How much do respiratory therapists make in 2026?
Respiratory therapists earn a national median of $82,280 a year ($39.56 an hour) per BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 29-1126). The bottom 10% earn about $63,660 and the top 10% reach $118,050. The credential ladder is short but real: therapists holding the registered credential (RRT) rather than the entry-level certified credential are what hospitals staff intensive care with, and adult critical care or neonatal-paediatric specialty credentials put therapists near the $98,730 P75. Because ventilator management is a 24-hour service, night and weekend rotations add meaningfully to real annual earnings without changing the published wage. Employment is projected to grow 12.1% through 2034 with roughly 8,800 openings a year. → Full respiratory therapist career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $82,280 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Respiratory Therapists earn a national median $82,280/yr ($39.56/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1126); the P10 to P90 range is $63,660 to $118,050.
- The registered credential (RRT) is the practical dividing line: it is what intensive care, transport and specialty units hire for, and the certified level tracks the bottom of the range.
- Adult critical care and neonatal-paediatric specialty credentials move therapists from the $82,280 median toward the $98,730 P75, and ECMO teams sit above that.
- BLS projects 12.1% growth through 2034 with roughly 8,800 openings a year, driven by COPD prevalence, an ageing population and permanent ICU capacity expansion.
US Respiratory Therapist Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do respiratory therapists earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 29-1126; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1126, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a respiratory therapist earn at each career stage?
Respiratory care has a two-tier national credential and a set of specialty examinations, so the stages below follow those rather than job titles. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 29-1126.
By State
Which states pay respiratory therapists the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Respiratory care is licensed in nearly every state with no interstate compact, so a move means a new state licence application even though the underlying national credential travels with you.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($94,620), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
respiratory therapist pay by state — all 25 state guides
By Metro
Which cities pay respiratory therapists the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by the published metro index for that state. Treat them as local wage-level estimates rather than BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a respiratory therapist’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does respiratory therapist pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Respiratory Therapists sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify respiratory therapist wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a respiratory therapist actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Respiratory Therapist Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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