Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
29-1126 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.
National estimates for Respiratory Therapists
Industry profile for Respiratory Therapists
Geographic profile for Respiratory Therapists
National estimates for Respiratory Therapists:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Respiratory Therapists:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 133,410 |
0.7 % |
$ 32.78 |
$ 68,190 |
0.2 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Respiratory Therapists:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 22.78 |
$ 28.50 |
$ 29.73 |
$ 37.13 |
$ 45.93 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 47,380 |
$ 59,280 |
$ 61,830 |
$ 77,240 |
$ 95,540 |
Industry profile for Respiratory Therapists:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Respiratory Therapists are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Respiratory Therapists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Respiratory Therapists:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
102,480 |
1.83 |
$ 33.00 |
$ 68,640 |
| Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals |
7,450 |
2.76 |
$ 32.00 |
$ 66,560 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
4,940 |
0.35 |
$ 30.25 |
$ 62,920 |
| Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
2,700 |
0.40 |
$ 29.07 |
$ 60,460 |
| Offices of Physicians |
2,300 |
0.09 |
$ 30.19 |
$ 62,790 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Respiratory Therapists:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals |
7,450 |
2.76 |
$ 32.00 |
$ 66,560 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
102,480 |
1.83 |
$ 33.00 |
$ 68,640 |
| Rental and leasing services (5322, 5323, and 5324 only) |
2,200 |
0.76 |
$ 26.04 |
$ 54,160 |
| Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
2,700 |
0.40 |
$ 29.07 |
$ 60,460 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
4,940 |
0.35 |
$ 30.25 |
$ 62,920 |
Top paying industries for Respiratory Therapists:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Outpatient Care Centers |
2,130 |
0.22 |
$ 46.38 |
$ 96,470 |
| Employment Services |
1,780 |
0.05 |
$ 42.02 |
$ 87,410 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools |
670 |
0.02 |
$ 34.60 |
$ 71,970 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
102,480 |
1.83 |
$ 33.00 |
$ 68,640 |
| Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories |
80 |
0.03 |
$ 32.93 |
$ 68,490 |
Geographic profile for Respiratory Therapists:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Respiratory Therapists are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Respiratory Therapists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Respiratory Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
16,530 |
1.00 |
1.06 |
$ 44.55 |
$ 92,660 |
| Texas |
10,810 |
0.88 |
0.93 |
$ 31.34 |
$ 65,200 |
| Florida |
8,340 |
0.97 |
1.02 |
$ 29.37 |
$ 61,090 |
| New York |
6,590 |
0.76 |
0.80 |
$ 40.15 |
$ 83,510 |
| Ohio |
6,060 |
1.17 |
1.23 |
$ 30.09 |
$ 62,580 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Respiratory Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Kentucky |
3,060 |
1.66 |
1.76 |
$ 26.54 |
$ 55,190 |
| Mississippi |
1,730 |
1.57 |
1.66 |
$ 25.03 |
$ 52,060 |
| West Virginia |
1,030 |
1.56 |
1.65 |
$ 26.52 |
$ 55,160 |
| Alabama |
2,590 |
1.34 |
1.42 |
$ 25.46 |
$ 52,950 |
| Louisiana |
2,410 |
1.34 |
1.42 |
$ 27.78 |
$ 57,780 |
Top paying states for Respiratory Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
16,530 |
1.00 |
1.06 |
$ 44.55 |
$ 92,660 |
| Alaska |
150 |
0.50 |
0.53 |
$ 40.16 |
$ 83,530 |
| New York |
6,590 |
0.76 |
0.80 |
$ 40.15 |
$ 83,510 |
| Hawaii |
310 |
0.57 |
0.60 |
$ 38.53 |
$ 80,140 |
| Massachusetts |
2,260 |
0.67 |
0.70 |
$ 37.73 |
$ 78,470 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Respiratory Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
6,960 |
0.80 |
0.85 |
$ 41.45 |
$ 86,220 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
6,020 |
1.05 |
1.11 |
$ 42.30 |
$ 87,980 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
4,010 |
0.95 |
1.00 |
$ 31.30 |
$ 65,100 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
2,950 |
1.02 |
1.07 |
$ 32.63 |
$ 67,870 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
2,930 |
1.10 |
1.17 |
$ 34.23 |
$ 71,200 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,800 |
0.78 |
0.82 |
$ 33.24 |
$ 69,140 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
2,550 |
1.04 |
1.10 |
$ 29.55 |
$ 61,470 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
2,490 |
1.17 |
1.24 |
$ 31.64 |
$ 65,820 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
2,100 |
1.17 |
1.23 |
$ 29.39 |
$ 61,140 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
1,990 |
0.77 |
0.81 |
$ 30.98 |
$ 64,440 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Respiratory Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Morgantown, WV |
200 |
3.26 |
3.44 |
$ 27.19 |
$ 56,560 |
| Jonesboro, AR |
170 |
3.08 |
3.25 |
$ 24.31 |
$ 50,560 |
| Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA |
110 |
2.79 |
2.94 |
$ 29.28 |
$ 60,900 |
| Gainesville, FL |
350 |
2.60 |
2.75 |
$ 26.06 |
$ 54,200 |
| Victoria, TX |
90 |
2.48 |
2.62 |
$ 28.80 |
$ 59,900 |
| Dothan, AL |
130 |
2.30 |
2.42 |
$ 23.97 |
$ 49,850 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH |
280 |
2.29 |
2.42 |
$ 27.27 |
$ 56,710 |
| Shreveport-Bossier City, LA |
370 |
2.26 |
2.39 |
$ 27.63 |
$ 57,470 |
| Jackson, MS |
550 |
2.25 |
2.38 |
$ 26.31 |
$ 54,730 |
| Cape Girardeau, MO-IL |
100 |
2.25 |
2.38 |
$ 26.62 |
$ 55,380 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Respiratory Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
1,160 |
1.08 |
1.14 |
$ 54.54 |
$ 113,450 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,840 |
0.82 |
0.87 |
$ 52.56 |
$ 109,330 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
190 |
0.98 |
1.03 |
$ 48.89 |
$ 101,690 |
| Salinas, CA |
140 |
0.84 |
0.88 |
$ 48.43 |
$ 100,730 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
1,180 |
1.21 |
1.27 |
$ 48.22 |
$ 100,290 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
210 |
1.60 |
1.69 |
$ 47.72 |
$ 99,260 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA |
70 |
0.61 |
0.65 |
$ 46.56 |
$ 96,840 |
| Napa, CA |
60 |
0.94 |
1.00 |
$ 45.31 |
$ 94,250 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
150 |
0.75 |
0.79 |
$ 44.94 |
$ 93,470 |
| Modesto, CA |
230 |
1.29 |
1.36 |
$ 44.41 |
$ 92,370 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Respiratory Therapists:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Respiratory Therapists:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Respiratory Therapists:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
