Sacramento City Guide
ABA Programs in Sacramento
Sacramento has something no other Northern California metro has: an ABAI-accredited ABA master's at public tuition, sitting ten minutes from one of the largest autism research centers in the country. This guide covers the ABA programs in Sacramento and the surrounding metro, the UC Davis MIND Institute and what it means for fieldwork, and why the metro's pay distribution has one of the widest spreads in the United States.
Key Takeaways
- 01Sacramento State's M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis is one of only two ABAI-accredited ABA master's programs in California, accredited through December 31, 2031, at CSU systemwide tuition of roughly $467 per credit.
- 02It also posted the best exam result in the state in the BACB's 2024 report: an 89% first-attempt BCBA pass rate across combined 2023-2024 data. For comparison, the national first-attempt rate in 2024 was 54%. The program had too few first-time candidates to be listed in the 2025 report.
- 03The UC Davis MIND Institute sits in the same metro and holds all three federal designations at once — a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, a LEND training program and an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center. Very few metros in the country have that.
- 04California asks for no state license. Your BCBA is the credential, SB 946 ties autism insurance coverage to it, and Alta California Regional Center vendorization is what actually determines who can bill for funded services.
- 05The BLS reports a $61,050 median for SOC 21-1018 across the metro (May 2025) with a 90th percentile of $127,270 — the second-highest top decile of the fifty metros here, behind only San Francisco, in a metro where housing costs a third less than the Bay Area.
Sacramento is the strongest ABA training market in Northern California, and it is not close. Sacramento State runs an M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis that holds one of California's two ABAI accreditations at master's level, through December 31, 2031, and it reported an 89% first-attempt BCBA pass rate across the combined BACB 2023-2024 release — the best figure in the state in that release and well above the national first-attempt average of 54%. It charges CSU systemwide graduate tuition, which is around $467 per credit.
Ten miles away in the same metro is the UC Davis MIND Institute, which holds three separate federal designations: a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, a LEND interdisciplinary training program, and an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center. Only a handful of American metros have all three in one place. For a student who wants research-adjacent fieldwork rather than pure caseload delivery, that combination — an accredited program and a major research institute in the same commute — is rare.
The employment picture matches. The metro's 90th percentile for the occupation behavior analysts are counted in runs $127,270, second only to San Francisco among the fifty metros on this site, while housing costs roughly a third less than the Bay Area on the federal price index. Sacramento is the Northern California metro where the arithmetic actually works.
Metro scope
Includes: Sacramento, Roseville, Folsom, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Davis, Woodland. The Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro, covering Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties — the city and its river suburbs, the Placer County growth corridor through Roseville and Rocklin, Folsom to the east, and Davis and Woodland across the causeway.
Note: No state line and no state license. California does not license behavior analysts: there is no board, no application and no renewal, and your BCBA is the credential that carries practice authority. Senate Bill 946 ties insurance coverage for behavioral health treatment of autism to that certification. What replaces licensure is the regional center system, and this metro is served by Alta California Regional Center, whose catchment runs well beyond the metro across twenty-three Northern California counties from the Oregon border to the Sierra. That geography is worth knowing: a job with an Alta-vendorized provider can involve a caseload far outside Sacramento itself.
