As of March 01, 2025, the average annual salary for a Registered Respiratory Therapist in the United States is $78,315. Salary.com reports that pay typically ranges from $71,155 to $85,143, with most professionals earning between $64,636 and $91,360.
| Annual Salary |
Monthly Pay |
Weekly Pay |
Hourly Wage |
|
| 75th Percentile | $85,143 | $7,095 | $1,637 | $41 |
| Average | $78,315 | $6,526 | $1,506 | $38 |
| 25th Percentile | $71,155 | $5,930 | $1,368 | $34 |
An entry-level Registered Respiratory Therapist with less than 1 year of experience earns about $74,591. With 1-2 years of experience, the average salary increases to $75,119. For 2-4 years of experience, the pay typically rises to $77,645. Senior-level professionals with 5-8 years of experience earn around $80,468, and those with over 8 years of experience can expect an average of $80,972.
| Levels | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry Level Registered Respiratory Therapist | $74,591 |
| Intermediate Level Registered Respiratory Therapist | $75,119 |
| Senior Level Registered Respiratory Therapist | $77,645 |
| Specialist Level Registered Respiratory Therapist | $80,468 |
| Expert Level Registered Respiratory Therapist | $80,972 |
| Entry Level | 5% |
| Mid Level | 4% |
| Senior Level | 1% |
| Top Level | 3% |
| Experienced | 3% |
Salaries in the United States differ widely between states due to factors like cost of living, local economies, and industry presence.
What Am I Worth?
Salaries in the United States can vary greatly between cities due to factors like cost of living, local economies, and industry presence.
As of March 01, 2025, our research reveals a significant shift in Registered Respiratory Therapist compensation over the past six years. For example, the median salary increased from $67,397 in 2023 to approximately $67,043 in 2024. (For a detailed analysis of Registered Respiratory Therapist salary trends, click here.)
Key factors like location, experience, industry demand, and economic growth significantly influence salary variations, making them important to consider.
Salary.com job board provides millions of Registered Respiratory Therapist information for you to search for. Click on search button below to see Registered Respiratory Therapist job openings or enter a new job title here.
Here are companies hiring for Registered Respiratory Therapist and their salaries, click below for more details.
| Core Compensation | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Base Salary | $78,315 | 71.8% | ||
| Bonus | $54 | 0.0% | ||
| Value of Benefits | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Social Security | $5,995 | 5.5% | ||
| 401K/403B | $3,840 | 3.5% | ||
| Disability | $1,254 | 1.1% | ||
| Healthcare | $6,371 | 5.8% | ||
| Pension | $3,291 | 3.0% | ||
| Time Off | $9,947 | 9.1% | ||
| Total Compensation | $109,067 | 100% | ||
| Degree Level | % of user with this level of education |
|---|---|
| High School | 4.3% |
| Associates | 64.0% |
| Bachelors | 29.0% |
| Masters | 2.4% |
| Doctorate | 0.4% |
What Am I Worth?
The average annual salary of Registered Respiratory Therapist is $78,315. In case you are finding an easy salary calculator, the average hourly pay of Registered Respiratory Therapist is $38; the average weekly pay of Registered Respiratory Therapist is $1,506; the average monthly pay of Registered Respiratory Therapist is $6,526.
A Registered Respiratory Therapist's earning potential can vary widely depending on several factors, including location, industry, experience, education, and the specific employer. According to the latest salary data by Salary.com, a Registered Respiratory Therapist earns the most in San Jose, CA, where the annual salary of a Registered Respiratory Therapist is $98,285.
The highest pay for Registered Respiratory Therapist is $91,360.
The lowest pay for Registered Respiratory Therapist is $64,636.
Registered Respiratory Therapist assists in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with pulmonary disorders. Collects and analyzes sputum, blood, and breath specimens to determine levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other gases. Being a Registered Respiratory Therapist also measures the lung capacity of a patient to determine if there is impaired function. Administers treatment prescribed by a physician for the care of patients with abnormalities associated with the process of breathing. Additionally, Registered Respiratory Therapist assumes primary responsibility for respiratory care treatments, including oversight of respiratory therapy technicians. Requires an associate degree. Requires Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) certification. Requires State License to Practice. Typically reports to a manager. Registered Respiratory Therapist's years of experience requirement may be unspecified. Certification and/or licensing in the position's specialty is the main requirement.
Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
Analysis: Analysis is the process of considering something carefully or using statistical methods in order to understand it or explain it.
Critical Care: Critical care is sometimes referred as intensive care. Intensive care medicine, or critical care medicine, is a branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and management of life-threatening conditions that may require sophisticated life support and intensive monitoring. An intensivist is a physician who specializes in the care of critically ill patients, most often in the intensive care unit (ICU). Intensivists can be internists or internal medicine sub-specialists (most often pulmonologists), anesthesiologists, emergency medicine physicians, pediatricians (including neonatologists), or surgeons who have completed a fellowship in critical care medicine.
Patient Safety: Patient safety is a discipline and responsibility that emphasizes safety in health care through the prevention, reduction, reporting, and analysis of medical error that often leads to adverse effects. The frequency and magnitude of avoidable adverse events experienced by patients was not well known until the 1990s, when multiple countries reported staggering numbers of patients harmed and killed by medical errors. Recognizing that healthcare errors impact 1 in every 10 patients around the world, the World Health Organization calls patient safety an endemic concern. Indeed, patient safety has emerged as a distinct healthcare discipline supported by an immature yet developing scientific framework. There is a significant transdisciplinary body of theoretical and research literature that informs the science of patient safety. At the same time, efforts are being made to anchor patient safety more firmly in medical education. The resulting patient safety knowledge continually informs improvement efforts such as: applying lessons learned from business and industry, adopting innovative technologies, educating providers and consumers, enhancing error reporting systems, and developing new economic incentives.
Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.
We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)
With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.
