Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Respiratory Therapists
Respiratory Therapists assess, treat, and care for patients with breathing disorders. Assume primary responsibility for all respiratory care modalities, including the supervision of respiratory therapy technicians. Initiate and conduct therapeutic procedures; maintain patient records; and select, assemble, check, and operate equipment.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Respiratory Therapists with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $45,940 to $54,170 per year or $22 to $26 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Respiratory Therapists to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $43 | $89,170 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $37 | $75,950 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $30 | $62,810 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $26 | $54,170 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $22 | $45,940 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| CA | $42 | $87,190 |
| DC | $40 | $82,940 |
| NY | $38 | $79,840 |
| HI | $37 | $77,930 |
| NV | $37 | $77,380 |
| MA | $37 | $76,270 |
| WA | $36 | $75,380 |
| NJ | $36 | $74,710 |
| AK | $36 | $74,390 |
| OR | $35 | $72,340 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Respiratory Therapist is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like CA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at CA might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Respiratory Therapists are in the states of CA, DC, NY, HI and NV.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Outpatient Care Centers | $87920 | $42.27 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | $71180 | $34.22 |
| Other Residential Care Facilities | $66620 | $32.03 |
| Specialty Hospitals | $66110 | $31.78 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | $65710 | $31.59 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $64950 | $31.22 |
| Employment Services | $64340 | $30.93 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) | $64270 | $30.90 |
| Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | $64130 | $30.83 |
| Home Health Care Services | $63490 | $30.52 |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners | $62200 | $29.90 |
| Offices of Physicians | $62190 | $29.90 |
| Other Ambulatory Health Care Services | $62110 | $29.86 |
| Federal Executive Branch | $61830 | $29.72 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools | $61180 | $29.41 |
| Health and Personal Care Stores | $60080 | $28.88 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly | $59980 | $28.84 |
| Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities | $59960 | $28.83 |
| Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals | $56350 | $27.09 |
| Rental and Leasing Services | $56340 | $27.09 |
| Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories | $55820 | $26.84 |
| State Government | $54330 | $26.12 |
| Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | $48330 | $23.24 |
| Local Government | $ | $* |
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