# Respiratory Therapists

SOC 29-1126. Page: https://educationguide.com/careers/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.

## Pay and outlook
- U.S. median wage $82,280 (middle half $74,520–$98,730; BLS May 2025)
- Ages 25-34: median $61,446; 36% hold a bachelor's or higher (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Jobs 2025-35: 8.5%; ~8.6k openings a year; typical entry: Associate's degree

## Fields of degree of young workers (ages 25-34, bachelor's+)
- Medical Technologies Technicians: 24% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/allied-health-imaging-therapy-tech, https://educationguide.com/degrees/medical-laboratory-science)
- Treatment Therapy Professions: 18% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/rehabilitation-therapy-sciences)
- General Medical And Health Services: 6% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/health-sciences)
- Nursing: 6% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/nursing)
- Biology: 5% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/biology)
- Miscellaneous Health Medical Professions: 5% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/dietetics, https://educationguide.com/degrees/health-professions-and-related-clinical-sciences-other)
- Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure: 4% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/kinesiology-exercise-science, https://educationguide.com/degrees/parks-recreation-and-leisure-studies)
- Psychology: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/psychology)
- Health And Medical Administrative Services: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/health-administration)
- Multi-Disciplinary Or General Science: 2% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/biological-and-physical-sciences)

## Median wage by state
- AK: $97,950
- AL: $66,150
- AR: $73,870
- AZ: $79,780
- CA: $104,820
- CO: $86,220
- CT: $85,230
- DC: $111,950
- DE: $91,080
- FL: $81,160
- GA: $83,700
- HI: $94,210
- IA: $74,760
- ID: $78,460
- IL: $84,090
- IN: $79,730
- KS: $76,970
- KY: $72,750
- LA: $75,240
- MA: $102,170
- MD: $88,960
- ME: $82,470
- MI: $79,850
- MN: $98,710
- MO: $78,390
- MS: $63,270
- MT: $81,190
- NC: $80,090
- ND: $81,230
- NE: $81,590
- NH: $95,940
- NJ: $100,810
- NM: $68,870
- NV: $85,480
- NY: $107,810
- OH: $79,920
- OK: $78,800
- OR: $100,560
- PA: $78,490
- PR: $35,000
- RI: $86,900
- SC: $77,740
- SD: $68,240
- TN: $72,140
- TX: $79,540
- UT: $80,650
- VA: $82,910
- VT: $83,820
- WA: $101,130
- WI: $84,210
- WV: $68,670
- WY: $79,330

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#careers

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0). O*NET data: CC BY 4.0, O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA).