Richmond City Guide
ABA Programs in Richmond
Richmond hosts Virginia's federally designated developmental disabilities center and the state's LEND program, and there is no master's degree in applied behavior analysis anywhere in the metro. Several program directories suggest otherwise. This guide sets out what is actually here, what is reachable, and one correction worth making plainly.
Key Takeaways
- 01No university in the Richmond metro offers a master's in applied behavior analysis. Several directories list VCU as an ABA program; its M.Ed. in Special Education with a General Education concentration does not carry behavior-analytic coursework, and the university's School of Education lists no ABA certificate among its current offerings.
- 02The reachable degree is George Mason's 36-credit M.Ed., delivered 100% online and asynchronously from Northern Virginia at $840 per credit for everyone, including a $35 distance learning fee.
- 03For people who already hold a qualifying master's, Old Dominion's 24-credit online ABA certificate at $486 per credit in-state covers the coursework sequence alone.
- 04The Partnership for People with Disabilities at VCU is Virginia's federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and Va-LEND runs from the same institution.
- 05The metro pays a $57,860 median with a 90th percentile of $96,680 — a $60,720 spread that is the tenth-widest in this guide, so the credential is worth a lot more than the median here.
Richmond is a metro where the research infrastructure and the teaching infrastructure came apart. Virginia Commonwealth University hosts the Partnership for People with Disabilities, Virginia's federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and Va-LEND, the state's interdisciplinary training program — and no university in the metro teaches a master's in applied behavior analysis.
That deserves saying clearly because the internet suggests otherwise. Program directories list VCU under ABA on the strength of its M.Ed. in Special Education. Reading that program's own page, it is a 37-credit degree with a General Education concentration whose only behavior content is a single course on behavior support for individuals with disabilities — the university makes no claim about BACB coursework, BCBA eligibility or behavior analysis anywhere in the description. It is a good special education degree and it is not a route to the BCBA. VCU's School of Education also lists no applied behavior analysis certificate among its current certificate programs.
What a Richmond student actually does is study elsewhere, online. George Mason University's M.Ed. in Special Education with a Behavior Analysis concentration is 36 credits, fully online and asynchronous, at $840 per credit for residents and non-residents alike, and GMU states it is designed to meet 2027 BACB coursework requirements. Old Dominion's 24-credit certificate covers coursework alone for anyone whose degree requirement is already met.
Metro scope
Includes: Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Ashland, Midlothian. The Richmond metro, covering the city and the counties around it — Henrico and Chesterfield forming the suburban ring, Hanover to the north, and the Tri-Cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell to the south.
Note: Virginia is a single-state metro here, and the licensing arrangement is unusual enough to be worth stating carefully. Virginia licenses behavior analysts through the Virginia Board of Medicine and has since 2012 — most states use a dedicated board, a psychology board or a counseling board rather than a board of medicine. Your BCBA is the qualifying credential and the state license is your practice authority. Renewal requires 32 continuing education hours every two years, which is at the heavier end of state requirements. Because the same license covers the whole state, a Richmond behavior analyst can take work in Northern Virginia or Hampton Roads without additional credentials — which is not true of the Washington metro, where crossing into the District or Maryland means a second and possibly a third.
The programs
The ABA routes Richmond students actually use
2 programs
George Mason University — M.Ed. in Special Education, Concentration in Behavior Analysis
Fairfax, Northern Virginia; delivered online · Fairfax, VA · No commute; 100% online and asynchronous in 8-week modules
- Tuition
- $840 per credit hour for 2026-27, the same rate for Virginia residents and non-residents, including a $35 distance learning fee
- Length
- 36 credits
- Format
- 100% online, asynchronous
- Accreditation
- BCBA coursework sequence; GMU College of Education and Human Development
- Part-time
- Eight-week modules designed for people already working in schools or clinics
- The reachable qualifying master's for a Richmond student, delivered entirely online from the other end of the state
- GMU states the degree is "designed to meet 2027 Behavior Analyst Certification Board™ (BACB) coursework requirements"
- A flat $840 per credit for everyone, including a $35 distance learning fee rather than an out-of-state surcharge
- Eight-week asynchronous modules, which suits irregular working hours
- GMU also runs a separate Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis for people who already hold a qualifying master's
Old Dominion University — Applied Behavior Analysis Certificate
Norfolk; delivered online · Norfolk, VA · No commute; online delivery
- Tuition
- $486 per credit hour in-state, $1,335 per credit hour out-of-state
- Length
- 24 credits, about 2 years
- Format
- Online
- Accreditation
- BACB-aligned coursework sequence; ODU Department of Human Movement Studies and Special Education
- Part-time
- Built for working professionals
- At $486 per credit in-state it is the cheapest Virginia route to the coursework sequence
- This is a certificate, not a degree: it satisfies the coursework requirement and not the degree requirement
- Twenty-four credits is the whole commitment, which suits a teacher or therapist who already holds a master's
- Delivered online from Norfolk, so a Richmond student never needs to travel
- The out-of-state rate of $1,335 per credit is nearly three times the resident figure
Cost of living
What it costs to live in Richmond while you study
Richmond is an ordinary-cost American metro, which on the East Coast is worth something. The BEA index puts the whole basket 2.1% below the national average and housing 0.9% below it — essentially level on both, and a long way from the Washington metro's 51.1% housing premium ninety minutes north. The metro is compact, the interstates are quick, and the same Virginia license covers you anywhere in the state.
Housing, 2024
99.1
0.9% below the national average
Everything, 2024
97.9
2.1% below the national average
Metro median pay covers
$59,101
of national-average spending
Housing runs 0.9% below 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 Richmond, VA, 2024, where the national average is 100. Housing is the services-housing component; the second figure is the whole basket.
