Occupational Therapists
Median $100,330
Occupation · SOC 29-1126
Respiratory Therapists: pay and where the jobs are
What respiratory therapists earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$82,280 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $87,300
- Median hourly wage
- $39.56
- Mean hourly wage
- $41.97
- Employment
- 139,790
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 29-1126.
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See where your pay falls among respiratory therapists nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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Use these numbers
How much do respiratory therapists make?
The median annual wage for respiratory therapists was $82,280 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $63,660 and the highest-paid 10% more than $118,050. As an hourly rate, the median is $39.56. About 139,790 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in District of Columbia ($111,950), New York ($107,810) and California ($104,820). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Alaska.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for respiratory therapists looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $63,660 | $30.61 | $5,305 | $4,444 |
| 25th percentile | $74,520 | $35.83 | $6,210 | $5,105 |
| Median | $82,280 | $39.56 | $6,857 | $5,559 |
| 75th percentile | $98,730 | $47.47 | $8,228 | $6,524 |
| 90th percentile | $118,050 | $56.75 | $9,838 | $7,657 |
Respiratory Therapists: pay by state
52 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$75,681 take-home in national prices
2
$73,799 take-home in national prices
3
$73,739 take-home in national prices
Where a median respiratory therapist paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 430 | $111,950 | $77,240 | $127,400 | $81,040 | $73,739 |
| New York | 7,010 | $107,810 | $81,270 | $131,500 | $78,911 | $73,119 |
| California | 18,650 | $104,820 | $77,010 | $145,510 | $75,705 | $68,375 |
| Massachusetts | 2,220 | $102,170 | $80,330 | $123,930 | $75,348 | $71,246 |
| Washington | 1,860 | $101,130 | $76,080 | $127,520 | $78,572 | $73,423 |
| New Jersey | 3,350 | $100,810 | $78,000 | $123,370 | $74,904 | $68,843 |
| Oregon | 1,340 | $100,560 | $81,490 | $120,060 | $71,511 | $69,186 |
| Minnesota | 1,250 | $98,710 | $79,060 | $110,050 | $72,649 | $73,665 |
| Alaska | 180 | $97,950 | $80,250 | $114,590 | $77,467 | $75,681 |
| New Hampshire | 360 | $95,940 | $80,490 | $109,000 | $76,324 | $73,272 |
| Hawaii | 510 | $94,210 | $80,130 | $102,780 | $69,361 | $63,083 |
| Delaware | 500 | $91,080 | $79,210 | $109,890 | $67,870 | $68,001 |
| Maryland | 1,800 | $88,960 | $69,550 | $106,430 | $67,554 | $64,362 |
| Rhode Island | 260 | $86,900 | $73,240 | $122,120 | $66,366 | $64,887 |
| Colorado | 2,110 | $86,220 | $66,560 | $109,070 | $66,021 | $64,066 |
| Nevada | 1,270 | $85,480 | $65,150 | $118,710 | $68,965 | $68,980 |
| Connecticut | 1,370 | $85,230 | $72,410 | $121,620 | $64,426 | $62,181 |
| Wisconsin | 1,940 | $84,210 | $70,520 | $100,320 | $64,582 | $68,634 |
| Illinois | 4,880 | $84,090 | $64,480 | $100,100 | $63,970 | $63,997 |
| Vermont | 210 | $83,820 | $50,310 | $99,940 | $64,769 | $66,119 |
| Georgia | 5,150 | $83,700 | $65,050 | $112,320 | $64,285 | $66,760 |
| Virginia | 3,340 | $82,910 | $65,540 | $106,470 | $63,204 | $62,514 |
| Maine | 520 | $82,470 | $61,060 | $98,470 | $62,546 | $64,448 |
| Nebraska | 840 | $81,590 | $64,100 | $96,180 | $63,396 | $70,359 |
| North Dakota | 270 | $81,230 | $65,770 | $100,490 | $65,651 | $73,799 |
| Montana | 390 | $81,190 | $60,800 | $92,890 | $62,721 | $66,270 |
| Florida | 8,820 | $81,160 | $64,240 | $100,310 | $65,926 | $63,750 |
| Utah | 1,170 | $80,650 | $61,860 | $101,340 | $62,133 | $62,847 |
| North Carolina | 4,630 | $80,090 | $63,990 | $99,520 | $62,486 | $66,245 |
| Ohio | 6,640 | $79,920 | $65,580 | $97,030 | $63,299 | $68,230 |
| Michigan | 4,520 | $79,850 | $64,770 | $90,210 | $61,862 | $64,294 |
| Arizona | 3,500 | $79,780 | $64,780 | $99,180 | $63,354 | $62,928 |
| Indiana | 3,170 | $79,730 | $62,730 | $94,980 | $62,598 | $67,072 |
| Texas | 12,130 | $79,540 | $61,310 | $99,690 | $64,786 | $66,751 |
| Wyoming | 160 | $79,330 | $64,300 | $91,840 | $64,639 | $69,736 |
| Oklahoma | 2,000 | $78,800 | $64,380 | $95,350 | $61,265 | $69,744 |
| Pennsylvania | 6,530 | $78,490 | $62,440 | $95,520 | $61,583 | $63,116 |
| Idaho | 820 | $78,460 | $63,540 | $95,290 | $60,977 | $63,854 |
| Missouri | 3,030 | $78,390 | $60,950 | $95,730 | $61,230 | $67,422 |
| South Carolina | 1,960 | $77,740 | $63,700 | $90,670 | $60,681 | $64,727 |
| Kansas | 1,450 | $76,970 | $60,470 | $94,600 | $59,483 | $66,042 |
| Louisiana | 2,520 | $75,240 | $61,520 | $91,200 | $59,890 | $67,898 |
| Iowa | 910 | $74,760 | $62,860 | $86,510 | $59,235 | $67,495 |
| Arkansas | 1,400 | $73,870 | $59,550 | $93,480 | $58,552 | $67,350 |
| Kentucky | 2,530 | $72,750 | $58,330 | $92,540 | $57,581 | $63,866 |
| Tennessee | 3,440 | $72,140 | $57,860 | $88,060 | $59,580 | $64,853 |
| New Mexico | 840 | $68,870 | $61,990 | $91,220 | $55,209 | $59,872 |
| West Virginia | 1,140 | $68,670 | $52,940 | $94,280 | $54,883 | $61,324 |
| South Dakota | 430 | $68,240 | $48,530 | $88,830 | $56,837 | $64,160 |
| Alabama | 2,350 | $66,150 | $50,250 | $81,030 | $52,552 | $59,165 |
| Mississippi | 1,670 | $63,270 | $50,180 | $80,460 | $51,219 | $58,904 |
| Puerto Rico | 800 | $35,000 | $25,880 | $96,570 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 29-1126. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.