If you run an ABA agency, you already know the feeling. You have a child on your caseload who needs services. You have authorization. You have a family waiting. What you do not have is a therapist.
That frustration is not just yours. It is playing out in every state in the country — and a new report from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) shows just how wide the gap has become.
Demand for Behavior Analysts Hit a 15-Year High in 2025
According to the BACB's 2026 Employment Demand Report — compiled using labor market data from over 65,000 online job posting sources — demand for Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) reached its highest level ever recorded in 2025, with 132,307 job postings requiring or preferring BCBA certification nationwide.
To put that in perspective: in 2010 there were just 789 such postings. That is a growth of more than 16,700% in fifteen years.
The year-over-year increase from 2024 to 2025 alone was 28% — meaning demand is not just high, it is accelerating.
Where the Demand Is Hottest
The BACB report breaks down demand by state and the numbers tell a clear story. Here are the top 10 states by BCBA job postings in 2025:
| State | 2025 Postings | Change from 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| California | 20,258 | +3% |
| New Jersey | 8,139 | +58% |
| Texas | 7,792 | +32% |
| Massachusetts | 7,315 | +19% |
| North Carolina | 6,874 | +63% |
| Georgia | 6,471 | +50% |
| Florida | 5,537 | +18% |
| Pennsylvania | 5,012 | +31% |
| New York | 4,902 | +62% |
| Illinois | 4,835 | +3% |
California alone accounts for 15% of all BCBA demand in the country. New Jersey — a state SHMerapy knows well — saw a 58% surge in postings year over year, the sharpest increase among the top five states.
But the growth story is not limited to the coasts. Some of the most striking increases came from states that are often overlooked in conversations about ABA workforce shortages:
- South Carolina: +102% year over year
- Utah: +94%
- Nebraska: +81%
- Missouri: +76%
- New Hampshire: +63%
- Minnesota: +62%
- New York: +62%
These are not small markets warming up slowly. These are states where demand nearly doubled in a single year.
The BCaBA Picture: More Complex But Still Critical
BCaBA demand tells a more complicated story. After a remarkable 131% increase from 2023 to 2024, overall BCaBA postings declined in 2025. The top five states for BCaBA demand in 2025 were California, Florida, Michigan, Texas, and Pennsylvania — and most saw year-over-year decreases.
However several states bucked that trend sharply:
- New Hampshire: +294%
- New York: +23%
- Missouri: +21%
- Indiana: +15%
- Michigan: +7%
The national BCaBA decline likely reflects a broader credentialing pipeline issue — there simply are not enough qualified BCaBAs being trained fast enough to keep up with where the field was heading. This makes efficient staffing and placement of existing BCaBAs even more critical.
What This Means for Families
Behind every job posting is a child waiting for services.
ABA therapy has decades of research supporting its effectiveness for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Early, consistent intervention produces measurably better long-term outcomes in communication, social skills, adaptive behavior, and independence.
But a credential requirement on a job board does not help a family sitting on a six-month waitlist.
The staffing shortage is not an abstract workforce problem. It is a child not getting therapy. It is a parent calling agency after agency and hearing the same answer: "We don't have anyone in your area right now."
What This Means for Agencies
For ABA agencies the numbers above represent both a challenge and an opportunity.
The challenge is obvious: with 132,307 BCBA postings competing for a finite pool of credentialed professionals, agencies that rely on traditional recruiting — job boards, word of mouth, staffing agencies — are at a structural disadvantage. The professionals they need are being courted by dozens of competitors simultaneously.
The opportunity is that agencies willing to move faster, match smarter, and remove friction from the hiring process will win. A BCBA who receives five invitations on the same day will respond to the one that feels most relevant to their location, availability, and specialty — not the one that came through a generic recruiter.
This is exactly the problem SHMerapy was built to solve.
How SHMerapy Helps
SHMerapy is an ABA therapy staffing platform that connects agencies with credentialed RBTs, BCaBAs, and BCBAs based on what actually matters: real-time drive time, availability, credential match, and scheduling fit.
When an agency posts a case on SHMerapy the platform does not return a list of everyone within 50 miles. It calculates actual drive times using live traffic data, filters by credential and schedule, and surfaces only the therapists who can realistically take the case. Agencies send invitations. Therapists accept. Everyone communicates through the platform.
No job boards. No recruiters. No waiting weeks for a response.
In states like New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, and New York — where demand surged 50-63% in a single year — speed and precision in matching are not nice to have. They are the difference between a filled case and a child on a waitlist.
The States to Watch in 2026
Based on the BACB data the states most likely to see continued explosive demand growth in 2026 are those with the sharpest recent increases and historically underserved populations:
High growth, high urgency:
- New Jersey (+58% in 2025)
- North Carolina (+63%)
- Georgia (+50%)
- New York (+62%)
- Maryland (+57%)
Emerging markets to watch:
- South Carolina (+102%)
- Utah (+94%)
- Nebraska (+81%)
- Missouri (+76%)
- Minnesota (+62%)
If you are an agency operating in any of these states the window to build your therapist network before demand outpaces supply even further is right now.
For Therapists: Your Skills Are Needed Everywhere
If you are a credentialed RBT, BCaBA, or BCBA reading this, the data above tells you something important: you have more leverage than you may realize.
132,307 postings. One of you.
You deserve to choose cases that fit your schedule, your commute, and your specialty — not take whatever comes your way because you heard about it through a former colleague. SHMerapy puts that control in your hands. Build your profile, set your availability and travel radius, and let agencies come to you with cases that actually fit your life.
A Final Word
The BACB data is clear: demand for ABA professionals is at an all-time high and still climbing. The families who need services are not going anywhere. The children who benefit from early intervention are not going anywhere.
What the field needs is better infrastructure — faster matching, smarter staffing, and tools that help the right therapist find the right case without months of searching on both sides.
That is what we are building at SHMerapy.
Source: Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2026). US employment demand for behavior analysts: 2010–2025. Data compiled by Lightcast® from over 65,000 online job posting sources.