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Respiratory Therapists · SOC 29-1126

Respiratory Therapists Salary in the Wilmington Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Wilmington, NC metro area

Figures describe the Wilmington, NC metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Wilmington city limits.

Median annual wage$81,020
Median hourly wage$38.95

Respiratory Therapists in the Wilmington, NC metro area earned a median of $81,020 per year ($38.95 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $64,490 at the 10th percentile to $95,830 at the 90th. BLS estimates 200 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Respiratory Therapists in the Wilmington metro area earn more than $81,020 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $65,730 and $86,950.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$64,490$65,730$81,020$86,950$95,830
Hourly$31.01$31.60$38.95$41.80$46.07

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • Wilmington metro areathis metro area
    $81,020
  • North Carolinastate (NC)
    $80,090
  • United Statesnational
    $82,280

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is +1% vs North Carolina overall and −2% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$25,780$67,080$108,380$149,680Ponce, PR — $25,780Mayaguez, PR — $26,910San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $38,410Jacksonville, NC — $54,790Altoona, PA — $59,980Hattiesburg, MS — $60,170Dothan, AL — $61,290Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA — $62,260Erie, PA — $62,480Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA — $62,740Gadsden, AL — $62,800Las Cruces, NM — $62,960Sioux Falls, SD-MN — $63,630Sioux City, IA-NE-SD — $63,800Tuscaloosa, AL — $64,140Huntsville, AL — $64,330Knoxville, TN — $64,800Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA — $65,070Jackson, TN — $65,310McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX — $65,390Joplin, MO-KS — $65,630Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH — $66,040Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $66,460Gulfport-Biloxi, MS — $66,660Anniston-Oxford, AL — $66,740Cedar Rapids, IA — $66,830Cape Girardeau, MO-IL — $66,910Brownsville-Harlingen, TX — $66,990Birmingham, AL — $67,480Jackson, MS — $67,500Beckley, WV — $67,600Farmington, NM — $67,600Valdosta, GA — $67,600Spartanburg, SC — $67,700Bowling Green, KY — $68,490Charleston, WV — $68,670Albuquerque, NM — $68,870Greenville, NC — $69,310Sandusky, OH — $69,360Columbia, MO — $69,400Casper, WY — $70,980Alexandria, LA — $71,140Johnstown, PA — $71,210Abilene, TX — $71,260Wichita, KS — $71,330Springfield, MO — $72,490Mansfield, OH — $72,860Pocatello, ID — $73,270Sherman-Denison, TX — $73,530Yuma, AZ — $73,580Lake Charles, LA — $73,680State College, PA — $73,690Rocky Mount, NC — $73,830Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH — $73,840St. Joseph, MO-KS — $73,860Shreveport-Bossier City, LA — $73,940Elizabethtown, KY — $74,040Dubuque, IA — $74,190Baton Rouge, LA — $74,220Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV — $74,300Chattanooga, TN-GA — $74,350Killeen-Temple, TX — $74,370Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL — $74,650Champaign-Urbana, IL — $74,660Iowa City, IA — $75,110Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $75,300Waco, TX — $75,370Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL — $75,460Pittsburgh, PA — $75,470Bloomington, IL — $75,490El Paso, TX — $75,490Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $75,650Youngstown-Warren, OH — $75,650Monroe, LA — $75,770Hammond, LA — $75,990Paducah, KY-IL — $76,100Victoria, TX — $76,110Gainesville, FL — $76,170San Angelo, TX — $76,200Lafayette, LA — $76,210Kalamazoo-Portage, MI — $76,220Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC — $76,440Lubbock, TX — $76,530Albany, GA — $76,540Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $76,560Warner Robins, GA — $76,560New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $76,590Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX — $76,660Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA — $76,680Tyler, TX — $76,800Montgomery, AL — $76,920Columbus, GA-AL — $77,150Topeka, KS — $77,190Enid, OK — $77,230Midland, TX — $77,370Fort Wayne, IN — $77,390Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL — $77,390Jefferson City, MO — $77,500Kenosha, WI — $77,570Lima, OH — $77,570Rockford, IL — $77,640Peoria, IL — $77,660Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR — $77,720Flint, MI — $77,760Homosassa Springs, FL — $77,830San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $77,900Springfield, OH — $78,020Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $78,070Fort Smith, AR-OK — $78,080Bloomington, IN — $78,100Corpus Christi, TX — $78,130Savannah, GA — $78,200Williamsport, PA — $78,300Tucson, AZ — $78,320Springfield, IL — $78,340Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC — $78,350Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA — $78,380Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $78,390Boise City, ID — $78,460Longview, TX — $78,520Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $78,530Florence, SC — $78,550Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC — $78,560Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ — $78,600Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL — $78,650Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $78,700Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT — $78,700Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL — $78,740Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA — $78,750Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT — $78,750Roanoke, VA — $78,820Texarkana, TX-AR — $78,880Akron, OH — $78,940Tallahassee, FL — $78,950Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $78,980Evansville, IN — $78,990Kansas City, MO-KS — $79,140Clarksville, TN-KY — $79,150St. Louis, MO-IL — $79,210Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $79,410South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI — $79,450Mobile, AL — $79,490Twin Falls, ID — $79,520York-Hanover, PA — $79,540Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $79,760Columbia, SC — $79,780Billings, MT — $79,820Ann Arbor, MI — $79,850Chambersburg, PA — $79,910Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ — $79,960Lexington-Fayette, KY — $80,040Lancaster, PA — $80,060Greensboro-High Point, NC — $80,090Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN — $80,140Tulsa, OK — $80,250Winston-Salem, NC — $80,250Cleveland, OH — $80,360Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $80,450Amarillo, TX — $80,470Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL — $80,530Fayetteville, NC — $80,650Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL — $80,680Macon-Bibb County, GA — $80,730Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $80,790Oklahoma City, OK — $80,810Pueblo, CO — $80,860Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $80,880Eau Claire, WI — $80,900Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $80,990Bangor, ME — $81,020Wilmington, NC — $81,020Omaha, NE-IA — $81,270Grand Junction, CO — $81,290Monroe, MI — $81,290Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $81,420Battle Creek, MI — $81,440Lynchburg, VA — $81,470Madison, WI — $81,530Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL — $81,540Asheville, NC — $81,550Lincoln, NE — $81,590Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $81,600Janesville-Beloit, WI — $81,600Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $81,630Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $81,720Athens-Clarke County, GA — $81,730Richmond, VA — $81,750Jacksonville, FL — $81,760Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $81,770Columbus, OH — $81,860Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $82,020Visalia, CA — $82,030Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $82,070Canton-Massillon, OH — $82,200Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ — $82,200Toledo, OH — $82,280Green Bay, WI — $82,300Ogden, UT — $82,380Missoula, MT — $82,580Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $82,760Port St. Lucie, FL — $82,860Michigan City-La Porte, IN — $82,990Rochester, NY — $82,990North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL — $83,110Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL — $83,310Fresno, CA — $83,340Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $83,880Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $84,080Appleton, WI — $84,300Reading, PA — $84,330Dover, DE — $84,410Fargo, ND-MN — $84,480Kankakee, IL — $84,490Bismarck, ND — $84,570Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $85,110New Haven, CT — $85,230Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $85,250Duluth, MN-WI — $85,700Syracuse, NY — $85,860Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $85,870Eugene-Springfield, OR — $85,930Springfield, MA — $86,030Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ — $86,220Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL — $86,300Portland-South Portland, ME — $86,440Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI — $86,460Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $86,660Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $86,720Charlottesville, VA — $86,720Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $87,060Raleigh-Cary, NC — $87,820Colorado Springs, CO — $87,890Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $88,020Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $88,790Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $89,040Waterbury-Shelton, CT — $89,660Utica-Rome, NY — $91,610Boulder, CO — $91,880Manchester-Nashua, NH — $93,300Urban Honolulu, HI — $94,210Kingston, NY — $95,170Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $95,520Anchorage, AK — $97,950Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $98,010Worcester, MA — $98,120Kennewick-Richland, WA — $98,320Rochester, MN — $98,700Rome, GA — $98,720Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $100,030Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $100,480Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $100,920Merced, CA — $101,810Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $101,990Stockton-Lodi, CA — $102,050Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $102,250Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $102,760Medford, OR — $102,780Binghamton, NY — $103,200Redding, CA — $103,830Modesto, CA — $103,870Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $104,220Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ — $104,350Salem, OR — $104,360Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $104,580Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $104,640Napa, CA — $104,670San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $105,040Reno, NV — $105,140Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY — $106,910Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA — $108,600New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $110,490San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA — $112,430Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA — $123,220San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $130,220Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $134,430Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA — $134,880Vallejo, CA — $136,200San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $149,680

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The Wilmington metro area has the 108th-highest published median for this occupation among the 278 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Other metro areas in North Carolina

Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for respiratory therapists, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.

  • Wilmington metro areathis page
    $81,020
  • Raleigh metro area
    $87,820
  • Charlotte metro area
    $82,020
  • Asheville metro area
    $81,550
  • Fayetteville metro area
    $80,650
  • Winston-Salem metro area
    $80,250
  • Greensboro metro area
    $80,090

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Registered Nurses$80,970Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses$63,390Pharmacy Technicians$44,300Pharmacists$151,790Physical Therapists$98,770Physicians, All Other$252,960

Highest-paying metro areas for respiratory therapistss · Highest-paying occupations in Wilmington Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.