Housing price level
0.9% below the national average
BEA Regional Price Parity for housing, 2024; Washington DC runs 51.1% above
All-items price level
2.1% below the national average
BEA Regional Price Parity, all items, 2024
Transit
GRTC bus and the Pulse bus rapid transit
The Pulse runs an east-west spine; a multi-county caseload needs a car
Car
Required for fieldwork
A metro spanning the city, two large counties and the Tri-Cities to the south
Statewide license
One Virginia license covers the state
Board of Medicine since 2012; 32 continuing education hours every two years
Tuition, George Mason M.Ed. (all students)
$840 per credit hour, 2026-27
Flat rate including a $35 distance learning fee; 36 credits
Clinical fieldwork
BCBA certification in Richmond: where metro students do supervised fieldwork
This is the part of Richmond that makes up for the missing degree. VCU holds Virginia's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and its LEND program, both in the city, and the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU is the metro's pediatric anchor. For a trainee taking an online degree from another university, a Richmond placement list is stronger than many metros with their own programs can offer.
Partnership for People with Disabilities
The Partnership for People with Disabilities at VCU is Virginia's federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, working across research, training, services and policy.
Va-LEND
Va-LEND is Virginia's Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities program, run from VCU, training behavior analysts alongside physicians, therapists and family advocates.
Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU
Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU is the metro's pediatric hospital and the top of the local clinical tier for developmental and behavioral work.
Henrico, Chesterfield and Richmond schools
Henrico County Public Schools, Chesterfield County Public Schools and Richmond Public Schools together cover most of the metro and all host school-based placements.
Virginia Medicaid and commercial agencies
Providers funded through Virginia Medicaid and commercial insurance operate across the metro, and the statewide license means an agency can move you across Virginia without new credentials.
Hiring market
Major ABA employers across the Richmond metro
Richmond's employer market is institution-led at the top — VCU runs the UCEDD, Va-LEND and the children's hospital — with three large school divisions underneath and a private agency layer around them. The wide pay distribution suggests those tiers pay very differently: a $60,720 gap between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles in a metro of this size means the credential and the setting both matter a great deal.
Partnership for People with Disabilities
University center for developmental disabilities
Virginia's UCEDD at VCU and the host of Va-LEND. A training destination and an employer for research and policy-facing work.
Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU
Pediatric hospital
The metro's children's hospital, part of VCU Health, with developmental and behavioral services.
Henrico County Public Schools
Public school division
One of the metro's two large suburban divisions, employing behavior specialists across special education services with Virginia Retirement System membership.
Chesterfield County Public Schools
Public school division
The metro's other large suburban division, south of the river, with substantial special education provision.
Richmond Public Schools
Public school division
The city division, serving a higher-need student population than the surrounding counties.
Metro pay
BCBA salary in the Richmond metro
Metro median
$57,860
National median
$59,350
10th percentile
$35,960
90th percentile
$96,680
BLS metro median, May 2025
$57,860
$1,490 below the national median
Cost of living, 2024
97.9
2.1% below the national average
Worth nationally
$59,101
the same pay in national-average dollars
Because prices run 2.1% below the national average, $57,860 here goes about as far as $59,101 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, Richmond, VA. 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 $57,860, the BLS OEWS May 2025 median for SOC 21-1018, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, across the Richmond metro. That is $1,490 below the national median of $59,350 for the same code. 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 $57,860 as a floor rather than as BCBA pay.
The distribution is what makes Richmond interesting. The 10th percentile is $35,960 and the 90th is $96,680, a spread of $60,720 — the tenth-widest of the fifty metros in this guide, and unusually wide for a metro of 1.4 million. A wide spread in a category that mixes credential levels means the credential is doing a lot of work: the distance between an uncertified behavioral health role and a board certified one is larger here than in most markets.
On cost, prices run 2.1% below the national average and housing 0.9% below, so $57,860 goes about as far as $59,101 would nationally. For an East Coast metro, housing level with the national average is genuinely unusual — the Washington metro ninety minutes north runs 51.1% above. For national context see our BCBA salary guide.
Other cities
Other cities in Virginia
We also cover one other metro in Virginia. If you can commute, comparing them is worth ten minutes — the program list changes, but so does the fieldwork market, and that is the half your location actually constrains.
Nearby metros
If you are flexible on metro
The same Virginia license covers the whole state, so moving within it costs you no new credential. Washington pays more and costs far more; Hampton Roads pays about the same and has its own certificate program.
ABA Programs in Washington DC
Ninety minutes north, paying $65,270 against housing 51.1% above national — and up to three separate licenses.
ABA Programs in Virginia Beach
Ninety minutes southeast, with ODU's certificate, a similar median, and the world's largest concentration of naval facilities.
ABA Programs in Virginia
The full state picture: every Virginia program, the Board of Medicine license, and how FEHB shapes the northern market.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
01How many ABA programs are in Richmond?+
02Does VCU have an ABA program?+
03Do I need a license to practice ABA in Richmond?+
04How much do BCBAs make in Richmond?+
05Where do Richmond ABA students do supervised fieldwork?+
06Is Richmond a good place to start a BCBA career?+
Sources
- George Mason University, M.Ed. in Special Education, Concentration in Behavior Analysis
- Old Dominion University, Applied Behavior Analysis Certificate (graduate catalog)
- Partnership for People with Disabilities, Virginia Commonwealth University (UCEDD)
- Va-LEND, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Virginia Board of Medicine, Department of Health Professions
- BACB, U.S. Licensure of Behavior Analysts by State
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Richmond MSA (SOC 21-1018)
- ABAI Accredited Programs Directory