National Salary Info » Respiratory Therapists

Highest Paying Industries for Respiratory Therapists

The top 60 highest paying industries 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 in those industries are also shown. As shown in the table, with an average annual salary of $68,090, educational services - local government owned is the highest paying industry for respiratory therapists. It is followed by temporary help services industry (average annual salary $66,100). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2015 [1]. For more information about salaries of respiratory therapists in a specific industry, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 60 Highest Paying Industries for Respiratory Therapists

Rank	Industry	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Educational Services - Local government owned	$68,090	$50,120	120
2	Temporary Help Services	$66,100	$44,760	1,080
3	Outpatient Care Centers	$65,860	$43,070	1,830
4	Employment Services	$65,200	$44,630	1,590
5	Administrative and Support Services	$65,070	$44,480	1,610
6	Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	$65,070	$44,480	1,610
7	Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities	$64,380	$43,310	250
8	Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities	$64,380	$43,310	250
9	Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers	$63,160	$49,320	n/a
10	Ambulance Services	$62,050	$43,920	80
11	Educational Services - State government owned	$61,950	$45,680	250
12	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - State government owned	$61,830	$45,650	250
13	Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	$60,350	$43,900	110
14	Specialty hospitals - Privately owned	$58,440	$43,410	6,710
15	Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	$58,350	$43,400	6,890
16	Ambulatory Health Care Services	$57,930	$41,720	8,560
17	Home Health Care Services	$57,910	$41,940	1,830
18	Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists	$57,880	$45,620	720
19	Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	$57,830	$40,140	4,590
20	Nursing and Residential Care Facilities	$57,450	$40,320	5,160
21	Pharmacies and Drug Stores	$57,300	$41,710	360
22	Hospitals - Privately owned	$57,150	$41,890	83,710
23	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - Privately owned	$57,030	$41,800	76,930
24	Health Care and Social Assistance	$56,900	$41,520	110,580
25	Hospitals (including private, state, and local government hospitals)	$56,790	$41,570	96,870
26	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	$56,660	$41,480	89,870
27	State government, including schools and hospitals	$56,620	$40,560	3,190
28	Offices of Physicians	$56,600	$41,380	3,230
29	Offices of Other Health Practitioners	$56,500	$41,420	1,450
30	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - State government owned	$56,440	$40,230	2,720
31	Hospitals - State government owned	$56,270	$40,260	2,880
32	Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	$55,420	$39,460	140
33	Other Residential Care Facilities	$54,770	$41,630	70
34	Specialty hospitals - State government owned	$54,730	$43,140	130
35	Public sector -- Federal, state, and local government, including government owned schools and hospit	$54,250	$40,130	14,290
36	Offices of All Other Health Practitioners	$54,210	$39,020	730
37	Local government, including schools and hospitals	$54,030	$39,890	10,510
38	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals - Privately owned	$53,930	$40,390	60
39	Hospitals - Local government owned	$53,840	$39,810	10,280
40	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - Local government owned	$53,820	$39,790	10,220
41	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals	$53,470	$36,200	100
42	State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	$53,130	$41,740	70
43	Retail Trade	$53,000	$38,140	1,830
44	Health and Personal Care Stores	$52,970	$38,130	1,820
45	Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	$52,710	$40,480	80
46	Consumer Goods Rental	$52,280	$37,490	3,000
47	Rental and Leasing Services	$52,160	$37,320	3,120
48	Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	$52,160	$37,320	3,120
49	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$51,870	$40,940	50
50	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals - State government owned	$51,720	$33,300	30
51	Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	$50,540	$36,070	880
52	Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods	$50,500	$36,100	880
53	Wholesale Trade	$50,480	$36,070	920
54	Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	$49,220	$40,350	260
55	Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation)	$48,930	$43,390	750
56	Federal, State, and Local Government	$48,930	$43,390	750
57	All Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	$48,480	$34,100	70
58	Federal government, including USPS	$47,440	$43,390	580
59	Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	$47,440	$43,390	580
60	Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment Rental and Leasing	$47,440	$34,800	110