Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant maps to BLS occupations averaging about $94,435, with roughly 227,740 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $4,718; common paths include Respiratory Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants.
Key Statistics
Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant: what the data shows
Common questions about respiratory therapy technician/assistant degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a respiratory therapy technician/assistant degree?
A Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant program is classified under NCES CIP 51.0812 in the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services field family (51.08).
A program that prepares individuals to administer general respiratory care procedures under the supervision of respiratory therapists in a variety of clinical settings. Includes instruction in patient data collection and monitoring, airway management, installation of nebulizers and other respiratory assistance devices, application and monitoring of breathing gases, equipment operation and maintenance, safety and sanitation procedures, and applicable regulations
IPEDS counted 52 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of respiratory therapy technician/assistant degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 51.08 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Anesthesiologist Assistant (CIP 51.0809)
- Chiropractic Technician/Assistant (CIP 51.0813)
- Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant (CIP 51.0802)
- Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) (CIP 51.0810)
- Lactation Consultant (CIP 51.0815)
- Medical/Clinical Assistant (CIP 51.0801)
- Occupational Therapist Assistant (CIP 51.0803)
- Pathology/Pathologist Assistant (CIP 51.0811)
- Pharmacy Technician/Assistant (CIP 51.0805)
- Physical Therapy Assistant (CIP 51.0806)
- Radiologist Assistant (CIP 51.0814)
- Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (CIP 51.0816)
How long does it take to get a respiratory therapy technician/assistant degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.0812 in our file:
- 333 Associate (86.5% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 52 Bachelor's (13.5% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Respiratory Therapists (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a respiratory therapy technician/assistant degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Respiratory Therapists | 136,420 | $80,450 |
| Occupational Therapy Assistants | 47,910 | $68,340 |
| Occupational Therapy Aides | 5,000 | $37,370 |
| Psychiatric Aides | 34,900 | $41,590 |
| Genetic Counselors | 3,510 | $98,910 |
| Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | — | — |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a respiratory therapy technician/assistant degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services bachelor's program family: median debt $32,031, median earnings $68,559 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.97.
About 4.5% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $4,718 and median net price is $11,972.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$4,718 Median In-State Public
$16,346 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant majors are, on average, $4,718 for in-state public colleges, and $16,346 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 4 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 5 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 4 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 5 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 3 | Infinity College | LA | $230 |
| 4 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 5 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant is in WA (37 completions). That state represents about 71.2% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is WA (0.05% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| WA | 37 | 71.2% | 0.05% |
| SC | 8 | 15.4% | 0.01% |
| OH | 7 | 13.5% | 0.01% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 51.08 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Anesthesiologist Assistant CIP 51.0809
- Chiropractic Technician/Assistant CIP 51.0813
- Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant CIP 51.0802
- Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance) CIP 51.0810
- Lactation Consultant CIP 51.0815
- Medical/Clinical Assistant CIP 51.0801
- Occupational Therapist Assistant CIP 51.0803
- Pathology/Pathologist Assistant CIP 51.0811
- Pharmacy Technician/Assistant CIP 51.0805
- Physical Therapy Assistant CIP 51.0806
- Radiologist Assistant CIP 51.0814
- Speech-Language Pathology Assistant CIP 51.0816
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.0812 in the survey year used in our extract (385 total across levels below).
- 333 Associate (86.5% of IPEDS total)
- 52 Bachelor's (13.5% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $94,435. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Respiratory Therapists | $109,692 | 136,420 |
| Occupational Therapy Assistants | $83,755 | 47,910 |
| Occupational Therapy Aides | $44,140 | 5,000 |
| Psychiatric Aides | $51,699 | 34,900 |
| Genetic Counselors | $143,815 | 3,510 |
| Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | — | — |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services CIP family (6 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant graduate.
- $32,031 median federal loan debt among completers
- $68,559 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.97 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 4.5% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$94,435 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant majors is $94,435.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant majors.
Occupations by Share
227,740 2023 Workforce
The number of Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant.
Age distribution for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
52 Total Degrees Awarded
7 Male (13.46%)
45 Female (86.54%)
Gender distribution of Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
30 White (57.69%)
9 Black or African American (17.31%)
7 Asian (13.46%)
2 American Indian/Alaska Native (3.85%)
1 Hispanic or Latino (1.92%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to administer general respiratory care procedures under the supervision of respiratory therapists in a variety of clinical settings. Includes instruction in patient data collection and monitoring, airway management, installation of nebulizers and other respiratory assistance devices, application and monitoring of breathing gases, equipment operation and maintenance, safety and sanitation procedures, and applicable regulations
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant.
CIP Code
51.0812 - Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $32,031 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $68,559, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.97. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant graduate.
Women earned 70.8% of 431 Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $94,435. The largest mapped role by headcount is Respiratory Therapists (136,420 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $4,718 in-state at public colleges and $16,346 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.