An apparatus and a method proactively manage the load of an 802.11 WLAN based on one or more per-class station counts, in which the stations are classified according to access categories (ACs), user priorities (UPs), or services. Alternatively, the load of an 802.11 WLAN may also be proactively managed based on provisional or non-provisional per-class traffic specification (TSPECs), depending upon the status of traffic streams (TSs). Load balancing may be achieved by (a) collecting per-class station count information, either through an AP, or through exchanges with neighboring APs or wireless stations, and (b) proactively influencing association decisions between wireless stations and APs. A wireless station may be classified according to ACs, UPs, or services. Alternatively, load balancing may be achieved by (a) collecting provisional or non-provision per-class traffic specification (TSPEC) through an AP, or through exchanges with neighboring APs or wireless stations, and (b) proactively influencing association decisions between wireless stations and APs.