As recently as a few months ago Oklahomans had to move to other states to be eligible for insurance plans that covered basic evidence-based treatment for autism. On November 1, 2016 the state became the 44th in the nation to require insurance companies to provide coverage for autism services like applied behavior analysis (ABA). This happened when new legislation signed into law on May 4 took effect.
Since then all insurance policies issued in the state must cover the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. This applies to all children younger than nine years of age, or provides for a maximum of six years of treatment for children diagnosed after their fourth birthday. The annual maximum reimbursement per year per child is $25,000.
Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA®s) are an example of one type of professional who are qualified to provide insurance-covered ABA treatments.
Before this new law was passed the average annual salary for a BCBA® with 10 years of experience was $56,151. That figure already represents more than a $1,000-per-year salary increase from the entry-level. Today salary figures are likely to be receive an additional boost as more families are able to access ABA treatments that are newly covered by insurance.
- Oklahoma City has the highest median salary for entry-level BCBA®s, followed by Edmond and Norman
- Oklahoma City has the highest median salary for BCBA®s with 10 years of experience, followed by Tulsa and Edmond
- The sector with the highest average salary is company, followed by private practice and government
- Midwest City has the largest salary increase over a BCBA®’s first decade of employment, followed by Tulsa
Salaries for Experienced Behavior Analyst in Oklahoma’s Major Cities
Shown here are salary figures for BCBA®s with 10-years of experience in Oklahoma’s largest cities. Each list provides an overall salary range (from median to 90th-percentile) for behavior analysts with 10-years of experience, followed by the average in each employment sector (December 2016).
Oklahoma City – $57,694 – $78,000
- Company – $61,780
- Private practice – $61,154
- Government – $60,878
- School district – $58,382
- Non-profit – $57,629
Tulsa – $57,491 – $76,000
- Company – $61,337
- Private practice – $60,846
- Government – $60,650
- School district – $58,437
- Non-profit – $57,449
Norman – $56,324 – $75,000
- Company – $59,950
- Private practice – $59,243
- Government – $58,729
- School district – $55,813
- Non-profit – $55,801
Broken Arrow – $55,834 – $73,000
- Company – $59,367
- Private practice – $58,733
- Government – $58,343
- School district – $55,708
- Non-profit – $55,413
Lawton – $54,908 – $75,000
- Company – $57,613
- Private practice – $56,753
- Government – $56,416
- School district – $53,677
- Non-profit – $53,348
Edmond – $57,321 – $78,000
- Company – $61,551
- Private practice – $60,679
- Government – $60,384
- School district – $57,659
- Non-profit – $57,110
Moore – $52,677 – $70,000
- Company – $55,268
- Private practice – $54,474
- Government – $54,124
- School district – $51,411
- Non-profit – $51,373
Midwest City – $56,961 – $78,000
- Company – $59,725
- Private practice – $59,153
- Government – $58,833
- School district – $56,338
- Non-profit – $55,626
Starting Salaries for Board Certified Behavior Analyst in Oklahoma by City
Shown here are entry-level BCBA® salary figures for the largest cities in Oklahoma by sector. Each list provides an overall salary range (from median to 90th-percentile) for each city, followed by the average in each employment sector (December 2016).
Oklahoma City – $47,399 – $64,000
- Company – $48,981
- Private practice – $48,497
- Government – $48,237
- School district – $46,222
- Non-profit – $45,674
Tulsa – $46,063 – $61,000
- Company – $47,989
- Private practice – $47,615
- Government – $47,433
- School district – $45,668
- Non-profit – $44,934
Norman – $46,120 – $61,000
- Company – $47,519
- Private practice – $46,970
- Government – $46,520
- Non-profit – $44,212
- School district – $44,170
Broken Arrow – $44,572 – $59,000
- Company – $46,743
- Private practice – $46,255
- Government – $45,915
- School district – $43,802
- Non-profit – $43,614
Lawton – $44,034 – $60,000
- Company – $46,602
- Private practice – $45,917
- Government – $45,600
- School district – $43,350
- Non-profit – $43,134
Edmond – $46,735 – $64,000
- Company – $48,803
- Private practice – $48,124
- Government – $47,847
- School district – $45,650
- Non-profit – $45,263
Moore – $44,207 – $59,000
- Company – $45,366
- Private practice – $44,726
- Government – $44,390
- Non-profit – $42,156
- School district – $42,136
Midwest City – $45,485 – $62,000
- Company – $47,999
- Private practice – $47,552
- Government – $47,246
- School district – $45,200
- Non-profit – $44,684
Salary data for entry-level and experienced applied behavior analysts was sourced from PayScale.com in December 2016. Using its daily-updated database of over 54 million salary profiles, PayScale’s proprietary algorithms provide access to real-time salary information.