Highest-paying Cities for Respiratory Therapists

The top 100 highest paying cities for respiratory therapists (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of respiratory therapists in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $129,510, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California is the highest paying city for respiratory therapists. It is followed by San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California (average annual salary $122,850). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of respiratory therapists in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Respiratory Therapists

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$129,510	$80,340	1,690
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$122,850	$80,890	1,080
3	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$115,480	$64,070	170
4	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$114,200	$60,930	50
5	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$106,800	$67,530	1,120
6	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$106,710	$61,230	80
7	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$104,660	$74,530	180
8	Redding, California	$103,890	$62,920	100
9	North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$102,610	$73,370	110
10	Salinas, California	$102,190	$65,060	140
11	Modesto, California	$101,470	$65,730	220
12	Stockton, California	$101,450	$62,310	260
13	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$99,750	$67,800	700
14	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$97,330	$66,340	130
15	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$96,780	$78,580	6,750
16	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$96,770	$65,680	1,360
17	Yuba City, California	$92,220	$68,090	90
18	Napa, California	$91,660	$65,730	60
19	Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$90,210	$65,060	90
20	Merced, California	$89,080	$59,690	40
21	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$88,210	$64,560	290
22	Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$87,360	$74,140	60
23	Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, New Jersey	$86,980	$69,350	60
24	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$85,580	$79,470	40
25	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$85,390	$63,540	1,140
26	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$85,160	$67,160	300
27	Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$85,010	$65,100	40
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$84,880	$66,970	5,310
29	Rochester, Minnesota	$84,690	$68,490	90
30	Danbury, Connecticut	$84,240	$64,620	70
31	Anchorage, Alaska	$84,010	$64,700	110
32	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$83,770	$64,290	50
33	Fresno, California	$83,660	$64,040	390
34	Spokane, Washington	$83,620	$65,530	410
35	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$83,570	$66,630	670
36	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$83,390	$65,860	1,790
37	Chico, California	$83,310	$66,570	120
38	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$83,030	$64,270	140
39	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$82,280	$65,230	940
40	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$82,250	$73,390	1,280
41	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$81,970	$64,410	1,220
42	Waterbury, Connecticut	$81,780	$60,260	70
43	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$81,330	$59,280	1,200
44	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$81,320	$64,590	60
45	Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, Massachusetts	$81,030	$62,560	40
46	Bakersfield-Delano, California	$80,440	$61,590	300
47	Reno-Sparks, Nevada	$80,350	$63,320	210
48	Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$80,330	$59,250	50
49	Rochester, New York	$80,300	$62,330	390
50	New Haven, Connecticut	$80,140	$62,760	360
51	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$79,900	$63,550	180
52	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$79,700	$58,920	2,260
53	Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area, Vermont	$79,660	$53,960	60
54	Medford, Oregon	$79,540	$77,980	100
55	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$79,410	$64,110	560
56	Colorado Springs, Colorado	$79,400	$62,600	270
57	Visalia-Porterville, California	$79,370	$60,750	130
58	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$79,280	$66,680	100
59	Other New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$79,030	$64,140	40
60	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$79,030	$45,340	1,760
61	Utica-Rome, New York	$78,930	$55,690	80
62	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$78,780	$64,510	860
63	West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$78,720	$65,180	110
64	Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey	$78,650	$60,110	80
65	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$78,600	$61,270	70
66	Norwich-New London, Rhode Island	$78,600	$60,200	90
67	Albany, Georgia	$78,550	$57,890	60
68	Syracuse, New York	$78,490	$51,370	220
69	Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$78,390	$66,320	90
70	Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$78,210	$60,180	60
71	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$78,070	$58,210	2,600
72	Springfield, Massachusetts	$78,030	$63,470	240
73	Racine, Wisconsin	$77,970	$57,700	50
74	Bellingham, Washington	$77,900	$65,080	70
75	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$77,890	$66,380	1,070
76	Manchester, New Hampshire	$77,830	$63,120	50
77	Boulder, Colorado	$77,820	$61,710	110
78	Worcester, Massachusetts	$77,700	$65,330	200
79	Eastern Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$77,680	$63,730	40
80	North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$77,450	$65,580	90
81	Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area, Minnesota	$77,380	$64,160	40
82	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$77,180	$64,610	550
83	Binghamton, New York	$77,180	$65,100	70
84	Kokomo, Indiana	$77,110	$54,030	60
85	Savannah, Georgia	$76,930	$62,070	200
86	Central Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$76,830	$63,330	50
87	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, California	$76,770	$57,430	150
88	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$76,660	$62,120	3,010
89	Yakima, Washington	$76,600	$60,110	50
90	Capital-Northern New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$76,470	$51,410	70
91	Columbus, Ohio	$76,410	$60,390	940
92	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$76,320	$62,870	3,080
93	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$76,240	$63,210	660
94	Carson City, Nevada	$76,130	$55,040	30
95	Nevada nonmetropolitan area, Nevada	$76,000	$54,690	60
96	Salisbury, Maryland	$75,950	$62,730	180
97	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$75,680	$53,810	5,290
98	Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio	$75,650	$63,110	1,400
99	Janesville, Wisconsin	$75,050	$64,270	50
100	Augusta-Richmond County, South Carolina	$74,820	$51,260	300

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for respiratory therapists.