Respiratory Therapist Earnings

The median annual wage for respiratory therapists was $60,280 in May 2018. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $43,750, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $83,520.

In May 2018, the median annual wages for respiratory therapists in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Hospitals; state, local, and private: $60,500
Offices of physicians: $60,300
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities): $60,260

Most respiratory therapists work full time. Because they may work in medical facilities, such as hospitals that are always open, some therapists work evening, night, or weekend hours.

Source: BLS, USDOL