Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

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)
417,780	0.8 %	$16.95	$35,250	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$11.60	$13.45	$16.32	$19.44	$23.62
Annual Wage (2)	$24,120	$27,980	$33,950	$40,440	$49,130

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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	215,110	20.30	$16.00	$33,280
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	66,030	1.18	$19.24	$40,020
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	37,890	1.30	$15.54	$32,320
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	14,020	3.68	$16.97	$35,290
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses	8,680	2.23	$17.84	$37,100

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	215,110	20.30	$16.00	$33,280
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	14,020	3.68	$16.97	$35,290
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses	8,680	2.23	$17.84	$37,100
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	37,890	1.30	$15.54	$32,320
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	66,030	1.18	$19.24	$40,020

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)	6,400	0.32	$21.60	$44,920
Outpatient Care Centers	8,120	0.85	$21.47	$44,670
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	1,390	0.05	$20.95	$43,580
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	(8)	(8)	$20.43	$42,490
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	1,290	0.02	$20.35	$42,320

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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)
Texas	38,550	3.10	1.09	$17.13	$35,620
California	36,560	2.10	0.74	$21.73	$45,200
Florida	29,800	3.39	1.19	$16.02	$33,330
Illinois	21,090	3.50	1.23	$16.15	$33,590
New York	20,360	2.14	0.75	$17.21	$35,790

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	8,840	4.66	1.64	$14.44	$30,040
West Virginia	3,270	4.65	1.64	$14.61	$30,380
Arkansas	4,880	4.01	1.41	$14.87	$30,930
Rhode Island	1,840	3.81	1.34	$18.21	$37,880
Maine	2,270	3.72	1.31	$15.84	$32,960

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	36,560	2.10	0.74	$21.73	$45,200
Alaska	590	1.85	0.65	$21.29	$44,280
Washington	7,150	2.16	0.76	$21.11	$43,910
District of Columbia	670	0.93	0.33	$20.31	$42,240
Oregon	4,900	2.57	0.90	$20.27	$42,160

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	20,910	2.17	0.76	$17.43	$36,250
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	15,950	3.41	1.20	$16.46	$34,240
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	12,710	2.04	0.72	$21.76	$45,270
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	11,840	3.24	1.14	$17.18	$35,740
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	9,000	3.13	1.10	$15.98	$33,230
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	8,920	3.38	1.19	$16.45	$34,220
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	8,830	2.89	1.02	$17.23	$35,840
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	7,470	3.77	1.33	$17.09	$35,540
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	6,820	2.44	0.86	$18.30	$38,070
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	6,270	2.96	1.04	$17.09	$35,550