Behavioral health technician salary

Open behavioral health technician jobs post a median of $22 an hour, with the middle half paying $20–$25: about $45,800 a year full time. Measured from 468 jobs at 154 employers that state their pay, read from each employer's own job board.

Median posted /hr

Middle half /hr

A year, full time

estimate, 2,080 hours

BLS median /hr

May 2025

The jobs themselves: Behavioral health technician jobs

What behavioral health technicians are paid

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint). The middle half of employers' rates is in the darker color.

Posted hourly rates of 468 open jobs. The chart spans the 2nd to the 98th percentile; the lowest rate posted is $14.92, the highest $52.56.

Posted on open jobs

$20–$25/hr

Middle half of 256 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $22. 38% of the 1,231 open behavioral health technician jobs state an hourly rate. 6 more state an "up to" ceiling, a weekly travel rate, a per-visit fee, or a rate far from the rest (a differential read as pay), left out.

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Behavioral health technician pay by employer

What each employer posts for behavioral health technicians, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first. An employer with at least 5 such jobs has a page of its own with every range it posts.

Employer	Median posted	Posted range	Jobs stating pay
Open Sky Community Services	$20	$20–$22.64	80
Adventist HealthCare	$23	$19.64–$26	16
Vinfen	$22	$19.22–$28.55	15
Northstar Behavioral Health Network	$18	$17–$19	12
Endeavor Health	$31.75	$21.10–$40.71	10
UMass Memorial Health	$24.25	$15–$32.82	10
Fairview Health Services	$30.75	$19.86–$35.56	9
MultiCare Health System	$33	$18.94–$44.12	8
Cascadia Health	$23.25	$21.90–$24.81	8
Mass General Brigham	$26	$22.28–$33.34	7
Cortica	$24.50	$20.08–$33.37	7
University of Rochester Medical Center	$22.50	$19.15–$33.60	7
Hackensack Meridian Health	$21.50	$20.68–$21.46	7
Universal Health Services	$19.50	$16.25–$25	7
Brown University Health	$22.50	$17–$32.96	6
Mercy Haven	$20	$20	6
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services	$18.75	$15.57–$21.79	6
Avera Health	$27.50	$19.75–$33	5
Advocate Health	$27.25	$19.80–$32.80	5
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health	$25.75	$20–$27.36	5
Riverside Health	$21.75	$18.90–$26.55	5
Acadia Healthcare	$20.25	$15–$23	5
COMHAR	$17.50	$17.36–$18	5
Kaiser Permanente	$44.25	$22.31–$52.56	4
RWJBarnabas Health	$24.75	$18.29–$35.57	4
NRT \|Foundry Treatment Center	$22.75	$19–$25.76	4
Children's Home Society of South Dakota	$20	$20–$22	4
Avenues Recovery	$18.25	$17–$21	4
Brightli	$17	$16.50–$18	4
Essentia Health	$29	$17.63–$34.63	3
Shodair	$25	$25	3
Therapy Smarts	$24	$18–$27	3
Boston Medical Center	$23	$18.42–$27.37	3
Northern Tier Counseling	$23	$19–$27.62	3
CommonSpirit Health	$22.25	$15–$38.83	3
DePaul	$22.25	$22–$22.30	3
HealthTrust Workforce Solutions	$22	$14.92–$50.70	3
AtlantiCare	$21.75	$17.57–$25.59	3
Valleywise Health System	$21.75	$17.54–$25.87	3
Ain Dah Yung Our Home Center	$21.50	$20–$22	3

Median of each employer's own jobs (a range at its midpoint), and the lowest and highest rate it posts. Jobs stating pay link to the employer's open jobs.

Behavioral health technician pay by state

States where at least 8 open jobs from 3 employers state an hourly rate, highest median first. Each opens the state's own page, with its towns and employers.

