Respiratory Therapists in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$79,975
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$21,155
20.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$73,668
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$101,130
Kept after tax
$79,975
Worth in national money
$73,668
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Washington pays respiratory therapists a middle wage of $101,130, ranking 5 of 51 states and sitting about 22.91% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Washington. It ranks 116 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $101,130 the take-home is $79,975. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $73,668 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $99,740, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Washington's median for respiratory therapists is $101,130, about 22.91% above the national figure and 5 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within Washington, respiratory therapists ranks 116 of 493 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $79,975 for respiratory therapists, from $101,130. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $73,668. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $99,740 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 | $76,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $101,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $127,520 |
| This salary | $101,130 |
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 Washington | $79,975 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $79,975 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,632 |
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 | $101,130 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,924 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 Washington earn under $101,130 and half over. The published range runs $76,080 at the tenth percentile to $127,520 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $79,975 take-home in Washington comes from $101,130. 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 116 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Washington, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $73,668, the adjusted value of that $101,130 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 116 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for respiratory therapists in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $76,080 to $127,520; 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 $79,975, from $101,130, assumes a single Washington 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 116 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 5 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Washington, so $73,668 — the adjusted value of that $101,130 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 116 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $76,080 and the top tenth $127,520, so most people doing this work in Washington sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Washington run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $73,668 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $79,975 survives, because Washington 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 ($76,080 to $127,520) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $73,668 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $79,975 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.