You’re looking at two offers. One is in a major metro area where you have family and friends. The salary is solid. The other is in a smaller city, three states away, but the salary is $8,000 higher and the practice is a newer, growing organization.
The choice seems obvious until you think about what it actually means to build a career in each location.
This is where location strategy matters more than most BCBAs realize.
The metro area is likely a care desert in reverse. Major cities have high BCBA density. That’s good for choice and competition (practices have to keep you around). It’s bad for scarcity and leverage. If you want a raise in two years, there are 30 other BCBAs nearby willing to take your salary. If you want to change practices or specialize, you’re competing in a crowded market.
The smaller city is likely BCBA-scarce. That sounds lonely until you realize it’s actually strategic. In undersupplied markets, you have leverage. Practices need you more than you need them. If you negotiate for higher pay or better terms, they’re more likely to agree because they can’t just replace you. If you want to move to a different practice, you have options because everyone’s hiring. You’re not competing with 30 other candidates.
The career trajectory is different, too. In a dense market, you can jump between practices easily, which means you can optimize your role every 2 to 3 years. That’s great if you’re willing to move around. It’s exhausting if you want stability. In a sparse market, you build deeper roots. You stay longer at one practice, build relationships, develop specialized expertise, and become known in the community. That’s harder if you want flexibility, but it’s easier if you want to build something.
Understanding the market you’re entering matters for your negotiating power and your growth.
Before you accept an offer, research the BCBA density in that area. Use the TYGES care deserts research or similar resources to see whether that market is oversupplied or undersupplied. If it’s undersupplied, you have more leverage than you realize. If it’s oversupplied, you need to lock in good terms because you won’t have leverage later.
Think about what you actually want in the next five years. If it’s stability and deep relationships in a community, the smaller market might be better even if it pays less. If it’s optionality and the freedom to move, you might prefer the dense market despite the competition.
The offer you take isn’t just about the practice or the salary. It’s also about the market you’re choosing to work in. Choose strategically.
