According to the Labor and Economic Analysis Division of the North Carolina Department of Labor, respiratory therapists employed in North Carolina currently earn an estimated, mean annual salary of $52,720, or $25.35 per hour.
The Labor and Economic Analysis Division also reports:
- Respiratory therapists in North Carolina earn a median, annual salary of $52,580, or $25.28 per hour
- Entry-level respiratory therapists in North Carolina earn an estimated salary of $42,770, or $20.56 per hour
- Experienced respiratory therapists in North Carolina earn an estimated salary of $57,700, or 27.74
The Labor and Economic Analysis Division reports that as of 2014, there were 3,750 respiratory therapists employed in North Carolina, a dramatic increase from 3,510 in 2013 and 3,230 in 2012. The number of respiratory therapists employed in North Carolina increased by 520 between 2012 and 2014.
During the same period, the annual, mean salary of respiratory therapists increased from $51,550 in 2012, to $52,040 in 2013, and to $52,720 in 2014.
Following national trends, North Carolina’s healthcare industry has shown significant growth. The Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations occupational category in which respiratory therapists are categorized experienced significant increases in employment between 2012 and 2014.
In 2012, there were 232,330 professionals employed in this occupational category in North Carolina. This number increased by nearly 6,000 in 2013 to 238,220. Between 2013 and 2014, the number of employed persons in the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations occupational category in North Carolina increased again by nearly 10,000, to 248,150.
The North Carolina Commission on Workforce Development recently cited the healthcare industry as one of the top industries with the most cited hiring difficulties.
The following Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) table provides additional detailed salary information for respiratory therapists in North Carolina: