You have already seen the number. $120 to $150 an hour. Up to $249,600 a year. That's the sticker price, and almost nobody pays it. What you actually pay depends on three things, and one of them decides more than the other two combined. Most parents are never told which.
$48 to $95. That's the range across all 50 states and DC in our own model. Arkansas and Mississippi sit at the bottom, $48 to $65. Alaska, California, Hawaii and New York sit at the top, $75 to $95. Where you live moves your number by roughly double.
Where this comes from: Special Learning’s own state rate model, 51 jurisdictions, 2026, the same model behind our ABA Cost Calculator. These are our estimates based on state-level averages, not quotes, and not a published fee schedule. Your provider’s rate sheet and your plan decide the real number. We publish the model rather than a number we cannot attribute, because a wrong number about your child’s care is worse than no number.
Take the hourly rate. Multiply by the hours in your child's plan. That's it.
Hours are a clinical call, not a budget one. Research supports 25 to 40 hours a week of early intensive intervention for children under six. Older children, or milder needs, may call for 10 to 25.
So at 20 hours a week for a year: $48 × 20 × 52 = $49,920 at the low end, $95 × 20 × 52 = $98,800 at the high end. The table below does that for every state. Read it as the number your coverage is working against, not the number you’ll pay.
| State | Per hour | Per year at 20 hrs/wk | Medicaid program |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $50 to $68 | $52,000 to $70,720 | Alabama Medicaid |
| Alaska | $75 to $95 | $78,000 to $98,800 | Alaska Medicaid |
| Arizona | $65 to $85 | $67,600 to $88,400 | AHCCCS |
| Arkansas | $48 to $65 | $49,920 to $67,600 | Arkansas Medicaid |
| California | $75 to $95 | $78,000 to $98,800 | Medi-Cal |
| Colorado | $70 to $90 | $72,800 to $93,600 | Health First Colorado |
| Connecticut | $70 to $90 | $72,800 to $93,600 | HUSKY Health |
| Delaware | $65 to $82 | $67,600 to $85,280 | Delaware Medicaid |
| Florida | $55 to $75 | $57,200 to $78,000 | Florida Medicaid |
| Georgia | $52 to $72 | $54,080 to $74,880 | Georgia Medicaid |
| Hawaii | $75 to $95 | $78,000 to $98,800 | Med-QUEST |
| Idaho | $60 to $78 | $62,400 to $81,120 | Idaho Medicaid |
| Illinois | $55 to $72 | $57,200 to $74,880 | Illinois Medicaid |
| Indiana | $50 to $68 | $52,000 to $70,720 | Indiana Medicaid |
| Iowa | $50 to $65 | $52,000 to $67,600 | Iowa Medicaid |
| Kansas | $50 to $65 | $52,000 to $67,600 | KanCare |
| Kentucky | $50 to $68 | $52,000 to $70,720 | Kentucky Medicaid |
| Louisiana | $50 to $68 | $52,000 to $70,720 | Healthy Louisiana |
| Maine | $62 to $80 | $64,480 to $83,200 | MaineCare |
| Maryland | $68 to $88 | $70,720 to $91,520 | Maryland Medicaid |
| Massachusetts | $72 to $92 | $74,880 to $95,680 | MassHealth |
| Michigan | $55 to $72 | $57,200 to $74,880 | Michigan Medicaid |
| Minnesota | $55 to $72 | $57,200 to $74,880 | Minnesota Medical Assistance |
| Mississippi | $48 to $65 | $49,920 to $67,600 | Mississippi Medicaid |
| Missouri | $50 to $68 | $52,000 to $70,720 | MO HealthNet |
| Montana | $60 to $78 | $62,400 to $81,120 | Montana Medicaid |
| Nebraska | $52 to $68 | $54,080 to $70,720 | Nebraska Medicaid |
| Nevada | $65 to $85 | $67,600 to $88,400 | Nevada Medicaid |
| New Hampshire | $65 to $85 | $67,600 to $88,400 | NH Medicaid |
| New Jersey | $70 to $90 | $72,800 to $93,600 | NJ FamilyCare |
| New Mexico | $60 to $78 | $62,400 to $81,120 | Centennial Care |
| New York | $75 to $95 | $78,000 to $98,800 | NY Medicaid |
| North Carolina | $52 to $72 | $54,080 to $74,880 | NC Medicaid |
| North Dakota | $55 to $72 | $57,200 to $74,880 | ND Medicaid |
| Ohio | $52 to $68 | $54,080 to $70,720 | Ohio Medicaid |
| Oklahoma | $50 to $65 | $52,000 to $67,600 | SoonerCare |