The programs
Every one of the accredited BCBA programs in Sacramento and the metro
3 programs
California State University, Sacramento — M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis
Sacramento State campus, east Sacramento · Sacramento, CA · SacRT Gold Line light rail serves the campus directly
- Tuition
- $467 per credit hour at CSU systemwide graduate rates
- Length
- 39 to 41 units, about 2 years
- Format
- On-campus
- Accreditation
- ABAI-accredited at master's level (Pathway 1) through December 31, 2031
- Part-time
- Cohort structure; confirm pacing with the Department of Psychology
- One of only two ABAI-accredited ABA master's programs in California, and the only one in the northern half of the state
- An 89% first-attempt BCBA pass rate across the combined BACB 2023-2024 release, against a national first-attempt rate of 54% in 2024
- Accreditation runs through December 31, 2031, per the ABAI Accreditation Board directory
- Public CSU pricing of roughly $467 per credit makes it the cheapest accredited route in California
- Light rail reaches the campus, which matters in a metro otherwise built around driving
Alliant International University — M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis
Fully online; Alliant has a Sacramento campus · Sacramento, CA · No commute; online delivery
- Tuition
- Published per-unit rates are on Alliant's tuition page; confirm the current School of Education rate
- Length
- 30 credits, a minimum of 52 weeks
- Format
- 100% online
- Accreditation
- BCBA Pathway 2 coursework; Alliant California School of Education
- Part-time
- Three intakes a year, in August, January and May
- Thirty credits and a 52-week minimum, roughly half the Sacramento State credit count
- Alliant states the program "meets the behavior-analytic coursework requirements for those pursuing the BCBA pathway 2 eligibility route"
- Three intakes a year, so you are never waiting on one annual admissions cycle
- Alliant maintains a Sacramento campus, though this program is delivered online rather than there
- Not ABAI-accredited — if accreditation matters to you, Sacramento State is in the same city
California State University Stanislaus — M.A. in Applied Behavior Analysis
Turlock, about 90 miles south · Turlock, CA · Down Highway 99; a relocation rather than a commute
- Tuition
- $467 per credit hour at CSU systemwide graduate rates
- Length
- 40 units, four semesters full-time
- Format
- On-campus
- Accreditation
- BCBA Pathway 2 coursework; CSU Stanislaus Department of Psychology
- Part-time
- Full-time four-semester sequence
- The smallest CSU credit count in California at 40 units, one fewer than Sacramento State at the top of its range
- Reported an 86% first-attempt BCBA pass rate in the BACB 2023 release, the second-best in the state
- Identical CSU systemwide pricing
- A sensible backup if the Sacramento State cohort is full, since the pass rates and the price are close
- Turlock is a Central Valley town; treat this as a move rather than a second campus
Cost of living
What it costs to live in Sacramento while you study
Sacramento is what Californians move to when the Bay Area stops working, and the price indexes bear that out: housing runs 30.2% above the national average here against 94.7% in San Francisco and 111.9% in San Jose. That is still a premium, but it is a premium a graduate stipend can survive. The trade is that the metro sprawls across four counties and Alta California Regional Center's catchment reaches much further than that, so mileage is a real part of the job.
Housing, 2024
130.2
30.2% above the national average
Everything, 2024
106.7
6.7% above the national average
Metro median pay covers
$57,216
of national-average spending
Housing runs 30.2% 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 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA, 2024, where the national average is 100. Housing is the services-housing component; the second figure is the whole basket.
Housing price level
30.2% above the national average
BEA Regional Price Parity for housing, 2024 — roughly a third of the Bay Area premium
Transit
SacRT light rail and bus
The Gold Line serves Sacramento State directly; coverage thins quickly in Placer and El Dorado counties
Car
Required for fieldwork
Alta California Regional Center's catchment spans twenty-three Northern California counties
Tuition, Sacramento State M.S.
$467 per credit hour
CSU systemwide graduate rate; 39 to 41 units
Tuition, CSU Stanislaus M.A.
$467 per credit hour
Same CSU rate, 40 units, about 90 miles south
Clinical fieldwork
BCBA certification in Sacramento: where metro students do supervised fieldwork
Sacramento's fieldwork picture is unusually strong for a metro this size, and the reason is one institution. The UC Davis MIND Institute holds a UCEDD designation, a LEND training grant and an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, all in the same place — a combination only a handful of American metros can match. Around it sit Alta California Regional Center's vendorized providers, UC Davis Health's clinical services, and some of the largest school districts in Northern California.
UC Davis MIND Institute
The MIND Institute's Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in Sacramento is California's Northern UCEDD, and the institute also hosts the Northern California LEND project and an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center.
Alta California Regional Center
Alta California Regional Center funds and coordinates developmental disability services across twenty-three Northern California counties from Sacramento. Its vendorized providers carry most of the publicly funded caseload.
UC Davis Health
UC Davis Health runs the metro's academic medical services, including the children's hospital, and provides the clinical setting the MIND Institute is embedded in.
Large suburban school districts
Elk Grove Unified is one of the largest districts in California and Sacramento City Unified serves the urban core; both host school-based placements.
Vendorized ABA agencies
Providers funded through Alta California and through commercial plans under SB 946 deliver in-home and center-based services across the four-county metro and well beyond it.
