Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

29-2052 Pharmacy Technicians

Prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. May measure, mix, count out, label, and record amounts and dosages of medications according to prescription orders.

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National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
417,860	0.8 %	$16.35	$34,020	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$10.93	$12.86	$15.72	$18.89	$23.08
Annual Wage (2)	$22,740	$26,750	$32,700	$39,290	$48,010

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Industry profile for this occupation: Top

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Health and Personal Care Stores	220,070	20.65	$15.36	$31,940
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	65,530	1.18	$18.71	$38,920
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	35,190	1.20	$15.12	$31,460
General Merchandise Stores	33,480	1.05	$16.00	$33,280
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	12,790	3.41	$16.83	$35,010

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Health and Personal Care Stores	220,070	20.65	$15.36	$31,940
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	12,790	3.41	$16.83	$35,010
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses	8,850	2.23	$17.09	$35,550
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	35,190	1.20	$15.12	$31,460
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	65,530	1.18	$18.71	$38,920

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	6,390	0.32	$21.59	$44,900
Outpatient Care Centers	6,740	0.73	$20.32	$42,260
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	1,110	0.02	$20.06	$41,720
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	80	0.03	$19.94	$41,470
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	1,200	0.04	$19.76	$41,100

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Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

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

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	37,630	2.21	0.77	$20.48	$42,610
Texas	37,200	3.07	1.06	$16.48	$34,290
Florida	30,080	3.49	1.21	$15.43	$32,090
Illinois	21,490	3.59	1.24	$15.93	$33,140
New York	19,320	2.06	0.71	$16.66	$34,640

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

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Kentucky	8,470	4.48	1.55	$14.07	$29,270
West Virginia	2,980	4.28	1.48	$13.78	$28,650
Rhode Island	1,800	3.73	1.29	$17.99	$37,410
Arkansas	4,490	3.71	1.28	$14.25	$29,640
Alabama	7,140	3.68	1.27	$14.44	$30,040

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska	570	1.80	0.62	$20.74	$43,150
California	37,630	2.21	0.77	$20.48	$42,610
Washington	6,950	2.13	0.74	$20.42	$42,470
Oregon	5,020	2.66	0.92	$19.67	$40,920
District of Columbia	840	1.17	0.41	$19.22	$39,980

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

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	20,190	2.13	0.74	$16.94	$35,230
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	16,420	3.54	1.23	$16.34	$33,980
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	13,510	2.21	0.76	$19.80	$41,180
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	11,230	3.15	1.09	$16.05	$33,390
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	9,140	3.06	1.06	$16.86	$35,070
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	8,830	3.10	1.07	$15.55	$32,350
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	8,500	3.28	1.14	$15.91	$33,090
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	7,650	3.88	1.34	$16.53	$34,380
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	6,840	2.55	0.88	$15.11	$31,420
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	6,800	2.46	0.85	$18.13	$37,710