San Antonio City Guide
ABA Programs in San Antonio
San Antonio has an ABAI-accredited behavior analysis master's at a public-university price, an online alternative at another public university across town, and a military health system that funds a kind of caseload most metros never see. This guide covers both ABA programs in San Antonio, the Texas license you will hold alongside your BCBA, and what the metro actually pays.
Key Takeaways
- 01UTSA's M.S. in Behavior Analysis is ABAI-accredited through December 31, 2028, runs 36 credits with integrated practicum over 1.75 to 2 years, and costs $425 per credit hour in-state.
- 02That combination — accreditation, embedded practicum and a public price — is rare. Most accredited programs are either private or charge considerably more.
- 03Texas A&M University-San Antonio runs a 33-credit online M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis with a choice of Autism Spectrum Disorder or Special Education concentration, at $5,163 per year in-state.
- 04Texas licenses behavior analysts through TDLR, a general occupational regulator, and has since 2017. Your BCBA is the qualifying credential.
- 05The metro median is $59,180 (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 21-1018) against prices 5.3% below the national average, so it is worth about $62,492 nationally — better real pay than Chicago, Denver or Boston.
San Antonio is a better ABA training market than its size suggests, and the reason is one program. UTSA's M.S. in Behavior Analysis holds ABAI accreditation at master's level through December 31, 2028, runs 36 credits with practicum integrated into the degree, finishes in 1.75 to 2 years, and charges $425 per credit hour to Texas residents. Accredited programs that are also public and also embed supervised experience are not common anywhere.
The second option is newer and answers a different question. Texas A&M University-San Antonio runs a 33-credit M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis online only, structured around two classes a semester across two years, with a choice between an Autism Spectrum Disorder concentration and a Special Education one. A&M-San Antonio also runs a B.S. in ABA, which is unusual and useful for someone building toward the master's from an undergraduate start.
What distinguishes the employment market here is the military. Joint Base San Antonio is one of the largest military installations in the country, and a substantial share of local behavior analysis is funded through TRICARE's Autism Care Demonstration rather than commercial insurance or Medicaid. That comes with its own authorization rules, its own outcome measures, and a family population that rotates on assignment cycles — which makes caseload continuity a different problem here than elsewhere.
Metro scope
Includes: San Antonio, New Braunfels, Schertz, Converse, Cibolo, Universal City, Seguin, Boerne. The San Antonio-New Braunfels metro, covering Bexar County and the seven counties around it — the city and its military bases, the fast-growing I-35 corridor northeast through Schertz, Cibolo and New Braunfels, and the Hill Country edge at Boerne.
Note: Texas is a single-state metro with one additional wrinkle: the border is two and a half hours south, and the metro sits at the top of a corridor where Spanish-language practice is routine rather than exceptional. On licensing, Texas licenses behavior analysts through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and has since 2017. TDLR is a general occupational regulator rather than a health board, which means the process looks administrative rather than clinical — your BCBA is the qualifying credential and the license is issued against it. The other thing that shapes practice here is the military: San Antonio hosts Joint Base San Antonio, and a substantial share of local ABA services are delivered under TRICARE's Autism Care Demonstration, which has its own authorization and outcome-reporting rules.
