Respiratory therapists
Salary, job outlook, AI risk & career information
Respiratory therapists in the United States earn a median salary of $82,280 per year — about $40 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Roughly 140K people work in this occupation nationwide, with projected employment growth of +12%.
AI & Automation Risk
Respiratory therapy involves a significant amount of physical, hands-on patient care, such as performing chest physiotherapy, intubating patients, and maintaining equipment in real-time clinical environments. While AI will heavily assist in diagnostic analysis, ventilator setting optimization, and patient monitoring, the core of the job requires physical presence and interpersonal interaction that cannot be digitized.
Salary by City — What You Actually Take Home
Real purchasing power = salary adjusted for cost of living. Higher = more money in your pocket.
| City | Local Salary | Cost of Living | Real Purchasing Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CABEST VALUE | $149,680 | Above avg (110.4) | $135,551 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $134,430 | Above avg (106.7) | $126,024 |
| Vallejo, CA | $136,200 | Above avg (108.5) | $125,554 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $134,880 | Above avg (109.9) | $122,734 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $123,220 | Above avg (107.8) | $114,321 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $130,220 | Above avg (115.6) | $112,634 |
| Binghamton, NY | $103,200 | Below avg (92.9) | $111,131 |
| Rome, GA | $98,720 | Below avg (90.2) | $109,493 |
| Rochester, MN | $98,700 | Below avg (90.8) | $108,675 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | $104,350 | Average (98.9) | $105,557 |
| Reno, NV | $105,140 | Average (101.0) | $104,085 |
| Merced, CA | $101,810 | Average (98.3) | $103,597 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $112,430 | Above avg (108.6) | $103,531 |
| Redding, CA | $103,830 | Average (100.7) | $103,125 |
| Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $102,760 | Average (100.9) | $101,858 |