Illinois Respiratory Therapist Salaries

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 4,130 respiratory therapists who were actively employed in Illinois during 2013 earned an annual mean salary of $55,250. Of these 2,850 worked in the Chicago area.

The occupational outlook for RTs is very good. The government predicts there to be a 23 percent growth rate, increasing the number of RT jobs in Illinois to 5,320 by 2018.

Wages not only differ by education but also by location. Median annual salaries for CRTs and RRTs in different Illinois cities are as follows:

Illinois Salary
CRT Salary
Aurora
$54057
Bloomington
$53897
Bolingbrook
$53228
Champaign
$49374
Chicago*
$59339
Decatur
$49526
Elgin
$54063
Joliet
$51665
Moline
$51095
Palatine
$53211
Peoria
$51518
Rockford
$56546
Springfield
$50807
Waukegan
$53414

*Salaries in the greater Chicago area range from a low of $48,911 to a high of $70,474 for CRTs and $54,220 to $75,051 for RRTs. Chicago’s high median salaries listed above are the same for all of these suburban cities in the greater Chicago area:

  • Arlington Heights
  • Des Plaines
  • Evanston
  • Mount Prospect
  • Oak Lawn
  • Oak Park
  • Skokie
  • Tinley Park
  • Wheaton

The table below provides 2013 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) salary information for respiratory therapists in Illinois.

Area Name
Employment
Annual Median Salary
Bloomington-Normal IL
50
55310
Cape Girardeau-Jackson MO-IL
110
50360
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville IL Metropolitan Division
2760
56730
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville IL-IN-WI
3320
56590
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island IA-IL
130
52150
Kankakee-Bradley IL
50
53820
Lake County-Kenosha County IL-WI Metropolitan Division
170
56440
Peoria IL
220
52650
Rockford IL
120
51840
St. Louis MO-IL
1320
51650
Springfield IL
80
53050
Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area
140
51150
West Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area
100
45260
East Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area
80
51220
South Illinois nonmetropolitan area
100
47310