Salaries for Applied Behavior Analysts in Wisconsin

Since 2009 Wisconsin has made two important modifications to laws pertaining to the reimbursement of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA®s) for autism treatments:

• The legislature added behavior analysts who have a BCBA® credential and state license as professionals who are allowed to provide autism services
• The legislature defined autism as a developmental disability

These modifications combined with an existing law that specifies no health insurance company can deny or cancel coverage based on a developmental disability means that today virtually all of the state’s 5.77 million residents have access to applied behavior analysis therapy for the treatment of autism.

Expanded coverage for autism treatment coming into force in 2009 has led to an increased number of families who seek out autism diagnoses, resulting in a bottleneck as the supply of BCBA®s struggles to catch up with demand. As stated in a June 2016 article in the Wisconsin State Journal, “An increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism, and a state mandate for insurance coverage of autism treatment, has led to an expansion of autism treatment services…”

An analysis of the median salary for the 10 largest cities in Wisconsin reveals that with a decade of work experience BCBA®s earn $58,003.

• Waukesha has the highest median entry-level salary in the state, followed by Milwaukee
• Madison has the highest median salary in the state for those with 10 years of experience, followed by Racine
• Janesville has the largest median salary increase over the initial 10 years of practice

Salaries for Experienced Behavior Analyst in Wisconsin’s Major Cities

Shown here are salary figures for BCBA®s with 10-years of experience in Wisconsin’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).

Milwaukee – $58,431 – $75,000

• Company – $60,929
• Private practice – $60,631
• Government – $60,577
• School district – $58,828
• Non-profit – $57,431

Madison – $59,644 – $77,000

• Company – $62,334
• Private practice – $62,016
• Government – $61,968
• School district – $60,180
• Non-profit – $58,761

Green Bay – $57,379 – $75,000

• Company – $60,581
• Private practice – $60,175
• Government – $59,944
• School district – $57,825
• Non-profit – $56,983

Kenosha – $59,460 – $77,000

• Company – $63,598
• Private practice – $63,146
• Government – $62,816
• School district – $60,452
• Non-profit – $49,615

Racine – $59,606 – $79,000

• Company – $62,806
• Government – $62,586
• Private practice – $62,502
• School district – $61,023
• Non-profit – $59,180

Appleton – $58,238 – $76,000

• Company – $60,971
• Private practice – $60,622
• Government – $60,495
• School district – $58,554
• Non-profit – $57,360

Waukesha – $58,404 – $76,000

• Company – $60,586
• Private practice – $60,324
• Government – $60,232
• School district – $58,470
• Non-profit – $57,159

Oshkosh – $55,249 – $71,000

• Company – $59,326
• Private practice – $58,757
• Government – $58,506
• School district – $56,189
• Non-profit – $55,612

Eau Claire – $56,229 – $74,000

• Company – $60,371
• Private practice – $59,756
• Government – $59,503
• School district – $57,059
• Non-profit – $56,456

Janesville – $57,388 – $75,000

• Company – $61,179
• Private practice – $60,821
• Government – $60,656
• School district – $58,668
• Non-profit – $57,582

Starting Salaries for Board Certified Behavior Analyst in Wisconsin by City

Shown here are entry-level BCBA® salary figures for the largest cities in Wisconsin 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).

Milwaukee – $49,071 – $64,000

• Company – $51,326
• Private practice – $51,091
• Government – $50,983
• School district – $49,490
• Non-profit – $48,376

Madison – $48,147 – $62,000

• Company – $51,036
• Private practice – $50,787
• Government – $50,693
• School district – $49,221
• Non-profit – $48,111

Green Bay – $45,426 – $59,000

• Company – $47,633
• Private practice – $47,324
• Government – $47,109
• School district – $45,422
• Non-profit – $44,800

Kenosha – $48,340 – $63,000

• Company – $50,736
• Private practice – $50,390
• Government – $50,075
• School district – $48,150
• Non-profit – $47,542

Racine – $48,708 – $65,000

• Company – $50,738
• Government – $50,528
• Private practice – $50,505
• School district – $49,240
• Non-profit – $47,803

Appleton – $46,672 – $61,000

• Company – $48,766
• Private practice – $48,499
• Government – $48,352
• School district – $46,775
• Non-profit – $45,870

Waukesha – $49,065 – $64,000

• Company – $51,040
• Private practice – $50,835
• Government – $50,699
• School district – $49,197
• Non-profit – $48,151

Oshkosh – $45,023 – $58,000

• Company – $47,561
• Private practice – $47,117
• Government – $46,877
• School district – $44,995
• Non-profit – $44,578

Eau Claire – $46,630 – $62,000

• Company – $49,085
• Private practice – $48,599
• Government – $48,337
• School district – $46,330
• Non-profit – $45,896

Janesville – $44,871 – $59,000

• Company – $46,730
• Private practice – $46,464
• Government – $46,322
• School district – $44,773
• Non-profit – $43,975

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.

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