The programs
Every one of the accredited BCBA programs in San Antonio
2 programs
The University of Texas at San Antonio — M.S. in Behavior Analysis
UTSA campus, northwest San Antonio · San Antonio, TX · On-campus with integrated practicum placements
- Tuition
- $425 per credit hour in-state, $1,458 per credit hour out-of-state
- Length
- 36 credits, 1.75 to 2 years
- Format
- On-campus with integrated practicum
- Accreditation
- ABAI-accredited at master's level through December 31, 2028; UTSA
- Part-time
- Structured sequence; confirm pacing with the department
- ABAI-accredited through December 31, 2028 — the only accredited ABA master's in South Texas
- Practicum is integrated into the degree rather than something you arrange separately
- At $425 per credit in-state, one of the cheapest accredited routes to the BCBA anywhere in the country
- Completes in 1.75 to 2 years, shorter than most accredited programs
- The out-of-state rate of $1,458 per credit is nearly three and a half times the resident rate; Texas residency matters a great deal here
Texas A&M University-San Antonio — M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis
South San Antonio campus; delivered online · San Antonio, TX · No commute; the program is currently offered online only
- Tuition
- $5,163 per year in-state, $18,764 per year out-of-state
- Length
- 33 semester hours, designed to finish in 2 years at two classes a semester
- Format
- Online only
- Accreditation
- BCBA Pathway 2 coursework; A&M-San Antonio College of Education and Human Development
- Part-time
- Two classes a semester plus summer terms, built for working students
- A choice of concentration: Autism Spectrum Disorder or Special Education
- Designed around two classes a semester with two summer courses, so the pace suits someone working full-time
- The program states it "meets the behavior-analytic coursework requirements for those pursuing the BCBA pathway 2 eligibility route"
- A&M-San Antonio also runs a B.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis, so there is an undergraduate-to-graduate pipeline at one institution
- Fieldwork is not embedded — you arrange supervision yourself, which in a TRICARE-heavy market means asking about authorization rules early
Cost of living
What it costs to live in San Antonio while you study
San Antonio is one of the cheapest large metros in the country and, unusually for Texas, its housing has stayed below the national average — 5.4% below on the BEA index, against 17.9% above in Dallas-Fort Worth and 20.4% above in Austin an hour up the road. The whole basket runs 5.3% below national. The metro is car-dependent and sprawling, and the I-35 corridor northeast is where most of the growth and much of the new caseload is.
Housing, 2024
94.6
5.4% below the national average
Everything, 2024
94.7
5.3% below the national average
Metro median pay covers
$62,492
of national-average spending
Housing runs 5.4% below the national average, which is less of a factor here than the rest of the basket.
Both figures are BEA Regional Price Parities for San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX, 2024, where the national average is 100. Housing is the services-housing component; the second figure is the whole basket.
Housing price level
5.4% below the national average
BEA Regional Price Parity for housing, 2024; Austin runs 20.4% above
All-items price level
5.3% below the national average
BEA Regional Price Parity, all items, 2024
Transit
VIA Metropolitan Transit bus
Bus-only; not a practical basis for an eight-county caseload
Car
Required without qualification
The metro spans eight counties and the growth corridor runs 30 miles northeast
Tuition, UTSA M.S. (in-state)
$425 per credit hour
$1,458 per credit hour out-of-state; 36 credits
Tuition, A&M-San Antonio M.S. (in-state)
$5,163 per year
$18,764 per year out-of-state; 33 semester hours
Military-funded caseloads
TRICARE Autism Care Demonstration
Joint Base San Antonio makes this a substantial share of the local market
Clinical fieldwork
BCBA certification in San Antonio: where metro students do supervised fieldwork
Fieldwork in San Antonio splits between the university, the military health system and a large public school market. UTSA embeds practicum in its degree, which removes the hardest problem for its own students. Beyond that, the metro's defining feature is Joint Base San Antonio and the TRICARE-funded caseload that comes with it — a payer environment with its own rules that is worth learning deliberately rather than picking up by accident.
UTSA integrated practicum
UTSA's M.S. in Behavior Analysis builds practicum into the 36-credit degree, so its students accrue supervised experience through department placements rather than finding sites alone.
TRICARE Autism Care Demonstration providers
Joint Base San Antonio is among the largest military installations in the United States, and providers serving military families under the ACD carry a substantial share of the metro's caseload — with distinct authorization and outcome-reporting requirements.
University Health and the Children's Hospital of San Antonio
University Health, Bexar County's public health system, and The Children's Hospital of San Antonio cover the pediatric clinical tier.
Northside and North East ISDs
Northside ISD is one of the largest school districts in Texas, and North East ISD covers the metro's northern suburbs; both host school-based placements.
