Best Cities for Respiratory Therapistss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where respiratory therapistss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.51	$149,680	$124,526	25%
2	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.23	$100,920	$101,427	18%
3	MinnesotaState	1.22	$98,710	$100,724	16%
4	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.20	$95,520	$98,678	20%
5	District of ColumbiaState	1.19	$111,950	$97,944	23%
6	OregonState	1.19	$100,560	$97,631	19%
7	New YorkState	1.16	$107,810	$95,831	21%
8	CaliforniaState	1.15	$104,820	$94,688	26%
9	WashingtonState	1.15	$101,130	$94,250	23%
10	AlaskaState	1.14	$97,950	$93,912	17%
11	MassachusettsState	1.14	$102,170	$94,166	26%
12	New JerseyState	1.13	$100,810	$92,656	21%
13	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.13	$100,030	$92,792	22%
14	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.12	$104,580	$92,141	29%
15	WisconsinState	1.11	$84,210	$91,235	15%
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.11	$104,220	$91,181	25%
17	DelawareState	1.10	$91,080	$90,178	18%
18	New HampshireState	1.10	$95,940	$90,509	20%
19	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.10	$101,990	$90,417	23%
20	GeorgiaState	1.09	$83,700	$89,615	20%
21	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.09	$104,640	$89,820	26%
22	MissouriState	1.08	$78,390	$88,476	16%
23	NebraskaState	1.08	$81,590	$89,169	15%
24	OklahomaState	1.08	$78,800	$89,040	15%
25	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.08	$80,790	$88,586	18%
26	IndianaState	1.07	$79,730	$88,099	16%
27	North DakotaState	1.07	$81,230	$87,721	14%
28	OhioState	1.07	$79,920	$88,407	16%
29	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$81,860	$87,551	19%
30	IllinoisState	1.05	$84,090	$86,335	19%
31	MichiganState	1.05	$79,850	$86,511	17%
32	Rhode IslandState	1.05	$86,900	$86,468	21%
33	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$84,080	$86,502	23%
34	ArkansasState	1.04	$73,870	$85,597	14%
35	HawaiiState	1.04	$94,210	$85,645	30%
36	KansasState	1.04	$76,970	$85,522	16%
37	NevadaState	1.04	$85,480	$85,309	20%
38	WyomingState	1.04	$79,330	$85,301	15%
39	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.04	$82,020	$85,616	22%
40	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$79,140	$85,280	19%
41	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.04	$88,790	$85,787	22%
42	North CarolinaState	1.03	$80,090	$84,841	19%
43	South CarolinaState	1.03	$77,740	$84,500	19%
44	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.03	$77,900	$84,674	20%
45	IowaState	1.02	$74,760	$83,812	15%
46	MontanaState	1.02	$81,190	$84,222	17%
47	LouisianaState	1.01	$75,240	$83,507	17%
48	TexasState	1.01	$79,540	$83,201	21%
49	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.01	$88,020	$83,195	23%
50	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.01	$81,630	$82,873	25%
51	KentuckyState	1.00	$72,750	$82,203	16%
52	MaineState	1.00	$82,470	$82,635	19%
53	ColoradoState	0.99	$86,220	$81,803	26%
54	IdahoState	0.99	$78,460	$81,306	18%
55	MarylandState	0.99	$88,960	$81,465	23%
56	VermontState	0.99	$83,820	$81,776	20%
57	West VirginiaState	0.99	$68,670	$81,556	15%
58	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.99	$78,700	$81,809	24%
59	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.99	$75,470	$81,589	19%
60	PennsylvaniaState	0.98	$78,490	$80,918	20%
61	UtahState	0.98	$80,650	$80,489	22%
62	FloridaState	0.97	$81,160	$79,961	25%
63	VirginiaState	0.97	$82,910	$80,106	23%
64	ArizonaState	0.96	$79,780	$79,068	23%
65	ConnecticutState	0.96	$85,230	$79,210	22%
66	TennesseeState	0.96	$72,140	$78,842	21%
67	AlabamaState	0.92	$66,150	$75,947	17%
68	MississippiState	0.91	$63,270	$74,611	17%
69	New MexicoState	0.91	$68,870	$74,859	18%
70	South DakotaState	0.91	$68,240	$75,154	17%
71	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$80,880	$74,544	30%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).