• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021

29-1051 Pharmacists

Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. May advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of medications.

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National estimates for Pharmacists
Industry profile for Pharmacists
Geographic profile for Pharmacists

National estimates for Pharmacists:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Pharmacists:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
312,550	1.0 %	$ 60.43	$ 125,690	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for Pharmacists:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 36.94	$ 58.21	$ 61.81	$ 69.04	$ 79.13
Annual Wage (2)	$ 76,840	$ 121,070	$ 128,570	$ 143,600	$ 164,590

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Industry profile for Pharmacists:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Pharmacists are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Pharmacists, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Pharmacists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Health and Personal Care Stores	126,060	12.50	$ 57.01	$ 118,570
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	81,500	1.46	$ 63.93	$ 132,970
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	24,220	0.82	$ 57.76	$ 120,150
General Merchandise Stores	19,540	0.63	$ 63.38	$ 131,830
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	7,680	2.05	$ 62.11	$ 129,180

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Pharmacists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Health and Personal Care Stores	126,060	12.50	$ 57.01	$ 118,570
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	7,680	2.05	$ 62.11	$ 129,180
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	81,500	1.46	$ 63.93	$ 132,970
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	3,850	1.43	$ 64.04	$ 133,190
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses	5,950	1.29	$ 62.63	$ 130,260

Top paying industries for Pharmacists:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Scientific Research and Development Services	310	0.04	$ 76.68	$ 159,490
Outpatient Care Centers	7,300	0.74	$ 72.46	$ 150,710
Management of Companies and Enterprises	3,050	0.12	$ 67.89	$ 141,200
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	1,180	0.02	$ 67.68	$ 140,780
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services	50	0.01	$ 66.55	$ 138,420

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Geographic profile for Pharmacists:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Pharmacists are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Pharmacists, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Pharmacists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	33,130	2.00	0.90	$ 70.26	$ 146,140
Texas	22,550	1.84	0.83	$ 61.21	$ 127,320
Florida	19,620	2.28	1.03	$ 58.64	$ 121,970
New York	18,680	2.15	0.97	$ 61.66	$ 128,260
Pennsylvania	14,550	2.61	1.17	$ 58.28	$ 121,230

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Pharmacists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
West Virginia	2,120	3.23	1.46	$ 56.45	$ 117,420
South Dakota	1,170	2.78	1.25	$ 60.20	$ 125,220
North Dakota	1,100	2.78	1.25	$ 55.52	$ 115,480
Alabama	5,350	2.77	1.25	$ 61.04	$ 126,950
Kentucky	5,060	2.75	1.24	$ 59.00	$ 122,730

Top paying states for Pharmacists:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	33,130	2.00	0.90	$ 70.26	$ 146,140
Alaska	480	1.62	0.73	$ 70.15	$ 145,910
Oregon	4,040	2.21	1.00	$ 65.64	$ 136,520
Washington	7,300	2.28	1.03	$ 64.56	$ 134,290
Vermont	420	1.49	0.67	$ 62.72	$ 130,460

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Pharmacists:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	19,730	2.27	1.02	$ 61.84	$ 128,630
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	12,790	2.24	1.01	$ 65.84	$ 136,950
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	9,760	2.31	1.04	$ 58.15	$ 120,950
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	7,140	2.69	1.21	$ 61.62	$ 128,160
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	6,310	1.76	0.79	$ 63.10	$ 131,250
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	5,820	2.01	0.91	$ 60.82	$ 126,510
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	5,620	2.17	0.98	$ 58.32	$ 121,300
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	5,560	2.27	1.02	$ 57.99	$ 120,620
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	5,040	1.95	0.88	$ 57.71	$ 120,040
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	4,980	2.35	1.06	$ 58.14	$ 120,930

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Pharmacists:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Rochester, MN	730	6.32	2.85	$ 65.47	$ 136,170
Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA	200	5.08	2.29	$ 54.72	$ 113,820
Iowa City, IA	410	4.63	2.09	$ 56.83	$ 118,200
Beckley, WV	170	4.25	1.91	$ 55.53	$ 115,500
Morgantown, WV	260	4.23	1.91	$ 54.05	$ 112,410
Sioux Falls, SD	600	3.89	1.75	$ 61.38	$ 127,670
Fargo, ND-MN	520	3.82	1.72	$ 55.15	$ 114,710
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	1,180	3.76	1.70	$ 61.83	$ 128,600
Johnson City, TN	280	3.56	1.60	$ 52.93	$ 110,100
Hot Springs, AR	130	3.50	1.58	$ 58.99	$ 122,690