Respiratory Therapist Salary by State (2026)

All 50 states ranked by BLS OES May 2024 mean annual wage. California leads at over $100,000; cost-of-living adjusted, Nevada and Washington offer the strongest purchasing power.

National mean: $82,430National median: $80,450BLS OES May 2024

Highest Mean Salary

#1California

$104k+26%

#2Hawaii

$93k+13%

#3New York

$91k+11%

#4Alaska

$91k+10%

#5Washington

$89k+8%

Best After Cost of Living

#1Texas$83k adj.

#2Nevada$81k adj.

#3Illinois$79k adj.

#4Wisconsin$78k adj.

#5Missouri$78k adj.

COL-adjusted salary approximates purchasing power relative to a national baseline of 1.00.

State Deep-Dives

California

$104k

Mean salary + metro breakdown

New York

$91k

Mean salary + metro breakdown

Texas

$76k

Mean salary + metro breakdown

Florida

$67k

Mean salary + metro breakdown

Washington

$89k

Mean salary + metro breakdown

Massachusetts

$86k

Mean salary + metro breakdown

Nevada

$82k

Mean salary + metro breakdown

Hawaii

$93k

Mean salary + metro breakdown

New Jersey

$88k

Mean salary + metro breakdown

Illinois

$79k

Mean salary + metro breakdown

Top 10 Metro Areas Nationally

BLS OES May 2024 metropolitan area data for SOC 29-1126. California Bay Area metros dominate the national top 5.

Metro Area	Mean Annual
#1San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	$125,420
#2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$124,820
#3Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$113,030
#4Vallejo-Fairfield, CA	$112,950
#5Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$109,780
#6Anchorage, AK	$101,200
#7New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$97,400
#8Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$96,800
#9Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	$95,600
#10Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$95,200

All 50 States - Full Rankings

Sorted by mean annual wage, BLS OES May 2024 (SOC 29-1126). COL factor = 1.00 is national average cost of living.

State	Mean Annual	Median	Hourly Mean	COL	COL-Adj.	Employed
California	$103,800+26%	$100,200	$49.90	1.38	$75,217	14,200
Hawaii	$92,800+13%	$90,500	$44.62	1.48	$62,703	480
New York	$91,100+11%	$88,900	$43.80	1.30	$70,077	7,800
Alaska	$91,000+10%	$89,200	$43.75	1.28	$71,094	370
Washington	$88,700+8%	$86,500	$42.65	1.15	$77,130	3,000
New Jersey	$87,800+7%	$85,700	$42.21	1.20	$73,167	3,200
Connecticut	$86,700+5%	$84,600	$41.68	1.13	$76,726	1,290
Massachusetts	$86,400+5%	$84,200	$41.54	1.25	$69,120	3,100
Oregon	$83,100+1%	$81,200	$39.95	1.12	$74,196	1,500
Nevada	$81,700-1%	$79,800	$39.28	1.01	$80,891	1,400
Colorado	$80,200-3%	$78,500	$38.56	1.05	$76,381	2,100
Maryland	$80,100-3%	$78,200	$38.51	1.12	$71,518	2,400
Rhode Island	$80,000-3%	$78,100	$38.46	1.07	$74,766	530
Illinois	$78,600-5%	$76,800	$37.78	0.99	$79,394	5,100
New Hampshire	$76,900-7%	$75,100	$36.97	1.08	$71,204	640
Delaware	$76,500-7%	$74,800	$36.78	1.02	$75,000	430
Minnesota	$76,400-7%	$74,600	$36.73	1.01	$75,644	2,400
Texas	$75,900-8%	$74,100	$36.49	0.92	$82,500	11,000
Virginia	$74,700-9%	$72,900	$35.91	1.03	$72,524	3,100
Arizona	$74,100-10%	$72,400	$35.62	0.97	$76,392	3,100
Pennsylvania	$73,600-11%	$71,800	$35.38	0.98	$75,102	5,900
Vermont	$72,600-12%	$70,800	$34.90	1.04	$69,808	260
Wisconsin	$72,600-12%	$70,800	$34.90	0.93	$78,065	2,200
Utah	$72,300-12%	$70,500	$34.76	0.97	$74,536	1,100
Michigan	$71,900-13%	$70,100	$34.57	0.93	$77,312	3,400
Maine	$71,800-13%	$70,100	$34.52	1.01	$71,089	530
Montana	$71,500-13%	$69,800	$34.38	0.96	$74,479	410
Wyoming	$71,200-14%	$69,500	$34.23	0.94	$75,745	200
North Dakota	$71,100-14%	$69,300	$34.18	0.92	$77,283	350
Idaho	$71,000-14%	$69,200	$34.13	0.94	$75,532	660
Ohio	$70,300-15%	$68,500	$33.80	0.91	$77,253	5,200
New Mexico	$70,200-15%	$68,400	$33.75	0.93	$75,484	710
Indiana	$69,700-15%	$67,900	$33.51	0.90	$77,444	2,800
Missouri	$69,200-16%	$67,400	$33.27	0.89	$77,753	2,300
Iowa	$69,100-16%	$67,300	$33.22	0.89	$77,640	1,400
Georgia	$68,900-16%	$67,100	$33.12	0.93	$74,086	3,800
North Carolina	$68,500-17%	$66,700	$32.93	0.92	$74,457	3,500
Tennessee	$67,700-18%	$65,900	$32.55	0.90	$75,222	2,900
Kansas	$67,600-18%	$65,900	$32.50	0.88	$76,818	1,100
Florida	$67,100-19%	$65,200	$32.26	0.97	$69,175	8,600
Nebraska	$66,900-19%	$65,200	$32.16	0.90	$74,333	800
South Dakota	$65,900-20%	$64,200	$31.69	0.89	$74,045	380
South Carolina	$65,600-20%	$63,800	$31.54	0.89	$73,708	1,600
Kentucky	$65,200-21%	$63,500	$31.35	0.88	$74,091	1,700
Oklahoma	$64,400-22%	$62,700	$30.96	0.86	$74,884	1,300
Louisiana	$64,100-22%	$62,300	$30.82	0.91	$70,440	1,900
Alabama	$63,400-23%	$62,100	$30.48	0.87	$72,874	1,990
West Virginia	$62,600-24%	$60,800	$30.10	0.84	$74,524	620
Arkansas	$62,300-24%	$60,500	$29.95	0.84	$74,167	1,010
Mississippi	$60,600-26%	$58,900	$29.13	0.83	$73,012	780

Source: BLS OES May 2024, SOC 29-1126 (Respiratory Therapists). COL factors derived from Missouri Economic Research and Information Center composite index. Adjusted salary approximates purchasing power relative to national average cost of living.

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