Respiratory Therapist Salary (2026): RRT Pay Guide for All 50 States

Licensed respiratory therapists in the United States earn a national median of $86,847 per year — roughly $41.75/hour. RT pay sits well above the U.S. median for all occupations and continues to track upward, sustained by an aging COPD-and-OSA population, the post-COVID expansion of ICU capacity, and chronic shortages in the rural hospital and home-care segments.

The national median is only the middle of the distribution. Three numbers describe the real range of respiratory therapist compensation:

• Entry-level RTs (10th percentile): $67,193/year — typically CRT-credentialed new graduates in their first 1–2 years, often in non-metro hospitals, long-term acute care (LTAC), or skilled nursing.
• Median RT (50th percentile): $86,847/year — the working RRT with 3–8 years of clinical experience on an adult or pediatric floor, ER, or general ICU.
• Top-earning RTs (90th percentile): $124,602/year — senior RRTs in high-cost metros, ECMO specialists, neonatal-pediatric specialists (RRT-NPS), and adult critical-care specialists (RRT-ACCS) at academic medical centers.

Geographic location explains most of the spread. RTs in Sunnyvale, CA earn a median of $161,696, while colleagues in Ponce, PR earn around $27,211. State scope-of-practice for ventilator weaning, the local mix of academic medical centers versus community hospitals, and the strength of regional hospital unions all push pay in measurable ways beyond cost of living.

Respiratory Therapist Salary vs RRT Salary — Are They the Same?

Almost — but not quite. Respiratory Therapist is the occupational title; CRT (Certified Respiratory Therapist) and RRT (Registered Respiratory Therapist) are the two credentials issued by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC). CRT is the entry-level credential awarded after passing the Therapist Multiple-Choice exam; RRT is the advanced credential awarded after also passing the Clinical Simulation exam. Most U.S. hospitals now require — or pay a meaningful differential for — the RRT credential, and many state licenses require it for full practice authority.

The same job goes by several names in salary surveys and job ads:

• Respiratory therapist salary / respiratory therapist pay
• RRT salary / RRT pay / RRT wages
• CRT salary / certified respiratory therapist pay
• Registered respiratory therapist salary / staff RT pay

All of these phrases reference SOC code 29-1126 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey — the data source used throughout this site. Note that the NBRC also issues specialty credentials (RRT-NPS for neonatal-pediatric, RRT-ACCS for adult critical care, RRT-SDS for sleep disorders) that command additional pay differentials within the same SOC code.

Hourly Pay for Respiratory Therapists

Hospital-based RTs are paid hourly, almost without exception. The national median equivalent of $41.75/hour reflects a full-time 36–40 hour week, but actual paychecks vary widely by region, shift, and specialty endorsement:

• West Coast and Northeast metros: commonly $45–75+/hour for experienced RRTs at union and Magnet-designated hospitals; California consistently ranks at the top of the national RT pay scale.
• Midwest and South: $28–42/hour median range for staff RRTs, with academic medical centers and Level-1 trauma facilities at the higher end of that band.
• Night, weekend, and holiday differentials: typically add 10–25% to base, with ICU/ECMO call-coverage stipends layered on top at hospitals running rotational coverage.
• Travel and per-diem RTs: command 30–70% premium over staff rates; respiratory therapy was one of the highest-paid travel specialties through the COVID surge and continues to outpace staff pay in shortage markets.

Total compensation routinely runs 15–30% above headline base wages once shift differentials, NBRC specialty-credential bonuses, tuition reimbursement, and 403(b)/401(k) match are counted in.

2026 Respiratory Therapist Salary Projection

Respiratory therapist pay has grown at a compound annual rate of 5.55% over the past five years, driven by sustained ICU census, growth of home oxygen and home ventilator programs, and the rapid expansion of ECMO and high-acuity transport teams. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment for Respiratory Therapists to grow 13% through 2033 — much faster than average — keeping upward pressure on wages, especially for RRTs willing to work in critical-access hospitals or pursue NPS/ACCS specialty credentials.

An RRT at a unionized California academic medical center can earn nearly double what an equally experienced colleague at a rural Mississippi community hospital takes home. Four factors explain almost all of that gap: location, credential level and specialty, practice setting, and employment model.

1. Location: The Single Largest Pay Driver

Metropolitan areas with high costs of living offer the highest nominal RT salaries. After adjusting using BEA Regional Price Parities, the real-dollar gap narrows — but doesn't disappear. California, Washington, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Alaska continue to lead on a purchasing-power basis. California again leads because of state-mandated staffing ratios, strong RT-specific union representation, and a dense network of high-acuity academic and trauma centers that compete for the same RRT talent pool.

State licensure rules also matter. Every state except Alaska requires RTs to hold an active state license issued under that state's Respiratory Care Practice Act, but the scope granted to RTs varies:

• States with broad ventilator-weaning protocols — Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, and others let RTs initiate weaning under standing orders, expanding clinical authority and supporting higher pay.
• Sleep-medicine endorsements — many states allow RRTs with the NBRC Sleep Disorders Specialist credential (RRT-SDS) to score polysomnograms and administer CPAP titration, opening higher-paying outpatient sleep-lab roles.
• Health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) — critical-access hospitals, especially in the Mountain West and rural South, routinely offer $5,000–$25,000 sign-on bonuses, relocation packages, and federal loan repayment to fill RT positions.

2. Credential Level and Specialty: CRT vs RRT vs Specialist

Entry-level CRT-only RTs fresh out of an associate-degree respiratory therapy program start near the 10th percentile at $67,193. Within 1–2 years most pass the Clinical Simulation exam to earn the RRT credential, which carries a $1–3/hour differential at almost every hospital that distinguishes the two. Senior RRTs with 10+ years of experience who also hold NBRC specialty credentials — RRT-NPS for neonatal-pediatric, RRT-ACCS for adult critical care, RRT-SDS for sleep — frequently reach the 90th percentile at $124,602. ECMO specialists and pulmonary function technologists (CPFT/RPFT) command additional premiums.

3. Practice Setting: Hospital vs Sleep Lab vs Home Care

Where you practice matters as much as how long you've practiced:

• Acute care hospitals (academic, trauma, NICU/PICU): the largest single employer of RTs and the top of the market for base pay, shift differentials, and education benefits. ECMO and high-acuity transport teams pay the highest hospital-staff rates in the country.
• Long-term acute care (LTAC) and skilled nursing: pay near or slightly below the hospital median, with high vent-dependent patient acuity and routinely available overtime.
• Sleep laboratories and pulmonary function labs: typically pay 5–15% below hospital base for staff RRTs, but offer Monday–Friday daytime schedules, no call, and predictable hours — popular among RRTs with the NBRC sleep credential.
• Home medical equipment (HME) and home health: lower base pay than hospital but lighter physical demand and a clear path into clinical management for experienced RRTs who want to step off the bedside.

4. Employment Model: Staff vs Travel vs PRN

The single largest near-term pay lever for an experienced RRT is the employment model. Staff RTs receive benefits, retirement contributions, and tuition reimbursement on top of base pay. Travel RTs sign 8–13 week contracts through agencies (Aya, Cross Country, AMN) at all-in weekly rates that frequently exceed double the local staff rate, but they self-fund retirement and accept variable assignment quality. PRN (as-needed) RTs work shifts on demand for a hospital's float pool at 20–40% above the staff hourly rate, with no benefits and no guaranteed hours.

For a complete city-by-city breakdown of respiratory therapist salaries — including BLS percentile data (10th, 25th, 50th/median, 75th, 90th), local cost-of-living adjustments, and 2026 salary projections — browse the 1,674+ metro areas tracked in our dataset below.