The CMS NPI registry’s 2026-W34 file captures a behavioral health market expanding at extraordinary speed: 6,249 records were originally enumerated in 2026, while 5,629 records were newly added this week. The file contains 10,244 records overall, including 8,810 individuals and 1,434 organizations . The numbers reflect both workforce entry and intense provider-organization activity, but they should not be read as a cumulative count of all behavioral health professionals. California Leads a Concentrated Field California dominates the geographic picture, with 1,749 providers , or 17% of the week’s records. Texas follows with 660 providers , narrowly ahead of Florida’s 659 . Michigan recorded 552 , while Ohio had 491 and Maryland 485 . North Carolina, New York, Colorado and Illinois also rank among the leading states. California’s lead reflects its size, large pediatric population and extensive behavioral health infrastructure. Florida’s showing is especially significant for ABA operators. The state’s Medicaid ABA reimbursement program, high demand for autism services and concentration of school-age children create strong incentives for practitioners and organizations to establish a billable presence there. Year-to-date enrollment points in the same direction: California has 1,137 new providers , followed by Texas with 408 , Maryland with 402 and Michigan with 379 . The distribution also exposes gaps. The leading states combine population scale with mature payer and provider systems, while many smaller and rural states appear in far lower volumes. Registry activity therefore signals where organizations are building capacity, not necessarily where families face the greatest unmet need. RBTs Anchor the Workforce RBT is the largest primary taxonomy, with 3,172 RBTs , or 31% of primary-taxonomy records. Mental health counselors account for 1,701 , clinical social workers for 1,559 and speech-language pathologists for 1,043 . The primary BCBA count is 620 , or 6% . These categories overlap and are not mutually exclusive market shares. The registry identifies 1,870 providers with a second taxonomy and 727 providers with a third. The 86 dual BCBA-RBT providers illustrate a familiar ABA career path: a practitioner may begin as an RBT, advance to BCBA certification and retain both designations. RBTs are also underrepresented in federal registries compared with the actual workforce, making these figures a credentialing snapshot rather than a complete census. Gender data shows a predominantly female workforce: 6,981 female individuals , or 79% , compared with 1,355 male individuals , or 15% , and 472 nonbinary individuals , or 5% . That pattern fits behavioral health’s close ties to education, caregiving and other female-dominated professions. Recent Entries Drive the Surge

The enrollmentByYear field records when providers were originally enumerated, not when they appeared in this week’s file. Older records can surface when a previously enrolled provider updates information. Even with that qualification, 2026 contributes 6,249 records , compared with 536 records from 2025 and 451 records from 2024. The concentration suggests continued entry into behavioral health and ongoing expansion by organizations hiring, opening locations or organizing new billing identities. Organizations Reveal Scale Repeated names show how care is being structured. HATHAWAY SYCAMORES CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES and SOCIAL MODEL RECOVERY SYSTEMS, INC. each appear 8 times . MYMICHIGAN MEDICAL CENTER SAULT and VGM GROUP, INC. each appear 7 times , while MYMICHIGAN MEDICAL CENTER SAGINAW appears 6 times . These repetitions likely represent locations, service lines or separate billing identities, not independent companies. Blue Sprig Pediatrics appears in the provider records as an organization, but not repeatedly enough here to establish a chain-wide enrollment pattern. Together, the data shows a field adding supply while becoming more complex. RBT growth expands direct service capacity under BCBA supervision; multidisciplinary taxonomies point to behavioral health systems that increasingly connect ABA with counseling, social work and speech therapy. For clinics and payers, the challenge is converting rapid enrollment into qualified, supervised and consistently reimbursed care across differing state and payer rules. Weekly Workforce Infographic This update is based on the CMS NPPES weekly release for August 2026 ( Aug 17–23 ), published on the CMS NPI Files page by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services . Taxonomy counts can overlap because one provider may list multiple specialties in the CMS NPI registry, so category totals and shares are not mutually exclusive. Data at a Glance New Providers ( 10244 )