Respiratory Therapists in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,376
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$19,444
23.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,617
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$83,820
Kept after tax
$64,376
Worth in national money
$66,617
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Vermont is 20 of 51 states for respiratory therapists, with a middle wage of $83,820. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 453 occupations Vermont reports, respiratory therapists comes in at 93 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Vermont does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $83,820 you keep $64,376, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $66,617 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $84,640, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Vermont ranks 20 of 51 for respiratory therapists at $83,820. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Respiratory therapists ranks 93 of 453 occupations by median in Vermont, 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 Vermont income tax, retained pay for respiratory therapists on $83,820 is $64,376. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $66,617 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 $84,640 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 | $50,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,940 |
| This salary | $83,820 |
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 Vermont | $64,376 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,797 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,151 |
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 | $78,956 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,353 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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 Vermont earn under $83,820 and half over. The published range runs $50,310 at the tenth percentile to $99,940 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $64,376 take-home in Vermont comes from $83,820. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 93 of 453.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $66,617 uses one figure for the whole of Vermont. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 453 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 93.
- Figures are distribution medians for respiratory therapists in Vermont, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $50,310 to $99,940; 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.
- Retained pay of $64,376, from $83,820, assumes a single Vermont filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 93 of 453 locally, and the state ranks 20 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $66,617, worked from $83,820, 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 Vermont address, on work sitting at 93 of 453 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $50,310 at the tenth percentile, $99,940 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Vermont sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $66,617 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Vermont's own levy, $64,376 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($50,310 to $99,940) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Vermont rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $66,617 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 $64,376 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.