Behavioral analyst vs behavioral therapist

The differences between behavioral analysts and behavioral therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a behavioral analyst and a behavioral therapist. Additionally, a behavioral analyst has an average salary of $69,468, which is higher than the $37,881 average annual salary of a behavioral therapist.

The top three skills for a behavioral analyst include autism, BCBA and applied behavior analysis. The most important skills for a behavioral therapist are autism, social work, and behavior analysis.

Behavioral analyst vs behavioral therapist overview

	Behavioral Analyst	Behavioral Therapist
Yearly salary	$69,468	$37,881
Hourly rate	$33.40	$18.21
Growth rate	12%	14%
Number of jobs	66,538	91,976
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	6	6

What does a behavioral analyst do?

Behavioral Analyst supports and implements a plan to help patients overcome social and mental disabilities. They are involved in assessing patients' behavior in school, homes, or communities, implementing behavioral plans, updating therapy notes to track progress, and communicating with staff, families, and teachers in relaying the client's needs. A behavioral analyst must have good knowledge in applied behavior analysis, proficient report writing, and have comprehension in creating individualized education programs to help improve client behavior.

What does a behavioral therapist do?

A behavioral therapist is responsible for supporting patients with various developmental disorders and behavioral difficulties. Behavioral therapists conduct counseling to the patients, identifying their personal and social challenges, and administering treatment plans to modify unusual behaviors. They also coordinate with other medical professionals to plan activities and therapy sessions for patients' needs. A behavioral therapist maintains a record of the patients' progress, help them on developing social engagement, and adjust treatment strategies depending on the patients' noticeable changes.

Behavioral analyst vs behavioral therapist salary

Behavioral analysts and behavioral therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Behavioral Analyst	Behavioral Therapist
Average salary	$69,468	$37,881
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $112,000	Between $27,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Portland, OR	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	New York
Best paying company	Therapy Source	George C. Grape Community Hospital
Best paying industry	Health Care	Energy

Differences between behavioral analyst and behavioral therapist education

There are a few differences between a behavioral analyst and a behavioral therapist in terms of educational background:

	Behavioral Analyst	Behavioral Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	Northwestern University	California State University - Long Beach

Behavioral analyst vs behavioral therapist demographics

Here are the differences between behavioral analysts' and behavioral therapists' demographics:

	Behavioral Analyst	Behavioral Therapist
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%	Male, 23.6% Female, 76.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between behavioral analyst and behavioral therapist duties and responsibilities

Behavioral analyst example responsibilities.

Observe patients and strategically prepare and manage clinical analysis of individuals and their progress in conjunction with formulate behavior goals.
Collaborate with treatment team including client, parents and caregivers, outside professionals, ABA's, and co-workers.
Assist high functioning autism children develop academic and social skills need to be successful by: helping with homework and playing games
Prepare young children with autism to succeed in mainstream educational environments.
Facilitate positive consumer and personal relationships base on positive consumer and personal relationships base on courtesy, compassion, and respect.
Provide model activities and conduct treatment interventions establish by the IIC define in individual treatment plans.

Behavioral therapist example responsibilities.

Manage behavioral program for each client assign (CPI training).
Modele self-help and independent skills to assist autistic and developmentally delay children achieving their establish goals.
Assist the BCBA in assessing new clients, supervising line therapists, providing parent training, and formulating client specific programs.
Analyze and interpret results through graphing data collect from individual sessions.
Work collaboratively with BCBA's and direct line staff to ensure care plan and procedures are being implement consistently and uniformly.
Communicate with school administration, school teacher's and teaching assistants with helping create IEP's and behavior plans for individuals.

Behavioral analyst vs behavioral therapist skills

Common behavioral analyst skills

Autism, 24%
BCBA, 16%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 14%
Developmental Disabilities, 7%
Behavioral Therapy, 6%
ABA, 6%

Common behavioral therapist skills

Autism, 15%
Social Work, 12%
Behavior Analysis, 11%
Patients, 10%
Provide ABA, 6%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 5%

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Behavioral Analyst vs Behavioral Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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