Spanish-language and bicultural practice
San Antonio sits at the top of a corridor where Spanish-language service delivery is routine. Bilingual capacity is a practical professional advantage here and a genuine access issue for families.
Hiring market
Major ABA employers across the San Antonio metro
Three funding streams shape who employs behavior analysts in San Antonio: TRICARE through Joint Base San Antonio, Texas Medicaid managed care, and commercial insurance. The military share is the distinguishing one, and it has consequences beyond the paperwork — military families move on assignment cycles, so caseload turnover is higher and transition planning matters more than in a settled civilian market.
Northside Independent School District
Public school district
One of the largest districts in Texas, employing behavior specialists across special education services, with a school calendar and Teacher Retirement System of Texas membership.
North East Independent School District
Public school district
The metro's northern suburban district, with substantial special education provision and school-based behavior support roles.
University Health
County public health system
Bexar County's public health system, running services that intersect with developmental disability and behavioral health caseloads.
The Children's Hospital of San Antonio
Pediatric hospital
The metro's dedicated children's hospital, covering pediatric developmental and behavioral services.
TRICARE-funded ABA providers
Military health benefit providers
Agencies serving military families under the Autism Care Demonstration. A larger share of the market here than in almost any metro outside a garrison city, with its own authorization and reporting requirements.
Metro pay
BCBA salary in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro
Metro median
$59,180
National median
$59,350
10th percentile
$34,550
90th percentile
$91,010
BLS metro median, May 2025
$59,180
$170 below the national median
Cost of living, 2024
94.7
5.3% below the national average
Worth nationally
$62,492
the same pay in national-average dollars
Because prices run 5.3% below the national average, $59,180 here goes about as far as $62,492 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, San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX. 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 $59,180, the BLS OEWS May 2025 median for SOC 21-1018, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, across the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro. That is $170 below the national median of $59,350 for the same code — essentially level. 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 $59,180 as a floor rather than as BCBA pay.
The cost adjustment does the work here. Prices across the metro run 5.3% below the national average, so $59,180 goes about as far as $62,492 would nationally. That real figure beats Chicago ($59,459), Denver ($59,367), Boston ($57,368) and Washington DC ($59,936), all of which pay more nominally. Housing runs 5.4% below national, which in Texas is now notable — Austin, an hour up I-35, runs 20.4% above.
The weak point is the floor. At $34,550 the 10th percentile is the second-lowest of the fifty metros on this site, which reflects a large entry-level behavioral health workforce rather than anything specific to behavior analysis. The 90th percentile of $91,010 is solid. The practical implication is the same one San Antonio's cost structure always produces: the gap between a poorly negotiated first job and a well-negotiated one is proportionally larger here than in a high-wage metro. For national context see our BCBA salary guide.
Other cities
Other cities in Texas
We also cover 3 other metros in Texas. 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 I-35 corridor puts three Texas metros within a few hours, and they differ mostly in cost. Austin is an hour up the road at a much higher housing cost; Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston are the state's two biggest markets and both carry ABAI-accredited programs.
ABA Programs in Austin
An hour up I-35, paying $66,780 against housing 20.4% above the national average rather than 5.4% below.
ABA Programs in Houston
Texas's largest metro, with an ABAI-accredited program at UH-Clear Lake and the best cost-adjusted pay in the state.
ABA Programs in Texas
The full state picture: every Texas program, how the TDLR license works, and where the accredited ones are.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
01How many ABA programs are in San Antonio?+
02Do I need a license to practice ABA in San Antonio?+
03Is UTSA's ABA program worth choosing over the online option?+
04How much do BCBAs make in San Antonio?+
05How does the military caseload change ABA work in San Antonio?+
06Is San Antonio a good place to start a BCBA career?+
Sources
- UTSA, M.S. in Behavior Analysis
- Texas A&M University-San Antonio, M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis (catalog)
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Behavior Analysts
- BACB, U.S. Licensure of Behavior Analysts by State
- BLS OEWS May 2025, San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA (SOC 21-1018)
- ABAI Accredited Programs Directory