Average Respiratory Therapists Salary in the United States
The national median salary for Respiratory Therapists is $82,280 per year. The middle 50% earn between $74,520 and $98,730, with 139,790 workers employed nationally.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates . Data covers 51 states and 280 metro areas.
Pay distribution
Here is how Respiratory Therapists pay is distributed across workers nationally. The 10th percentile typically reflects entry-level or early-career pay, the median is the midpoint, and the 90th percentile represents the top earners in the field.
- 10th
- $63,660
- 25th
- $74,520
- Median
- $82,280
- 75th
- $98,730
- 90th
- $118,050
All values are percentiles of annual wages.
Pay is well above the national median for all US workers. This is an upper-income occupation.
The spread between entry-level and top-end pay is typical for US occupations. Experience and specialization matter, but the range is not unusually wide.
Job outlook
BLS projects employment for respiratory therapists from 2024 to 2034. Respiratory Therapists are projected to grow much faster than average, more than double the roughly 4% growth rate for all US occupations. Demand is strong and outpacing most of the labor market.
- Projected growth
- +12.1%
- 16,800 net jobs over the projection period.
- Annual openings
- 8,800
- Includes growth plus replacements for workers who leave.
- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
Where Respiratory Therapists earn the most
Location matters a lot. The gap between top-paying and bottom-paying states is large, so where respiratory therapists work can reshape their total compensation. Right now, the top-paying state is District of Columbia at $111,950, about 36.1% above the national median. At the metro level, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA leads with a median of $149,680.
Top-paying states
| State | Median salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $111,950 | 430 |
| New York | $107,810 | 7,010 |
| California | $104,820 | 18,650 |
| Massachusetts | $102,170 | 2,220 |
| Washington | $101,130 | 1,860 |
| New Jersey | $100,810 | 3,350 |
| Oregon | $100,560 | 1,340 |
| Minnesota | $98,710 | 1,250 |
Top-paying metros
| Metro area | Median salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $149,680 | 1,060 |
| Vallejo, CA | $136,200 | 190 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $134,880 | 70 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $134,430 | 1,140 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $130,220 | 2,010 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $123,220 | 200 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $112,430 | 90 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $110,490 | 7,010 |
Compare two locations side by side
Pick two states or metros to see respiratory therapists pay in each, along with a cost-of-living adjusted view.
Salary trend and related occupations
Between 2019 and 2025, the national median salary for Respiratory Therapists rose from $61,330 to $82,280, a gain of +34.2% in nominal dollars.
Over the same period, US consumer prices rose by +25.9%. Just to keep pace with inflation, the 2019 median of $61,330 would need to be worth $77,231 in 2025 dollars.
The actual 2025 median of $82,280 is $5,049 above that inflation-adjusted benchmark, a real change of +6.5% in purchasing power.
Real wages have outpaced inflation by 6.5%, a modest but real gain in purchasing power.
- Nominal change
- +34.2%
- 2019–2025
- Cumulative inflation
- +25.9%
- US CPI, 2019–2025
- Real change
- +6.5%
- After adjusting for inflation
Median salary over time
Respiratory Therapists median pay by year, going back through the available BLS releases.
- 2025
- $82,280
- 2024
- $80,450
- 2023
- $77,960
- 2022
- $70,540
- 2021
- $61,830
- 2020
- $62,810
- 2019
- $61,330
BLS did not publish a median for 2000–2018, so those years are omitted.
Related occupations
Other occupations in the same field, with median pay for comparison.
- Therapists, All Other
- $77,930
- Audiologists
- $95,780
- Registered Nurses
- $97,550
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- $97,870
- Occupational Therapists
- $100,330
- Recreational Therapists
- $61,960
- Physical Therapists
- $102,760
- Exercise Physiologists
- $59,460
Common salary questions for Respiratory Therapists
What does the median salary mean? +
The median is the midpoint of all wages. Half of Respiratory Therapists workers earn more and half earn less. It is a better measure of typical pay than the average, which can be skewed by very high or very low earners.
Why does pay vary so much by location? +
Local labor markets, cost of living, industry concentration, and employer competition all affect wages. High-cost metros like San Francisco and New York often pay more in nominal terms, though some of that premium is offset by higher living costs.
How current is this salary data? +
This page uses the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. BLS publishes OEWS data once per year, typically in the spring for the previous May reference period.
What do the percentile ranges tell me? +
The 10th and 90th percentiles show the full pay band. The 25th to 75th percentile range, the middle 50%, is where most workers fall. A wide spread usually means experience, specialization, or location matter a lot for this occupation.