Respiratory Therapist Salary in Atlanta, GA 2026,
$95,520 Median | BLS + Market Data

Atlanta respiratory therapists earn a BLS MSA median of $95,520/yr, or $45.92 an hour, across the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro, with a published band of $71,610 to $119,540. That is 14.1% above the Georgia statewide median and 16.1% above the US median. Specialty credentials and shift pattern account for most of the movement within that band.

Yes, and by an unusually wide margin — 14.1% above the Georgia statewide median. The metro concentrates the state's quaternary, paediatric and trauma services, and those units require critical-care credentialled therapists that community hospitals elsewhere in Georgia do not employ. Competition for that credentialled pool is what opened the gap.

The children's, quaternary and Level I trauma services, particularly on neonatal, paediatric and extracorporeal support teams. Those roles require credentials beyond the entry registration and carry call obligations, and they are the realistic route to the $119,540 top of the published band. General adult floor coverage sits close to the metro median.

A Georgia respiratory care professional licence issued by the Georgia Composite Medical Board through its respiratory care body. You complete an accredited respiratory care programme and obtain the National Board for Respiratory Care credential before applying. Specialty credentials for neonatal-paediatric or adult critical care are added through the NBRC rather than through the state.

One of the better ones covered here. Pay clears the national median by 16.1%, national employment growth is projected at 12.1%, and the metro's employer mix includes the specialty services that reward credential stacking. The cost of living is moderate for a metro of this size, and Georgia's flat state income tax does not escalate as shift income accumulates.

Respiratory therapy pay tracks acuity. Atlanta hosts Georgia's concentration of quaternary adult care, a major children's health system and Level I trauma capacity, all of which require therapists credentialled beyond the entry level and available around the clock. Community hospitals across the rest of the state need general floor coverage instead, which is a materially cheaper staffing problem. The 14.1% gap is a direct read-out of that difference in case mix.

OEWS reports base wages, and in an occupation this shift-driven the night, weekend and holiday differentials are a large share of real annual income — especially in the transport and critical-care roles at the top. The estimate also blends the whole Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell MSA, averaging intown quaternary services with community hospitals in the outer counties.

Respiratory care has an unusually explicit ladder: entry registration, then NBRC specialty credentials for adult critical care, neonatal-paediatric practice and sleep, each attached to specific units. Atlanta is one of the few Southeastern markets with enough specialty demand that every rung has employers waiting at the top of it, which is why the metro rewards the investment more visibly than its neighbours. Employers here frequently fund the credentials in exchange for a service commitment.