this is a common situation rather than an edge case. There is a second reason the border matters here: Washington has no state income tax and Oregon has no sales tax, so a great many people in this metro live on one side and work on the other for reasons unrelated to their caseload.
The programs
Every one of the BCBA programs in Portland and within reach
3 programs
Oregon Institute of Technology — M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis
Klamath Falls base with a Portland-metro presence; delivered online · Portland, OR · No commute; online delivery
- Tuition
- $495 per credit hour, the same rate for residents and non-residents
- Length
- 45 to 47 credits, 1 to 2 years
- Format
- Online
- Accreditation
- BCBA Pathway 2 coursework; Oregon Tech
- Part-time
- Flexible pacing across one to two years
- A flat $495 per credit for residents and non-residents alike — the cheapest published rate of the three Oregon programs
- Oregon Tech maintains a Portland-metro presence alongside its Klamath Falls campus, so the institution is not remote even if the delivery is online
- Forty-five to 47 credits, with completion possible in as little as a year at full pace
- Admission requires a 3.0 GPA over the last 90 quarter or 60 semester credits rather than a whole-transcript average
- Not ABAI-accredited; no Oregon program is
Portland State University — M.A. in Special Education
Downtown Portland campus · Portland, OR · On-campus or online; PSU sits on the MAX light rail and streetcar network
- Tuition
- $550 per credit hour in-state, $796 per credit hour out-of-state
- Length
- 45 credits, 2 to 2.5 years
- Format
- In person and online
- Accreditation
- BCBA Pathway 2 coursework; PSU College of Education
- Part-time
- Designed to accommodate practicing teachers and technicians
- The only campus-based option inside the city, on a downtown campus served directly by MAX light rail and the streetcar
- A special education framing, so the degree reads as an education credential to Oregon school districts
- The out-of-state premium is modest — $796 against $550 — which is unusually small for a public university
- In-person and online delivery both available, so the format can follow your circumstances
- A 3.0 minimum GPA for admission
University of Oregon — M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis
Eugene-based; delivered online · Eugene, OR · No commute; a mix of synchronous and asynchronous delivery
- Tuition
- Published per-credit rates are on the UO Online tuition page; confirm the current graduate rate
- Length
- 47 to 53 credits, accelerated to about 1 year
- Format
- Online, combining synchronous and asynchronous delivery
- Accreditation
- BCBA Pathway 2 coursework; University of Oregon College of Education
- Part-time
- The accelerated design assumes a heavy load; confirm alternatives with the program
- An accelerated design that can finish in roughly a year, the fastest route available in the Pacific Northwest
- A mix of live and recorded delivery rather than fully asynchronous, which keeps a cohort together
- The University of Oregon name, which carries weight with Oregon districts and agencies
- At 47 to 53 credits it is the largest credit count of the three, so "accelerated" means intensity rather than less work
- Eugene is two hours south of Portland, but the delivery is online so the distance does not decide it
Cost of living
What it costs to live in Portland while you study
Portland costs more than the national average but much less than the West Coast metros it is usually compared with. The BEA index puts the whole basket 5.4% above national and housing 25.1% above — against 51.3% in Seattle and 94.7% in San Francisco. Combined with the highest metro median in this guide, that produces the best real pay of any metro on this site. Two local quirks worth knowing: Oregon has no sales tax, Washington has no income tax, and a lot of people in this metro arrange their lives around that.
Housing, 2024
125.1
25.1% above the national average
Everything, 2024
105.4
5.4% above the national average
Metro median pay covers
$71,556
of national-average spending
Housing runs 25.1% above the national average, which is the single biggest reason the overall cost of living lands where it does.
Both figures are BEA Regional Price Parities for Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, 2024, where the national average is 100. Housing is the services-housing component; the second figure is the whole basket.
Housing price level
25.1% above the national average
BEA Regional Price Parity for housing, 2024; Seattle runs 51.3% above
All-items price level
5.4% above the national average
BEA Regional Price Parity, all items, 2024
Transit
TriMet MAX light rail, streetcar and bus
Among the better systems in a metro this size; PSU is served directly
Car
Caseload-dependent
A city-center caseload can work without one; Washington County and Clark County work cannot
Cross-border commute
Vancouver and Clark County, WA
Inside the commuting metro and a separate Washington license
Tuition, Oregon Tech M.S. (all students)
$495 per credit hour
Flat rate for residents and non-residents; 45 to 47 credits
Tuition, Portland State M.A. (in-state)
$550 per credit hour
$796 per credit hour out-of-state; 45 credits
Clinical fieldwork
BCBA certification in Portland: where metro students do supervised fieldwork
Fieldwork in Portland runs through a strong academic-medical anchor. Oregon Health & Science University holds both the state's federally designated UCEDD and its LEND program in the Institute on Development and Disability, and OHSU Doernbecher is the region's children's hospital. Around that sit Portland Public Schools, the large Washington County districts, and an agency layer supported by Oregon's behavioral health funding.
OHSU Institute on Development and Disability
OHSU's Institute on Development and Disability holds Oregon's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities designation and runs the state's LEND interdisciplinary training program from the same Portland campus.
OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital
Doernbecher Children's Hospital is the region's pediatric academic medical center and the most competitive clinical placement in the metro.
Portland Public Schools and Washington County districts
Portland Public Schools serves the urban core; Beaverton and Hillsboro cover the Washington County tech corridor. All host school-based placements.
Vancouver and Clark County sites
Placements across the Columbia are physically close and legally separate. If you intend to do supervised hours in Vancouver, confirm your supervisor's Washington credential as well as your own standing.