Hiring market
Major ABA employers across the Sacramento metro
Sacramento's employer market has a shape most metros this size do not: a research institute at the top, a very large regional center catchment in the middle, and a set of state-government-adjacent public employers underneath. Being the state capital matters here — CalPERS-covered public employment is a larger share of the professional job market than in comparable metros, and that flows through to school district and county positions.
UC Davis MIND Institute
University center for developmental disabilities
A UCEDD, a LEND program and an IDDRC in one institute. A training destination first, and an employer for research-affiliated and complex-case clinical work.
Alta California Regional Center
Regional center for developmental disabilities
Coordinates services across twenty-three Northern California counties. Not usually the direct employer of behavior analysts, but the body whose vendorization decisions shape the whole provider market.
UC Davis Health
Academic medical center
The metro's academic health system, including its children's hospital, and the clinical home of the MIND Institute.
Elk Grove Unified School District
Public school district
One of California's largest districts, in the metro's southern suburbs, employing behavior specialists across special education services.
Sacramento City Unified School District
Public school district
The urban core district, with special education programs that host fieldwork and employ behavior support staff.
Side by side
Comparing the 3 Sacramento 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California State University, Sacramento — M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis Sacramento, CA | On-campus | 39 to 41 units, about 2 years | $467 per credit hour at CSU systemwide graduate rates | Not required |
| Alliant International University — M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis Sacramento, CA | 100% online | 30 credits, a minimum of 52 weeks | Published per-unit rates are on Alliant's tuition page; confirm the current School of Education rate | Not required |
| California State University Stanislaus — M.A. in Applied Behavior Analysis Turlock, CA | On-campus | 40 units, four semesters full-time | $467 per credit hour at CSU systemwide graduate rates | Not required |
Metro pay
BCBA salary in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro
Metro median
$61,050
National median
$59,350
10th percentile
$43,930
90th percentile
$127,270
BLS metro median, May 2025
$61,050
$1,700 above the national median
Cost of living, 2024
106.7
6.7% above the national average
Worth nationally
$57,216
the same pay in national-average dollars
Because prices run 6.7% above the national average, $61,050 here goes about as far as $57,216 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, Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA. 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 $61,050, the BLS OEWS May 2025 median for SOC 21-1018, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, across the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro. That is $1,700 above 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 $61,050 as a floor rather than as BCBA pay.
The distribution is the thing worth studying here. The 10th percentile is $43,930 and the 90th is $127,270 — a spread of more than $83,000 and the second-highest top decile of the fifty metros on this site, behind only San Francisco. A median only slightly above national with a top decile that high means the category's upper end is being pulled by something specific, and in this metro the candidates are obvious: the MIND Institute's clinical and research roles, UC Davis Health, and state-government-adjacent public employment with CalPERS benefits attached.
The cost side is where Sacramento separates from its neighbors. Prices run 6.7% above the national average, so $61,050 here goes about as far as $57,216 would nationally — and housing runs 30.2% above national, against 94.7% in San Francisco and 111.9% in San Jose. A Sacramento behavior analyst reaching the upper half of this distribution is in a materially better position than a Bay Area one earning more. For national context see our BCBA salary guide.
Other cities
Other cities in California
We also cover 6 other metros in California. 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
Sacramento is the program-rich end of Northern California, so the traffic mostly runs the other way — Bay Area students come here. If you are weighing metros, the comparison that matters is what the same salary does in each.
ABA Programs in San Francisco
Ninety miles southwest, with the highest 90th percentile in the country and no local program at all.
ABA Programs in Fresno
Two in-metro programs and the only California metro on this site where housing runs below the national average.
ABA Programs in California
The full state picture: every California program, why the state licenses nobody, and how SB 946 works.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
01How many ABA programs are in Sacramento?+
02Do I need a license to practice ABA in Sacramento?+
03How much do BCBAs make in Sacramento?+
04What is the UC Davis MIND Institute and does it matter for students?+
05Is Sacramento State's ABA program worth the accreditation?+
06Should Bay Area students move to Sacramento to study ABA?+
Sources
- California State University Sacramento (Sacramento State), M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis — university catalog
- Sacramento State Department of Psychology, Applied Behavior Analysis
- UC Davis MIND Institute, Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD)
- Alliant International University, M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis
- BACB, U.S. Licensure of Behavior Analysts by State
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (SOC 21-1018)
- Alta California Regional Center
- ABAI Accredited Programs Directory