Respiratory Therapist Salary in 2026 — National Average, State-by-State, Top Employers

Respiratory Therapist salary at a glance

Respiratory therapist salaries cluster around $77k nationally, with critical-care and neonatal specialists in major metros earning past $100k. Across the most recent BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release, the median annual respiratory therapy earned $77,500. The interquartile range runs from $65,400 (25th percentile) to $92,700 (75th percentile), reflecting the pay spread between newer staff and credentialed specialists. Year-over-year, the median has grown roughly 1.4%, outpacing overall U.S. wage growth thanks to persistent allied-health labor shortages.

Hospital systems pay 8–15% above outpatient settings on average, and ICU / critical-care assignments add additional shift differentials. The top 10% of respiratory therapists earn $105,900 or more — typically those working in union-dense, coastal metros or holding specialty credentials beyond the entry-level NBRC requirement.

Respiratory Therapist salary by state

Geography is the single biggest driver of respiratory therapist pay after credentials and years of experience. The table below compares the 10 most populous U.S. states using BLS OEWS state-level wage data and Workzil's live posting feed for respiratory therapists. Click any column header to re-sort — most candidates compare on median, but the 10th and 90th percentile columns are useful if you're benchmarking the floor or aiming for the top of the range.

California leads the country on median pay for respiratory therapists, driven by Kaiser Permanente, Sutter, and UC system pay scales plus the state's high cost of living. Texas and Florida are larger employment markets in absolute headcount, but median wages run lower because cost of living is friendlier and the talent pool is deeper. New York and Massachusetts both pay well — particularly in the New York City and Boston metros — but high state income tax compresses take-home pay relative to no-tax states like Texas and Florida.

Beyond the table, the BLS lists California, Massachusetts, New York, Hawaii, New Jersey as the highest-paying states overall for respiratory therapists, and San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA, San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, CA, Vallejo, CA as the top-paying metropolitan areas. Smaller, often rural states can also surprise on pay because supply is constrained and hospitals offer sign-on bonuses — always compare the offered base against the local cost of living before deciding.

How respiratory therapist salary changes with experience

Experience drives roughly a 90% lift between an entry-level respiratory therapist and an expert with 10+ years. Entry-level pay around $60,000 reflects the immediate post-certification floor; mid-career pay around $75,000 kicks in once you've completed 3–5 years and at least one specialty rotation. Senior roles ($94,000) typically require lead-tech responsibilities, mentoring, and 24/7 on-call coverage. Expert pay ($110,000) is reached by department leads, certified educators, and specialty travel contractors.

The fastest way to accelerate the curve is layering specialty credentials on top of the baseline NBRC certification — see the “How to become” section below for the named pathway.

How to become a respiratory therapist

Most respiratory therapists enter the field through an accredited postsecondary program, complete supervised clinical rotations, and then sit for the NBRC credentialing exam. Programs commonly run 12–24 months and combine didactic coursework (anatomy, pharmacology, medical ethics, healthcare informatics) with hands-on clinical practicums at partner hospitals. Prospective students should confirm the program is recognized by NBRC before enrolling — non-accredited programs are not eligible to sit for the exam.

State licensure is the other gating step. Most states accept the NBRC credential as the qualifying exam, but several require a separate state board fee, jurisprudence exam, and continuing-education hours every two years. Always check your destination state's department of health before relocating — license reciprocity is uneven, and renewal cycles vary. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and the NBRC website are the authoritative starting points for current exam fees, eligibility rules, and continuing-education requirements.

Once credentialed, the typical career arc moves from staff respiratory therapist into a specialty role, then into lead-tech, supervisor, or educator positions. Many respiratory therapists also pursue lateral moves into travel contracting (typically 13-week assignments at 20–60% pay premiums with housing stipends), per-diem work, or transition into adjacent roles such as informatics, applications training, or program instructor.

Respiratory Therapist jobs hiring now

Workzil aggregates respiratory therapist postings from 50+ job boards including Indeed, Health eCareers, Nurse.com, and hospital-system applicant tracking systems. The card stack below is a live preview — head to the full feed for filters by state, shift, employer, and union status.

How Workzil helps respiratory therapist seekers

Workzil is the AI layer on top of 50+ job boards — including healthcare-specific platforms like Indeed, Health eCareers, and Nurse.com. For respiratory therapists, that translates into three concrete advantages. First, our AI resume builder is tuned for the healthcare applicant tracking systems most hospital systems use (Workday, iCIMS, Taleo) and surfaces the keywords credentialing committees actually search for — for respiratory therapists, that means NBRC, modality-specific credentials, and BLS/ACLS where applicable.

Second, auto-apply works across the top healthcare-specific boards so you spend your evenings on interview prep instead of re-typing the same demographics form. Third, our interview-prep module is tuned for healthcare interview formats — behavioral rounds focused on patient safety scenarios, modality-specific clinical questions, and the credentialing verification steps hospital recruiters always run. Pair the salary data on this page with the Workzil salary calculator and the cover-letter generator to walk into your next offer conversation with state-specific numbers in hand.

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