Best programs to become a respiratory therapist
BLS lists an associate's degree as the typical entry-level education for respiratory therapists. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist (IPEDS completions).
1 college program at 389 schools trains respiratory therapists, graduating 6,816 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $82,280 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About respiratory therapists
Assess, treat, and care for patients with breathing disorders. Assume primary responsibility for all respiratory care modalities, including the supervision of respiratory therapy technicians. Initiate and conduct therapeutic procedures; maintain patient records; and select, assemble, check, and operate equipment.
A respiratory therapist is a specialized healthcare practitioner trained in critical care and cardio-pulmonary medicine in order to work therapeutically with people who have acute critical conditions, cardiac and pulmonary disease. Respiratory therapists graduate from a college or university with a degree in respiratory therapy and have passed a national board certifying examination. The National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) is responsible for credentialing as a certified respiratory therapist (CRT), or registered respiratory therapist RRT) in the United States. The Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists and provincial regulatory colleges administer the RRT credential in Canada.
Read more on Wikipedia →Best programs to study to become a respiratory therapist
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.0908 | 6,816 | 100.0% | 389 | $53,520 | $20,250 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
What respiratory therapists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $104,820 | 18,650 | 1.14× | 35 | 1,336 |
| Texas | $79,540 | 12,130 | 0.96× | 31 | 629 |
| Florida | $81,160 | 8,820 | 0.99× | 25 | 403 |
| Arizona | $79,780 | 3,500 | 1.20× | 5 | 325 |
| Ohio | $79,920 | 6,640 | 1.33× | 20 | 270 |
| North Carolina | $80,090 | 4,630 | 1.04× | 16 | 228 |
| Idaholimited | $78,460 | 820 | 1.06× | 2 | 209 |
| New York | $107,810 | 7,010 | 0.81× | 10 | 202 |
| Pennsylvania | $78,490 | 6,530 | 1.20× | 17 | 200 |
| Kentucky | $72,750 | 2,530 | 1.41× | 14 | 192 |
| Georgia | $83,700 | 5,150 | 1.17× | 15 | 184 |
| Michigan | $79,850 | 4,520 | 1.14× | 12 | 168 |
| Illinois | $84,090 | 4,880 | 0.89× | 14 | 158 |
| Indiana | $79,730 | 3,170 | 1.10× | 5 | 139 |
| Tennessee | $72,140 | 3,440 | 1.17× | 10 | 134 |
| Virginia | $82,910 | 3,340 | 0.90× | 9 | 131 |
| Missouri | $78,390 | 3,030 | 1.15× | 8 | 124 |
| Wisconsin | $84,210 | 1,940 | 0.74× | 8 | 111 |
| Nevadamoderate | $85,480 | 1,270 | 0.91× | 3 | 108 |
| Alabama | $66,150 | 2,350 | 1.24× | 8 | 104 |
| Colorado | $86,220 | 2,110 | 0.82× | 5 | 103 |
| Mississippi | $63,270 | 1,670 | 1.60× | 9 | 100 |
| Kansas | $76,970 | 1,450 | 1.13× | 9 | 95 |
| Utahmoderate | $80,650 | 1,170 | 0.75× | 3 | 92 |
| New Jersey | $100,810 | 3,350 | 0.87× | 5 | 90 |
| New Mexico | $68,870 | 840 | 1.08× | 6 | 89 |
| Louisiana | $75,240 | 2,520 | 1.45× | 7 | 77 |
| South Carolina | $77,740 | 1,960 | 0.94× | 7 | 77 |
| Oregonmoderate | $100,560 | 1,340 | 0.76× | 3 | 72 |
| West Virginia | $68,670 | 1,140 | 1.80× | 6 | 68 |
| Maryland | $88,960 | 1,800 | 0.72× | 6 | 61 |
| Connecticutmoderate | $85,230 | 1,370 | 0.90× | 4 | 54 |
| Oklahomamoderate | $78,800 | 2,000 | 1.30× | 4 | 54 |
| Nebraskamoderate | $81,590 | 840 | 0.91× | 4 | 53 |
| Massachusetts | $102,170 | 2,220 | 0.68× | 6 | 52 |
| Minnesota | $98,710 | 1,250 | 0.47× | 5 | 51 |
| Iowa | $74,760 | 910 | 0.65× | 7 | 44 |
| Arkansas | $73,870 | 1,400 | 1.19× | 5 | 43 |
| North Dakotalimited | $81,230 | 270 | 0.71× | 2 | 27 |
| Mainelimited | $82,470 | 520 | 0.90× | 2 | 25 |
| Washingtonlimited | $101,130 | 1,860 | 0.58× | 1 | 21 |
| South Dakotalimited | $68,240 | 430 | 1.04× | 1 | 19 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $86,900 | 260 | 0.57× | 2 | 18 |
| Wyominglimited | $79,330 | 160 | 0.64× | 1 | 18 |
| Hawaiilimited | $94,210 | 510 | 0.91× | 1 | 14 |
| Montanalimited | $81,190 | 390 | 0.85× | 2 | 11 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $95,940 | 360 | 0.59× | 2 | 8 |
Skills and knowledge
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
- Monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy, such as vital signs, arterial blood gases, or blood chemistry changes, and consult with physician if adverse reactions occur.
- Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.
- Work as part of a team of physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals to manage patient care by assisting with medical procedures or related duties.
- Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information.
- Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition.
- Relay blood analysis results to a physician.
- Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary.
Skills
- Monitoring3.9
- Active Listening3.9
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Speaking3.8
- Active Learning3.6
- Reading Comprehension3.6
- Writing3.1
- Learning Strategies3.1
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.3
- Medicine and Dentistry4.3
- English Language3.9
- Education and Training3.7
- Psychology3.4
- Biology3.3
Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Inductive Reasoning4.0
- Oral Comprehension3.9
- Information Ordering3.9
- Deductive Reasoning3.9
Core activities
- Documenting/Recording Information4.6
- Assisting and Caring for Others4.5
- Getting Information4.5
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.4
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.2
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.2
How to get in
How to become a respiratory therapist
- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Respiratory Therapists1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.0908Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a respiratory therapist?+
BLS lists an associate's degree as the typical entry-level education for respiratory therapists. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a respiratory therapist?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 program to this job, which graduates about 6,816 people a year.
How much do respiratory therapists earn?+
The median is $82,280 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $63,660 at the 10th percentile to $118,050 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for respiratory therapists growing?+
BLS projects a +12.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 8,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
389 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do respiratory therapists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Respiratory Therapist (RT), Respiratory Care Practitioner (RCP), Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT), Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-1126.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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