Behavioral Support Specialist Salary in the United States

How much does a Behavioral Support Specialist make in the United States?

As of April 01, 2026, the average salary for a Behavioral Support Specialist in the United States is $67,026 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $32.

However, a Behavioral Support Specialist's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $80,150
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $59,227 to $73,896
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $52,127
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View as table View as graph 25% $59,227 10% $52,127 90% $80,150 75% $73,896 $67,026 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Behavioral Support Specialist Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary
Monthly
Pay
Weekly
Pay
Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $73,896 $6,158 $1,421 $36
Average $67,026 $5,585 $1,289 $32
25th Percentile $59,227 $4,936 $1,139 $28
Check out Behavioral Support Specialist Job Openings in the United States
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Key Factors That Influence Behavioral Support Specialist Salaries

A Behavioral Support Specialist's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Behavioral Support Specialist Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Behavioral Support Specialist's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $65,184
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $65,401
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $68,113
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $71,168
  • Expert (over 8 years): $71,386
Levels Salary
Entry Level Behavioral Support Specialist$65,184
Intermediate Level Behavioral Support Specialist$65,401
Senior Level Behavioral Support Specialist$68,113
Specialist Level Behavioral Support Specialist$71,168
Expert Level Behavioral Support Specialist$71,386
$65,184 0 yr
$65,401 < 2 yrs
$68,113 2-4 yrs
$71,168 5-8 yrs
$71,386 > 8 yrs
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What Am I Worth?

Top Paying Cities for Behavioral Support Specialists

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $84,540
  • San Francisco: $83,708
  • Oakland: $81,852

What Skills Can Increase a Behavioral Support Specialist's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Leadership (Mentioned in 5.26% Job Postings): Knowledge of and ability to employ effective strategies that motivate and guide other members within our business to achieve optimum results.
  • Discharge Planning (Mentioned in 2.67% Job Postings): Developing a personalized plan to ensure the smooth transition of a patient from a health organization to the patient's home or residential care.
  • Acute Care (Mentioned in 1.52% Job Postings): Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery. In medical terms, care for acute health conditions is the opposite from chronic care, or longer term care. Acute care services are generally delivered by teams of health care professionals from a range of medical and surgical specialties. Acute care may require a stay in a hospital emergency department, ambulatory surgery center, urgent care centre or other short-term stay facility, along with the assistance of diagnostic services, surgery, or follow-up outpatient care in the community. Hospital-based acute inpatient care typically has the goal of discharging patients as soon as they are deemed healthy and stable. Acute care settings include emergency department, intensive care, coronary care, cardiology, neonatal intensive care, and many general areas where the patient could become acutely unwell and require stabilization and transfer to another higher dependency unit for further treatment.
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Leadership 5.26%
Discharge Planning 2.67%
Acute Care 1.52%
What skills can make your compensation higher?
Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Behavioral Support Specialist's salary.
  • Resident Service: Can increase your salary by up to 6%.
  • Clinical Social Work: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
  • Care Management: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Resident Service
$71,047
6%
Clinical Social Work
$69,707
4%
Care Management
$69,707
4%
Presentation
$69,707
4%
Psychiatric
$69,036
3%
Pediatric
$69,036
3%
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How Education impacts a Behavioral Support Specialist's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Behavioral Support Specialists enter the field with a Master's Degree or MBA degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for a Behavioral Support Specialist with a Master's Degree or MBA is between $69,892 and $73,705).

Behavioral Support Specialist Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Behavioral Support Specialist
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 0.2%
High School 0.2%
Associates 1.4%
Bachelors 7.4%
Masters 89.3%
Doctorate 1.8%
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Behavioral Support Specialist Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Behavioral Support Specialist's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on April 01, 2026

Salary Trends for Behavioral Support Specialist

Salaries for a Behavioral Support Specialist can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary decreased from $89,551 in 2023 to around $88,299 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Behavioral Support Specialist salary trends, .

Average Annual Salary of Behavioral Support Specialist Over Time

2022
$???
2023
$89,551
2024
$89,715
2025
$88,299
2026
$???
2027
$???
Year Average Annual Salary
2022
View More
2023 $89,551
2024 $89,715
2025 $88,299
2026
View More
2027
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Most common benefits for Behavioral Support Specialist

Social Security
401(k)
Disability
Healthcare
Pension
Time Off (days)
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Common company salaries for Behavioral Support Specialist

Here are companies hiring for Behavioral Support Specialist and their salaries, click below for more details.

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Ready to take the next step in your career? Browse thousands of current Behavioral Support Specialist job openings on our job board. Use the search bar below to find your perfect match.

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Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.

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