State	Median posted	Middle half	BLS median	Jobs
Washington	$29	$24.50–$34.50	$25.23 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	10
California	$26.50	$23.50–$33.50	$23.62 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	24
Oregon	$25.50	$24.75–$28	$28.76 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	11
New York	$23.75	$21.25–$29.50	$27.92 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	35
South Dakota	$23.50	$20.25–$26.25	n/a	10
Massachusetts	$22.75	$21–$24.50	$25 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	126
New Jersey	$22.50	$21–$25	$25.98 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	21
Illinois	$22.50	$20.75–$30	$22.21 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	20
Colorado	$22.25	$20.50–$24.25	$22.81 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	10
Minnesota	$21.75	$20.50–$25.25	$19.37 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	34
Pennsylvania	$21.50	$20–$22.75	$21.12 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	25
Virginia	$21.25	$20.25–$23	$23.23 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	17
Maryland	$20.75	$19.75–$22.75	$21.89 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	23
North Carolina	$20.75	$19.50–$23.75	$19.54 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	10
Tennessee	$19.75	$17.50–$20.50	$19.13 (source: BLS OEWS, state medians, opens in a new tab)	8

Median and middle half of employers' rates in the state. BLS medians are for the occupation's main SOC code in the state (May 2025).

Night shift behavioral health technician pay

Where one employer posts both night and other behavioral health technician jobs in the same state (31 such employers and states), the night jobs post the same base rate as the rest (the median gap is $0): most employers state their night differential apart from the base pay, so check the posting for it.

Employer, state	Night jobs, median	Other jobs, median
Adventist HealthCare, MD	$22.75 (9)	$23 (7)
Northstar Behavioral Health Network, MN	$18 (3)	$18 (9)
Vinfen, MA	$19.25 (2)	$22.25 (9)
Endeavor Health, IL	$25.75 (1)	$31.75 (9)
UMass Memorial Health, MA	$24.50 (3)	$22.25 (7)
Hackensack Meridian Health, NJ	$20.75 (1)	$21.50 (6)
Mass General Brigham, MA	$28 (1)	$26 (6)
Mercy Haven, NY	$20 (1)	$20 (5)

A job counts as a night job when its title names nights ("Nights", "NOC", "7p-7a"). Jobs in brackets.

Behavioral health technician jobs that state a yearly salary

Some jobs state a salary for the year instead of an hourly rate. They are measured on their own here, never converted.

6 open jobs from 4 employers state a yearly salary: a median of $54,000, the middle half $52,500 to $59,000, from $40,091 to $69,000 posted.

Best-paid open behavioral health technician jobs

The open jobs posting the highest hourly rates tonight, at most two from one employer.

Psychiatric Technician Addiction Medicine and Recovery Services
Kaiser Permanente · Santa Clara, CA· 2w ago
$48.74–$52.56/hr
Mental Health Tech - Contract - Nights - Westbrook, ME
HealthTrust Workforce Solutions · Westbrook, ME· 3w ago
$48.75–$50.7/hr
Psychiatric Technician
Kaiser Permanente · Fremont, CA· 1w ago
$46.42–$50.06/hr
Licensed Psych Tech
Kaweah Health · Visalia, CA· 2mo ago
$30.17–$45.26/hr
Mental Health Technician
MultiCare Health System · Tacoma, WA· 2d ago
$26.69–$44.12/hr
Mental Health Technician - Adolescent Psych
MultiCare Health System · Tacoma, WA· 2w ago
$26.69–$44.12/hr
Residential Counselor - Swing Shift
Downtown Emergency Service Center · Seattle, WA· 5d ago
$32.72–$36.12/hr
Mental Health Worker, Mental Health
Sutter Health · Berkeley, CA· 4d ago
$32.31–$36.20/hr
Mental Health Associate II - Evanston Hospital - Evening Shift
Endeavor Health · Evanston, IL· 2w ago
$27.14–$40.71/hr
Licensed Psychiatric Technician, Full-Time Nights, Psychiatric Services
Huntington Health · Pasadena, CA· 1mo ago
$26.85–$40.94/hr
Mental Health Worker
Maimonides Health · Brooklyn, NY· 2w ago
$28.95–$38.08/hr
Behavioral Health Aide
Catholic Health (Long Island) · West Islip, NY· 5d ago
$33.45/hr