Private ABA agencies across the metro
Providers funded through the Oregon Health Plan and commercial insurance deliver in-home and center-based services across three Oregon counties and Clark County.
Hiring market
Major ABA employers across the Portland metro
Portland's pay figures point at something structural, and OHSU is the most likely explanation. A metro with a single dominant academic health system holding both the UCEDD and the children's hospital tends to set a wage floor that the rest of the market has to meet — and Portland's 10th percentile of $50,970 is the highest in this guide, which is the signature of exactly that. This is an inference rather than a documented fact, but the pattern fits.
OHSU Institute on Development and Disability
University center for developmental disabilities
Oregon's UCEDD and LEND program. A training destination and an employer for interdisciplinary and research-affiliated work.
OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital
Pediatric academic medical center
The region's children's hospital, hiring into developmental and behavioral services with academic medical center pay and benefits.
Portland Public Schools
Public school district
The metro's largest district, employing behavior specialists across special education services, with a school calendar and Oregon PERS membership.
Beaverton School District
Public school district
One of Oregon's largest districts, covering the Washington County tech corridor, with substantial special education provision.
Providence Health & Services
Health system
A large regional health system with a substantial Oregon presence and behavioral health services across the metro.
Side by side
Comparing the 3 Portland programs
The same programs as above, set against each other on the things that decide which one you apply to: how it is delivered, how long it runs, what it costs, and whether it asks for the GRE.
| Program | Format | Length | Tuition | GRE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon Institute of Technology — M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis Portland, OR | Online | 45 to 47 credits, 1 to 2 years | $495 per credit hour, the same rate for residents and non-residents | Not required |
| Portland State University — M.A. in Special Education Portland, OR | In person and online | 45 credits, 2 to 2.5 years | $550 per credit hour in-state, $796 per credit hour out-of-state | Not required |
| University of Oregon — M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis Eugene, OR | Online, combining synchronous and asynchronous delivery | 47 to 53 credits, accelerated to about 1 year | Published per-credit rates are on the UO Online tuition page; confirm the current graduate rate | Not required |
Metro pay
BCBA salary in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro
Metro median
$75,420
National median
$59,350
10th percentile
$50,970
90th percentile
$109,330
BLS metro median, May 2025
$75,420
$16,070 above the national median
Cost of living, 2024
105.4
5.4% above the national average
Worth nationally
$71,556
the same pay in national-average dollars
Because prices run 5.4% above the national average, $75,420 here goes about as far as $71,556 would nationally.
BLS does not publish a separate occupation for behavior analysts. This is the May 2025 median for SOC 21-1018 (Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors), the category BCBAs are counted in, which also contains counseling roles that typically pay less. Read it as a floor for the metro, not as BCBA pay. Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA. Cost of living is the BEA Regional Price Parity for the metro, all items, 2024, where the national average is 100. It is the most recent year BEA publishes, so it sits one year behind the wage figure. Prices: BEA Regional Price Parities.
The published figure for this metro is $75,420, the BLS OEWS May 2025 median for SOC 21-1018, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, across the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro. That is $16,070 above the national median of $59,350 for the same code, and the highest metro median of the fifty on this site. BLS publishes no separate occupation for behavior analysts, and SOC 21-1018 also contains counseling roles requiring neither a master's nor board certification, so read $75,420 as a floor for the metro rather than as BCBA pay — which in Portland's case makes the figure more striking, not less.
The floor is the highest in this guide too. Portland's 10th percentile is $50,970, the only one of the fifty metros here above $50,000. The 90th is $109,330, which is high but not exceptional — Portland's distinction is the bottom and middle of its distribution rather than the top.
Now the adjustment, which is where Portland becomes remarkable. Prices across the metro run 5.4% above the national average, so $75,420 here goes about as far as $71,556 would nationally — the best cost-adjusted figure of any metro on this site, ahead of Houston ($68,327) and Austin ($68,073). Housing runs 25.1% above national, which is high but nothing like Seattle's 51.3% or San Francisco's 94.7%. If the question is where a behavior analyst's salary goes furthest, the answer on this data is Portland. For national context see our BCBA salary guide.
Other cities
Other cities in Oregon
Portland is currently the only Oregon metro with its own guide. The state guide carries every program in Oregon plus the licensure picture.
Nearby metros
If you are flexible on metro
The Pacific Northwest comparison is Seattle, three hours north, and it goes differently than most people expect once housing is in the calculation. Sacramento and the California metros are the other direction.
ABA Programs in Seattle
Three hours north, paying $73,580 against housing 51.3% above the national average rather than 25.1%.
ABA Programs in Sacramento
Northern California, with an ABAI-accredited master's and the UC Davis MIND Institute.
ABA Programs in Oregon
The full state picture: every Oregon program, the Behavior Analysis Regulatory Board, and how the 2014 license works.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
01How many ABA programs are in Portland?+
02Do I need a license to practice ABA in Portland?+
03How much do BCBAs make in Portland?+
04Why does Portland pay so much more than comparable metros?+
05Portland or Seattle for a BCBA career?+
06Where do Portland ABA students do supervised fieldwork?+
Sources
- Portland State University, M.A. in Special Education
- Oregon Institute of Technology, M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis
- University of Oregon, M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis (online)
- Oregon Health & Science University, Institute on Development and Disability (UCEDD/LEND)
- Oregon Behavior Analysis Regulatory Board
- BACB, U.S. Licensure of Behavior Analysts by State
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro MSA (SOC 21-1018)
- ABAI Accredited Programs Directory