Respiratory Therapists in Texas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,786
after federal, FICA and Texas tax
Tax takes
$14,754
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,670
Texas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Texas — 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
$79,540
Kept after tax
$64,786
Worth in national money
$66,670
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Texas sits in the middle of the pack for respiratory therapists. The median is $79,540, ranking 34 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Texas this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, respiratory therapists ranks 115 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $79,540 the take-home is $64,786, which is worth about $66,670 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $81,010, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Texas occupies the middle band for respiratory therapists: a median of $79,540, ranking 34 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation Texas publishes a median for, respiratory therapists sits 115 of 493 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Texas's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for respiratory therapists on its $79,540 median: $64,786 retained after tax becomes $66,670 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $81,010 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Respiratory Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,690 |
| This salary | $79,540 |
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 Texas | $64,786 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Florida | $64,786 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,045 |
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 | $79,540 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,949 |
| Prices in Florida | 103 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Texas earn less than $79,540. The published range is $61,310 up to $99,690, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Texas the take-home figure of $64,786, from $79,540, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 115 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $66,670 uses one figure for the whole of Texas. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 115.
- Reported values are medians; for respiratory therapists in Texas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $61,310 to $99,690. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Texas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $64,786 from $79,540. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 115 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $66,670, worked from $79,540, 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 Texas address, on work sitting at 115 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $61,310 at the tenth percentile, $99,690 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $66,670.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $64,786 survives, because Texas levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($61,310 to $99,690) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Texas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Texas'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 $66,670 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Texas levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $64,786 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.