Respiratory Therapists in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,220
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$17,580
22.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,343
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$78,800
Kept after tax
$61,220
Worth in national money
$69,343
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for respiratory therapists is on the low side in Oklahoma. The middle earner gets $78,800. That is 36 of 51 states, and about 4.23% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations Oklahoma reports, respiratory therapists comes in at 99 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Oklahoma does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $78,800 you keep $61,220, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $69,343 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $77,710, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For respiratory therapists, Oklahoma sits in the lower band at $78,800, ranking 36 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 4.23%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Respiratory therapists ranks 99 of 492 occupations by median in Oklahoma, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Oklahoma income tax, retained pay for respiratory therapists on $78,800 is $61,220. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $69,343 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $77,710 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Respiratory Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $64,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $95,350 |
| This salary | $78,800 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Oklahoma | $61,220 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,266 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,209 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $74,471 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,433 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of respiratory therapists in Oklahoma earn under $78,800 and half over. The published range runs $64,380 at the tenth percentile to $95,350 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Oklahoma's $61,220, worked from $78,800. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 99 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $69,343 uses one figure for the whole of Oklahoma. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 99.
- Figures are distribution medians for respiratory therapists in Oklahoma, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $64,380 to $95,350; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Oklahoma take-home of $61,220, on $78,800 for work ranking 99 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 99 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $69,343, worked from $78,800, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Oklahoma address, on work sitting at 99 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $64,380 and the top tenth $95,350, so most people doing this work in Oklahoma sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Oklahoma is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $69,343 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Oklahoma adds its own income tax on top — which is why $61,220 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($64,380 to $95,350) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oklahoma rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Oklahoma's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $69,343 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $61,220 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.