Respiratory Therapist Salary in Texas: Pay by Experience, City & Take-Home

A respiratory therapist in Texas earns a median of $79,540 a year, which works out to about $38.24 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025). Most of the field lands between $61,310 at the 10th percentile and $99,690 at the 90th. Texas charges no state income tax, so more of that gross stays in your pocket than it would in most other states.

Texas vs. the national pay for respiratory therapists

Texas sits just below the national line. The BLS puts the national median for respiratory therapists at $82,280, while the Texas median is $79,540. That’s a gap of $2,740, or roughly 3.3 percent less than the typical U.S. respiratory therapist earns on paper.

That headline gap is smaller than it looks once taxes enter the picture. Texas has no state income tax, so a respiratory therapist here keeps a larger share of each paycheck than a peer in a state that taxes wages. The mean (average) annual wage in Texas runs slightly higher than the median at $81,010, which tells you the top of the pay range pulls the average up. Statewide, Texas employs about 12,130 respiratory therapists, one of the largest workforces for this role in the country, so the local market is deep and the demand is steady.

Here’s the full Texas distribution from the BLS so you can see exactly where you’d fall:

The spread from the 10th to the 90th percentile is $38,380. That’s a wide band for one job title, and it tracks closely to experience, shift type, the setting you work in, and which metro you call home. The sections below break each of those down.

Respiratory therapist pay in Texas by experience

Pay for this role climbs steadily as you move from a new license to a senior or lead position. The BLS percentile data is the cleanest proxy for an experience ladder, since respiratory therapists with more years, more certifications, and more critical-care hours cluster at the higher percentiles.

A new respiratory therapist starting near the 10th percentile earns $61,310. Move up to the early-career band at the 25th percentile and that rises to $69,670, a jump of $8,360 just for getting past your first year or two and proving you can run the floor without supervision.

The median Texas respiratory therapist earns $79,540. Reaching the experienced 75th percentile at $93,680 means another $14,140 over the median, and that’s where specialization starts paying off. Therapists who work neonatal or pediatric intensive care, run ECMO, manage adult critical care, or pick up charge and lead responsibilities tend to sit in this band. The top 10 percent earn $99,690 or more. The climb from median to senior is $20,150, and most of it comes from a mix of credentials, critical-care hours, and willingness to work nights, weekends, and high-acuity units.

The hourly figures above are derived from the annual percentiles for context. The BLS reports the Texas median hourly wage directly at $38.24, which lines up with the $79,540 annual median. If you’re paid hourly and weighing a shift differential or an overtime stretch, that $38.24 base is your anchor.

It helps to read the ladder in dollar terms rather than percentiles. Going from entry ($61,310) to early career ($69,670) adds $8,360. From early career to the median ($79,540) adds another $9,870. From the median to experienced ($93,680) is the biggest single jump at $14,140, and that’s the step where a specialty credential or a move into critical care usually does the work. The final stretch from experienced to senior ($99,690) adds $6,010. Notice the curve flattens at the top: the difference between the 75th and 90th percentiles is smaller than the climb to reach the 75th in the first place. That tells you the highest-impact move in a Texas respiratory therapy career is getting from mid-career into the experienced band, where specialization and critical-care hours pay off most. After that, further gains come more slowly and usually require a title change into lead, charge, or management.

Where you fall on this ladder also depends on the setting, not just the years. Hospital-based respiratory therapists in large acute-care systems, especially those staffing ICUs and emergency departments, tend to sit higher than those in outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities, or physician offices. Two therapists with the same five years of experience can land a full percentile band apart based purely on whether they work a high-acuity hospital floor or a slower outpatient setting. If your goal is the upper percentiles, the setting you choose early matters as much as the credentials you stack.

Respiratory therapist salary by Texas metro

Where you work inside Texas moves your pay more than almost any other single factor. The big metros don’t pay the same, and the gap between the highest and lowest median below is $8,590. Here are the five largest Texas metro areas for respiratory therapists, by BLS median wage and local employment.

Dallas-Fort Worth leads the state at a median of $84,080, which is $4,540 above the Texas median and the highest of the five metros here. Austin follows close behind at $82,760. Both run above the statewide figure, reflecting larger hospital systems, competitive labor markets, and a denser concentration of high-acuity facilities.

Houston is the largest employer of the group with 3,630 respiratory therapists on the job, and its median of $80,450 sits a touch above the state median. San Antonio pays a median of $77,900 and El Paso pays $75,490, both below the statewide number. El Paso is the lowest of the five at $4,050 under the Texas median, though local housing costs there are also lower than in Dallas or Austin, which softens the difference once you look at what the paycheck actually buys.

The employment numbers tell their own story. Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth together employ 6,640 of the state’s respiratory therapists, which is more than half of the 12,130 statewide total. That density matters when you’re job hunting: more roles means more competition among employers for staff, more shift options, and more room to negotiate. The smaller markets, El Paso at 310 and Austin at 770, have fewer postings at any given time, so the pace of openings is slower even where the median pay is strong.

Look at the relationship between pay and headcount and a useful pattern emerges. Dallas pays the most ($84,080) and employs a large pool (3,010). Austin pays nearly as much ($82,760) on a much smaller base (770), which often signals a tight local market bidding up wages. Houston, the biggest employer at 3,630, sits close to the state median at $80,450, the sign of a deep, stable market rather than a hot one. If you want the strongest combination of pay and opportunity, the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin corridors are where the numbers point.

