Learn about the types of people who become respiratory therapists. This page goes into detail about the employment, gender, and ethnic ratios of the workplace.
Employment Type Mix, 2024
81% of respiratory therapists work in full-time roles while 19% work part-time.
Gender Mix By Career Interest, 2024
This graph shows the distribution of females and males that are interested in becoming a respiratory therapist. Four or five star ratings on CareerExplorer indicate interest.
More women than men are interested in becoming respiratory therapists at a ratio of 1.16 to 1.
Actual Gender Mix, 2024
73% of respiratory therapists are female and 27% are male.
Gender Bias, 2024
This is one of the most compelling statistics we collect. Gender bias shows the difference between gender interest in being a respiratory therapist and the actual gender mix of people in the career.
If there is a significant difference, then it means there is a gender imbalance between those interested in becoming a respiratory therapist and those who end up becoming one.
In this case there are significantly more men interested in becoming a respiratory therapist than those actually working as one. It is hard to pinpoint the exact reasons why, but there are likely various forces at play, from changing interests over time to societal norms and biases.
Ethnic Mix, 2019
The largest ethnic group of respiratory therapists are White, making up 62% of the population. The next highest segments are Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish and Black or African American, making up 13% and 12% respectively.