Skip to content

Therapy & rehab

Respiratory therapist salary in California

Open respiratory therapist jobs in California post a median of $52.25 an hour, the middle half $46–$61.75 (about $108,700 a year full time), $9.25 above the national posted median. From 77 jobs at 31 employers that state their pay.

$52.25
Median posted /hr
$46–$62
Middle half /hr
$108,700
A year, full time
estimate, 2,080 hours
$50.40
BLS median in CA
May 2025

The jobs themselves: Respiratory therapist jobs in California · Respiratory therapist pay nationwide

What respiratory therapists are paid in California

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint).

Posted hourly rates of 77 open jobs in California. Lowest posted $26.02, highest $96.07.

Posted on open jobs in California

$46–$61.75/hr

Middle half of 66 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $52.25. 61% of the 127 open respiratory therapist jobs in California state an hourly rate.

RT alerts

RT in California: new openings every week

A weekly email with the newest RT openings in California, taken from the employers' own careers sites. Free, stop anytime.

Only job openings in your inbox. Leave anytime with one click.

Respiratory therapist pay by town in California

Towns where at least three open jobs state an hourly rate, the towns with the most such jobs first.

TownMedian postedPosted rangeJobs (employers)
Los Angeles$46$28.41–$63.625 (3)
San Francisco$77$49.22–$95.284 (2)
Mountain View$78.50$62.58–$96.073 (1)
Palo Alto$72$65.26–$80.543 (2)
Sacramento$62.75$47.68–$82.943 (3)
Anaheim$50.75$33.42–$64.133 (2)
San Diego$49.50$40.97–$61.623 (2)
Long Beach$47.50$43.13–$61.673 (2)
Santa Ana$35.25$28.41–$48.123 (1)

Median of employers' rates in the town, the lowest and highest rate posted, and the jobs and employers behind them. A town opens its own job page.

Respiratory therapist pay by employer in California

What each employer posts for respiratory therapists here, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first.

EmployerMedian postedPosted rangeJobs stating pay
CommonSpirit Health$58$30.91–$70.529
Sutter Health$66.75$47.68–$95.286
ScionHealth$32.50$28.41–$59.786
Kaiser Permanente$61.25$54.13–$74.135
Sharp HealthCare$48.50$39.69–$56.344
Emanate Health$45$454
Prime Healthcare$40.25$33.42–$60.224
El Camino Health$73$62.58–$96.073
Stanford Medicine Children's Health$72$42.76–$80.543
Scripps Health$52$42.51–$61.623
Cedars-Sinai$46$35.98–$62.033
Plumas District Hospital$56.50$42.33–$72.432
Providence$54$31.58–$73.442
Community Memorial Hospital - Ventura$51.25$38.78–$55.532
San Antonio Regional Hospital$47.75$37.20–$58.912
Kaweah Health$46.75$37.42–$56.142
MemorialCare$45.25$43.13–$47.562
Loma Linda University Health$38.75$26.02–$56.192
UCSF Health$79.75$79.871
Montage Health$73.25$62.67–$83.841
Shriners Children's$70.75$58.75–$82.941
Stanford Health Care$69.25$65.26–$73.141
Lompoc Valley Medical Center$51.75$46.04–$57.491
Sonoma Specialty Hospital$51$47–$551
Banner Health$47.25$35.37–$58.951
Central Valley Specialty Hospital$44$38–$501
Tower Imaging Valencia$43.50$42–$451
Trinity Health$43.50$36.32–$50.851
PACS Group$41$37–$451
Coalinga Regional Medical Center$40$35–$451
Conversio Health$38.50$35–$421

Median of each employer's jobs in California (a range at its midpoint), and its lowest and highest rate here. An employer's name opens its pay for respiratory therapists nationwide when it has such a page.

Night shift respiratory therapist pay in California

Where one employer posts both night and other respiratory therapist jobs in the same state (6 such employers and states), the night jobs post the same base rate as the rest (the median gap is $0): most employers state their night differential apart from the base pay, so check the posting for it.

Employer, stateNight jobs, medianOther jobs, median
ScionHealth, CA$32.50 (5)$32.50 (1)
Emanate Health, CA$45 (2)$45 (2)
Sharp HealthCare, CA$47 (1)$50 (3)
Cedars-Sinai, CA$49.50 (2)$43.50 (1)
El Camino Health, CA$73 (1)$78.50 (2)
Stanford Medicine Children's Health, CA$75.75 (1)$59.50 (2)

A job counts as a night job when its title names nights ("Nights", "NOC", "7p-7a"). Jobs in brackets.

Best-paid open respiratory therapist jobs in California

The open jobs posting the highest hourly rates tonight, at most two from one employer.

What BLS measures in California

What people employed in the occupation earned in the state, at every level of experience, from the BLS survey. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, California. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation10th pct25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctEmployed
Respiratory Therapists (29-1126)$37.02 (source: BLS OEWS, Respiratory Therapists, opens in a new tab)$42.19 (source: BLS OEWS, Respiratory Therapists, opens in a new tab)$50.40 (source: BLS OEWS, Respiratory Therapists, opens in a new tab)$62.03 (source: BLS OEWS, Respiratory Therapists, opens in a new tab)$69.96 (source: BLS OEWS, Respiratory Therapists, opens in a new tab)18,650 (source: BLS OEWS, Respiratory Therapists, opens in a new tab)

BLS median by metro area

Respiratory therapist salary in California: common questions

How much does a respiratory therapist make in California?

Open respiratory therapist jobs in California that state an hourly rate post a median of $52.25, the middle half $46–$61.75 (77 jobs from 31 employers). Full time that is about $108,700 a year. BLS measured a median of $50.40/hr ($104,820 a year) for people employed in the occupation in California (May 2025).

Where in California do respiratory therapists earn the most?

By the median rate open jobs post, in the towns with the most jobs stating pay: Los Angeles ($46), San Francisco ($77), Mountain View ($78.50) and Palo Alto ($72). The town table lists 9.

Which employers in California pay respiratory therapists the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least three open jobs here: El Camino Health ($73), Stanford Medicine Children's Health ($72) and Sutter Health ($66.75).

How does California compare with the rest of the country?

The posted median in California ($52.25) is $9.25 above the national posted median of $43. In the BLS survey California ranks 3 of 52 by median wage.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 77 of 127 open respiratory therapist jobs in California (61%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none; "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out.

Respiratory therapist pay in other states

Respiratory therapist salary nationwide →Every healthcare salary →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used, a range at its midpoint. In the state's median and middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; a town's median follows the same rule. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates far from the occupation's median are left out. A state has a page while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate there. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours. BLS figures are as published.
  1. CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
  2. BLS OEWS May 2025: Respiratory Therapists (SOC 29-1126), every state, published May 15, 2026
  3. BLS OEWS May 2025: Respiratory Therapists, national, published May 15, 2026
  4. BLS OEWS May 2025: Respiratory Therapists by metropolitan area, published May 15, 2026

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). Respiratory therapist salary in California. Data as of October 24, 2026. https://carejobs.now/salaries/respiratory-therapist/california

How the board counts