One thing the table makes clear: chasing the highest median isn’t always the win. Dallas pays more than El Paso, but the cost of living follows. The number that matters is net pay after tax minus what housing costs you locally, and we get to that next.

Take-home pay after tax in Texas

Gross salary is the headline. Take-home is what hits your account. The table below runs the four key percentile points through federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare), and Texas state tax for the 2026 tax year. Texas has no state income tax, so that column is zero at every level, which is the whole advantage of working here.

At the median, a Texas respiratory therapist grosses $79,540 and nets $64,342 a year, or about $5,362 a month, for an effective tax rate of 19.1 percent. The entry-level worker keeps $51,301 of a $61,310 gross, an effective rate of 16.3 percent. The experienced therapist at the 75th percentile nets $74,290 of $93,680 at a 20.7 percent effective rate. The senior at the 90th percentile takes home $78,518 of $99,690, an effective rate of 21.2 percent.

Watch how the effective rate climbs as income rises: 16.3 percent at entry, 19.1 percent at the median, 20.7 percent for experienced, and 21.2 percent at senior. That steady increase is the federal tax brackets doing their work, since FICA is a flat share and Texas adds nothing. The practical takeaway is that a raise at the top of the range keeps a smaller slice than the same raise at the bottom. Going from entry to senior gross is a $38,380 increase, but the net only rises from $51,301 to $78,518, a gain of $27,217. The other $11,163 goes to federal tax and FICA. None of it goes to the state, which is the part Texas workers should not take for granted.

Now the comparison that the national salary pages skip. Take the same $79,540 median and move it to California, a state that taxes wages. The same gross nets $60,918 there after California income tax, versus $64,342 in Texas. That’s a gap of $3,424 a year kept in your pocket for doing the identical job, purely because Texas doesn’t tax your income. Over a five-year stretch that’s more than $17,000 in difference, and it compounds if you invest it.

Here’s the framing that actually settles where to live and work: net pay minus local housing is the number that matters. A $3,424 tax advantage means little if your rent is $1,000 a month higher. Run your own salary, your filing status, and your zip code through the Texas paycheck calculator to see your real monthly figure, then subtract your housing. If you want help estimating withholding or filing accurately, TurboTax walks you through it line by line.

ThePayGuide may earn a commission from links on this page at no cost to you. See our editorial policy.

How to earn more as a respiratory therapist in Texas

The gap between the median ($79,540) and the 90th percentile ($99,690) is real and reachable. Here’s how Texas respiratory therapists close it:

• Add a specialty credential. The Neonatal/Pediatric Specialty (NPS), Adult Critical Care Specialty (ACCS), and Sleep Disorders Specialty (SDS) from the NBRC move you toward the higher-acuity units that pay in the 75th-to-90th-percentile band. ECMO certification is another high-value add in large Texas trauma centers.
• Work critical care, not the general floor. Neonatal and adult ICU respiratory therapists sit at the top of the range. The acuity is higher and so is the pay. The jump from median to the 75th percentile is $14,140, and specialty placement is the most common way people get there.
• Target Dallas-Fort Worth or Austin. The DFW median of $84,080 is $4,540 above the statewide median. If you can relocate within Texas, the highest-paying metros add real dollars before you even change roles.
• Take the night, weekend, and PRN differentials. Shift differentials and per-diem rates stack on top of your $38.24 base hourly. A few high-differential shifts a month is one of the fastest ways to lift annual pay without changing jobs.
• Move into lead, charge, or education roles. Charge therapist, clinical educator, and respiratory care supervisor positions carry higher base pay and push you toward the senior 90th-percentile figure of $99,690.
• Finish a bachelor’s or move toward management. A BSRT opens supervisory and management tracks. Short, stackable courses through Coursera in healthcare management, data, or quality improvement can support that move without leaving your current job.

Job outlook for respiratory therapists in Texas

The Texas market is large and active. With about 12,130 respiratory therapists employed statewide, Texas is one of the biggest single-state employers for this role in the country. An aging population, high rates of chronic respiratory and cardiac conditions, and the ongoing demand for critical-care staffing keep hiring steady across the major metros.

Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth alone account for 6,640 of those jobs, more than half the state total, concentrated around their large hospital systems and trauma networks. Austin and San Antonio add another 1,720 between them, and those markets have been growing alongside their populations. If you’re searching, the big systems in DFW, Houston, and Austin post respiratory therapist roles regularly. You can scan current openings and pay ranges on ZipRecruiter to see what local employers are offering right now.

Related and higher-paying roles in Texas

If you’re weighing respiratory therapy against nearby healthcare roles, here’s how the Texas medians compare against the respiratory therapist median of $79,540, using BLS figures for each.

A registered nurse in Texas earns a median of $95,970, which is $16,430 more than a respiratory therapist in Texas. That’s the larger move up, though it requires an RN license and a different scope of practice. An EMT or paramedic in Texas earns a median of $37,260, which is $42,280 less than a respiratory therapist in Texas, reflecting the very different training paths and credentialing requirements between the two roles.

FAQ: Respiratory therapist pay in Texas

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) 2025; federal and FICA tax estimates for tax year 2026. Last updated 2026. See our methodology.