Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017

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)
417,720	0.8 %	$15.90	$33,060	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$10.58	$12.45	$15.26	$18.53	$22.58
Annual Wage (2)	$22,000	$25,900	$31,750	$38,540	$46,980

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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	219,070	20.42	$14.88	$30,950
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	63,360	1.15	$18.30	$38,050
General Merchandise Stores	42,700	1.33	$15.80	$32,850
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	34,080	1.16	$14.71	$30,600
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	10,070	3.06	$16.83	$35,000

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	219,070	20.42	$14.88	$30,950
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	10,070	3.06	$16.83	$35,000
General Merchandise Stores	42,700	1.33	$15.80	$32,850
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	34,080	1.16	$14.71	$30,600
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	63,360	1.15	$18.30	$38,050

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)	6,350	0.31	$21.02	$43,730
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	70	0.03	$19.48	$40,520
Scientific Research and Development Services	110	0.02	$19.44	$40,430
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	1,130	0.04	$19.35	$40,260
Outpatient Care Centers	5,550	0.63	$19.20	$39,930

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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	36,920	2.21	0.75	$19.66	$40,890
Texas	35,370	2.97	1.01	$16.17	$33,630
Florida	29,380	3.49	1.19	$14.99	$31,180
Illinois	22,290	3.76	1.28	$15.67	$32,590
New York	18,260	1.98	0.68	$16.10	$33,490

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	8,440	4.50	1.53	$13.88	$28,870
West Virginia	3,060	4.45	1.52	$13.41	$27,900
Tennessee	11,510	3.95	1.35	$15.51	$32,270
Missouri	10,910	3.91	1.34	$14.71	$30,610
Arkansas	4,580	3.82	1.30	$14.52	$30,210

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Washington	7,590	2.38	0.81	$20.41	$42,440
California	36,920	2.21	0.75	$19.66	$40,890
Oregon	4,260	2.33	0.79	$19.10	$39,730
Alaska	680	2.14	0.73	$19.06	$39,640
North Dakota	770	1.86	0.63	$18.73	$38,960

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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-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division	13,650	2.04	0.70	$16.80	$34,940
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division	13,570	3.70	1.26	$16.13	$33,540
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division	10,170	2.30	0.78	$19.64	$40,860
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	8,710	2.97	1.01	$16.80	$34,930
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division	7,420	2.98	1.02	$16.21	$33,710
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	7,330	3.70	1.26	$16.08	$33,440
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	6,720	2.57	0.88	$14.59	$30,340
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	5,600	2.90	0.99	$17.94	$37,310
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	5,300	4.14	1.41	$14.64	$30,460
St. Louis, MO-IL	5,090	3.75	1.28	$15.52	$32,280