| Oregon | $68 to $88 | $70,720 to $91,520 | Oregon Health Plan |
| Pennsylvania | $65 to $85 | $67,600 to $88,400 | PA Medical Assistance |
| Rhode Island | $68 to $88 | $70,720 to $91,520 | RI Medicaid |
| South Carolina | $50 to $68 | $52,000 to $70,720 | Healthy Connections |
| South Dakota | $52 to $68 | $54,080 to $70,720 | SD Medicaid |
| Tennessee | $50 to $68 | $52,000 to $70,720 | TennCare |
| Texas | $55 to $75 | $57,200 to $78,000 | Texas Medicaid |
| Utah | $60 to $78 | $62,400 to $81,120 | Utah Medicaid |
| Vermont | $65 to $85 | $67,600 to $88,400 | Green Mountain Care |
| Virginia | $55 to $75 | $57,200 to $78,000 | Virginia Medicaid |
| Washington | $72 to $92 | $74,880 to $95,680 | Apple Health |
| West Virginia | $50 to $68 | $52,000 to $70,720 | WV Medicaid |
| Wisconsin | $55 to $72 | $57,200 to $74,880 | BadgerCare Plus |
| Wyoming | $60 to $78 | $62,400 to $81,120 | Wyoming Medicaid |
| District of Columbia | $72 to $92 | $74,880 to $95,680 | DC Medicaid |
Yearly figures are hourly × 20 hours × 52 weeks, before insurance, Medicaid or waiver coverage. Rounded from the same model. Estimates, not quotes.
Estimate your own number → Free, runs in your browser, no account. Put in your state, your hours and your plan type and it does the arithmetic for you.
For most US families, yes. What your plan actually owes you is a different question, and it turns on something most cost pages never mention.
“Is my plan fully insured or self-funded?”
Call the member services number on your insurance card and ask exactly that. It’s the single most consequential distinction in autism coverage. Here’s what each answer means:
Then ask what the plan covers for ABA, whether there are age limits or annual caps, and what pre-authorization it needs.
Medicaid covers ABA for eligible children in every state, under the name in the right-hand column of the table above. Eligibility is income-based and the rules differ by state. Ask your state Medicaid office two things: what it covers for ABA, and what your child needs in order to qualify.
Your child is under 21 and on Medicaid? Then federal law requires your state to cover every service that is medically necessary for them. The benefit is called Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment. The federal Medicaid agency has confirmed ABA is inside it.
It doesn’t depend on your state having an autism mandate. It’s a federal entitlement. In a weak-mandate state it’s often the strongest thing you have.
“My child is under 21 and on Medicaid. I am asking for ABA under EPSDT as a medically necessary service. What documentation do you need?”
Many states also run an autism waiver program with different eligibility from regular Medicaid, worth asking about separately, because families are often told they do not qualify for one when they do qualify for the other.
The table above is United States only, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. Autism doesn’t stop at a border, and neither does this question. Here’s what decides it where you are.
In countries with a national health system or a disability funding scheme, ABA is often funded through that system rather than bought by the hour, and the real constraint is eligibility and waiting time rather than price. In countries without one, families typically pay privately and the hourly logic on this page still applies, the rate differs. The arithmetic doesn’t.
Denial is the normal experience, not the end of it. You have a right to appeal. Appeals succeed often enough that not appealing is the more expensive choice.
If you want help reading your own numbers, Special Learning offers a free 60-minute consultation covering costs, insurance, and finding the right provider. No cost, no obligation.
Request a free consultation → Estimate your cost →
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This page was written with AI assistance and reviewed by Special Learning.