Average Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) Salary

The average Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) salary is around $54,000 per year in the United States.

November 9th, 2022

min read

What's The Average RBT Salary?

The average Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) salary in the United States is around $54,000 per year. Entry-level salaries begin at around $47,000 per year.

However, more experienced RBTs can earn over $66,000 per year. RBTs job growth rate over the next 10 years is 12% to 22%, which is much higher than the average job growth rate of 5%.

Percentile	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate
90th Percentile	$49,000	$4,083	$24
75th Percentile	$43,000	$3,583	$21
Average	$38,026	$3,169	$18
25th Percentile	$33,000	$2,750	$16
10th Percentile	$29,000	$2,417	$14

According to PayScale, the average RBT annual salary is under $35,000, or $17.02 per hour. The lowest 10% of RBT salaries are $13.69 per hour, while the top 10% of earners report wages of more than $22 per hour. RBT salaries are influenced by location, demand, and the company you work for.

The average RBT salary is lower than that of other ABA professionals, such as behavior analysts mainly because you only need a high school diploma and an RBT certification to become an RBT.

Years of Experience	RBT Hourly Rate
Less than 1 year	$16.21/hour
1-4 years	$17.18/hour
5-9 years	$18.11/hour
10-19 years	$18.84/hour
20+ years	$20/hour

Factors That Influence An RBT's Salary

A number of factors influence the actual salary you'll make as an RBT, including:

Additional education
Certifications
Skills
Experience
Location
Demand for ABA services

One of the major benefits of working as an RBT is the potential for job growth. If you'd like to pursue further credentials in the field of ABA, starting as a behavior technician will allow you to see your salary increase as you receive additional certifications and experience.

As an RBT, you can choose to become an assistant BCBA if you have a bachelor's degree and additional certification. Assistant BCBAs who have a master's or doctoral degree can become a BCBA or BCBA-D. In short, as an RBT, there's lots of potential job growth in the field of ABA.

RBT Average Salary By State

Rank	State	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Count
1	Hawaii	$54,222	$26.07	91
2	Connecticut	$45,739	$21.99	355
3	Montana	$48,478	$23.31	106
4	Massachusetts	$44,348	$21.32	912
5	Maine	$40,338	$19.39	146
6	West Virginia	$41,284	$19.85	146
7	Illinois	$40,998	$19.71	1,219
8	North Dakota	$42,073	$20.23	70
9	Alaska	$39,710	$19.09	119
10	Vermont	$41,975	$20.18	67
11	New Jersey	$42,006	$20.20	754
12	Rhode Island	$40,474	$19.46	101
13	Iowa	$38,966	$18.73	329
14	California	$45,691	$21.97	2,102
15	New York	$42,320	$20.35	1,021
16	Maryland	$42,515	$20.44	508
17	Washington	$42,307	$20.34	385
18	Pennsylvania	$36,241	$17.42	1,158
19	Alabama	$35,552	$17.09	462
20	Oregon	$41,137	$19.78	205
21	Arizona	$35,949	$17.28	720
22	Wisconsin	$35,427	$17.03	664
23	Mississippi	$38,237	$18.38	134
24	Michigan	$36,607	$17.60	623
25	New Hampshire	$39,093	$18.79	112
26	Nebraska	$37,824	$18.18	146
27	Virginia	$39,421	$18.95	735
28	Florida	$36,020	$17.32	1,628
29	Indiana	$34,902	$16.78	643
30	South Dakota	$34,530	$16.60	106
31	Colorado	$36,311	$17.46	560
32	Minnesota	$37,652	$18.10	450
33	Delaware	$36,676	$17.63	112
34	Wyoming	$35,795	$17.21	39
35	Texas	$35,348	$16.99	1,791
36	District of Columbia	$40,868	$19.65	74
37	South Carolina	$35,326	$16.98	364
38	North Carolina	$35,730	$17.18	713
39	Ohio	$34,699	$16.68	675
40	Georgia	$34,718	$16.69	966
41	Arkansas	$30,812	$14.81	306
42	Tennessee	$32,320	$15.54	553
43	New Mexico	$34,378	$16.53	141
44	Utah	$31,055	$14.93	297
45	Kentucky	$32,764	$15.75	266
46	Missouri	$30,643	$14.73	540
47	Nevada	$32,670	$15.71	136
48	Kansas	$33,115	$15.92	186
49	Louisiana	$29,478	$14.17	284
50	Oklahoma	$30,051	$14.45	197
51	Idaho	$25,291	$12.16	84

Highest Paying Cities For Behavior Technicians

Rank	City	Average Salary	Hourly Rate
1	Urban Honolulu, HI	$54,234	$26.07
2	Campbell, CA	$46,546	$22.38
3	Worcester, MA	$44,464	$21.38
4	Baltimore, MD	$42,536	$20.45
5	New York, NY	$42,350	$20.36
6	Lakewood, WA	$42,347	$20.36
7	Lakewood, NJ	$42,115	$20.25
8	Chicago, IL	$41,072	$19.75
9	Saint Paul, MN	$37,623	$18.09
10	Lakewood, CO	$36,340	$17.47
11	Surprise, AZ	$36,073	$17.34
12	Tampa, FL	$36,054	$17.33
13	Jacksonville, NC	$35,770	$17.20
14	Houston, TX	$35,517	$17.08
15	Fond du Lac, WI	$35,503	$17.07

RBT Salary By Year

Year	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	% Change
2022	$38,000	$18.28	+3.6%
2021	$36,700	$17.63	+2.7%
2020	$35,700	$17.15	+3.7%
2019	$34,400	$16.53	+2.2%
2018	$33,600	$16.16	-0.5%
2017	$33,800	$16.25	+0.0%
2016	$33,800	$16.25	+4.0%
2015	$32,400	$15.59	-0.6%
2014	$32,600	$15.68	+5.3%
2013	$30,900	$14.86	-

RBT Job Growth

A registered behavior technician will witness considerable job expansion between 2022 and 2028 which will provide a measure of financial well-being. The ABA industry will likely grow and so will RBT salaries, especially in metropolitan cities.

Top 5 Best Paying Jobs Related to RBTs

Job Title	Annual Salary	Monthly Pay	Weekly Pay	Hourly Wage
Behavioral Analyst	$93,875	$7,822	$1,805	$45.13
Travel RBT	$85,557	$7,129	$1,645	$41.13
Behavior Analyst	$83,376	$6,948	$1,603	$40.08
Remote Behavior Analyst	$82,937	$6,911	$1,594	$39.87
Applied ABC	$77,384	$6,448	$1,488	$37.20

Frequently Asked Questions

What state pays RBTs the most?

Hawaii pays RBTs the most in the U.S., with an average salary of $54,222 per year, or $26.07 per hour.

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a behavior technician?

If your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in, then you are being paid fairly as a behavior technician.

What type of behavior technician makes the most?

Mental Health Nurse gets paid the most, as they make a median salary of $106,812 per year. The highest paid 10% make $141,000 per year, and the lowest paid 10% make $80,000 per year.