Every open job: Behavioral health technician jobs

What BLS measures

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys what people employed in the occupation earn, at every level of experience. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered, so the two measure different things.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation	10th pct	25th pct	Median	75th pct	90th pct	Employed
Psychiatric Technicians (29-2053)	$16.87 (source: BLS OEWS, Psychiatric Technicians, opens in a new tab)	$18.48 (source: BLS OEWS, Psychiatric Technicians, opens in a new tab)	$21.70 (source: BLS OEWS, Psychiatric Technicians, opens in a new tab)	$24.12 (source: BLS OEWS, Psychiatric Technicians, opens in a new tab)	$29.21 (source: BLS OEWS, Psychiatric Technicians, opens in a new tab)	156,960 (source: BLS OEWS, Psychiatric Technicians, opens in a new tab)

The posted median ($22) is $0.30 above the BLS median ($21.70 (source: BLS OEWS May 2025, Psychiatric Technicians, opens in a new tab)). Posted ranges run from a new hire's rate to an experienced one's, and their midpoint is counted here.

Behavioral health technician salary: common questions

How much does a behavioral health technician make an hour?

Open behavioral health technician jobs on CareJobs.Now that state an hourly rate post a median of $22, with the middle half between $20–$25 (468 jobs from 154 employers, each employer's advertised range counted once). Postings advertise a base rate, usually before shift differentials and bonuses. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics measured a median of $21.70/hr ($45,130 a year) for psychiatric technicians in May 2025.

How much does a behavioral health technician make a year?

At the posted median of $22 an hour, full time (2,080 hours a year) comes to about $45,800, and the middle half to $41,600 to $52,000. That is arithmetic on the hourly rate, not a salary any job states. 6 open jobs state a yearly salary instead, a median of $54,000.

Which states pay behavioral health technicians the most?

By the median hourly rate open jobs post: Washington ($29), California ($26.50) and Oregon ($25.50). The lowest: Tennessee ($19.75), North Carolina ($20.75) and Maryland ($20.75). Each state's page breaks its pay down by town and employer.

Which employers pay behavioral health technicians the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least 5 open jobs: MultiCare Health System ($33), Endeavor Health ($31.75) and Fairview Health Services ($30.75). The employer table lists the 40 employers with the most jobs stating pay.

Do night shift behavioral health technicians earn more?

Not in the base rate employers post: where one employer posts both night and other behavioral health technician jobs in the same state (31 such employers and states), the median gap is $0. Most state their night differential separately in the posting.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay CareJobs.Now's open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 468 of 1,231 open behavioral health technician jobs (38%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none, "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out, and each employer's advertised range counts once in the median, so no single employer sets it.

More pay by job: Mental health

Behavioral health technician jobs →Every healthcare salary →Pay explorer →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used: a plain hourly or yearly figure or range in US dollars, read from the job's own posting. A range counts at its midpoint. In the median and the middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; an employer's own figures count its jobs one by one. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates under a third or over three times the occupation's median are left out. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours (40 a week). A job counts under its occupation and every occupation above it, and under every state it is open in. A page exists while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate. BLS figures are as published.

CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Psychiatric Technicians (SOC 29-2053), published May 15, 2026
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Psychiatric Aides (SOC 31-1133), published May 15, 2026
BLS OEWS May 2025: Psychiatric Technicians by state, published May 15, 2026
BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035: Psychiatric Technicians (Occupational Outlook Handbook), published August 27, 2026
BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035: Psychiatric Aides (Occupational Outlook Handbook), published August 27, 2026

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). Behavioral health technician salary. Data as of October 24, 2026. https://carejobs.now/salaries/behavioral-health-technician

How the board counts