How much do pharmacists make?

Pharmacist salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Pharmacists (SOC 29-1051) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Pharmacists in the US earned a median of $140,910 a year ($67.75 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $129,380 to $161,840.

Median annual pay: $140,910; Mean $140,920
Median hourly pay: $67.75; Mean $67.75
Typical range (10th–90th): $99.3K–$174K; $99,290 to $174,230
US jobs: 321,970; +5.2% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a pharmacist: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: South Dakota

Pharmacist pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$99,290
25th percentile$129,380
Median$140,910
75th percentile$161,840
90th percentile$174,230

Half of all pharmacists earned more than $140,910 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $99,290; the top 10% made over $174,230. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $129,380 to $161,840.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$99,290	$47.73	$8,274
25th	$129,380	$62.20	$10,782
Median (50th)	$140,910	$67.75	$11,743
75th	$161,840	$77.81	$13,487
90th	$174,230	$83.77	$14,519
Mean (average)	$140,920	$67.75	$11,743

Pharmacist salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for pharmacists by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. Alaska $167,310
2. Oregon $165,960
3. California $164,610
4. Hawaii $163,220
5. Washington $160,610

Lowest-paying states

51. Rhode Island $128,180
50. Louisiana $132,410
49. Mississippi $133,230
48. Tennessee $133,390
47. West Virginia $133,430

Best after cost of living: South Dakota. Its median of $146,790 is worth about $165,703 at national-average prices, more than in Alaska once prices are counted.


Alabama	$134,630	46	$151,571	17	$64.72	5,400	2.56
Alaska	$167,310	1	$163,454	2	$80.44	560	1.73
Arizona	$146,930	12	$145,942	30	$70.64	6,900	2.13
Arkansas	$136,060	42	$156,504	9	$65.41	2,900	2.23
California	$164,610	3	$148,672	26	$79.14	34,030	1.87
Colorado	$156,030	7	$151,409	20	$75.01	4,560	1.59
Connecticut	$141,290	22	$136,367	45	$67.93	3,490	2.06
Delaware	$152,880	9	$153,174	14	$73.50	790	1.63
District of Columbia	$153,400	8	$139,580	41	$73.75	850	1.21
Florida	$135,970	43	$131,481	48	$65.37	21,540	2.17
Georgia	$137,120	38	$142,399	38	$65.92	10,530	2.15
Hawaii	$163,220	4	$148,448	27	$78.47	1,190	1.89
Idaho	$144,900	14	$151,737	16	$69.66	1,790	2.09
Illinois	$139,080	27	$139,138	42	$66.86	12,070	1.98
Indiana	$144,290	15	$154,604	11	$69.37	6,430	2.01
Iowa	$138,860	29	$158,223	7	$66.76	3,230	2.07
Kansas	$137,800	35	$152,996	15	$66.25	3,500	2.44
Kentucky	$136,530	40	$151,432	19	$65.64	5,030	2.51
Louisiana	$132,410	50	$150,113	23	$63.66	5,610	2.90
Maine	$140,930	23	$145,214	32	$67.75	1,380	2.15
Maryland	$138,990	28	$132,423	46	$66.82	5,400	1.95
Massachusetts	$138,170	32	$130,649	49	$66.43	7,230	1.99
Michigan	$137,860	34	$143,280	35	$66.28	8,780	1.99
Minnesota	$159,740	6	$161,974	3	$76.80	6,310	2.14
Mississippi	$133,230	49	$153,221	13	$64.05	3,050	2.62
Missouri	$137,610	37	$151,524	18	$66.16	6,740	2.29
Montana	$142,080	20	$150,119	22	$68.31	1,190	2.33
Nebraska	$139,330	26	$154,634	10	$66.99	2,450	2.39
Nevada	$140,030	24	$140,059	40	$67.32	2,500	1.61
New Hampshire	$143,020	18	$137,301	44	$68.76	1,130	1.66
New Jersey	$137,620	36	$126,483	50	$66.16	9,420	2.20
New Mexico	$147,000	11	$159,415	6	$70.67	1,730	1.99
New York	$142,090	19	$131,661	47	$68.31	19,760	2.04
North Carolina	$138,860	30	$147,213	29	$66.76	11,430	2.31
North Dakota	$142,040	21	$159,669	5	$68.29	1,070	2.48
Ohio	$137,020	39	$147,692	28	$65.87	12,790	2.31
Oklahoma	$135,140	45	$153,843	12	$64.97	3,610	2.11
Oregon	$165,960	2	$160,563	4	$79.79	3,250	1.65
Pennsylvania	$138,160	33	$141,598	39	$66.42	14,090	2.32
Rhode Island	$128,180	51	$125,323	51	$61.63	1,510	3.00
South Carolina	$135,700	44	$144,748	34	$65.24	5,320	2.31
South Dakota	$146,790	13	$165,703	1	$70.57	1,280	2.81
Tennessee	$133,390	48	$145,194	33	$64.13	8,250	2.52
Texas	$138,260	31	$142,452	37	$66.47	24,700	1.76
Utah	$144,240	16	$145,897	31	$69.34	2,830	1.63
Vermont	$136,270	41	$139,111	43	$65.52	530	1.76
Virginia	$144,060	17	$142,487	36	$69.26	7,980	1.94
Washington	$160,610	5	$150,085	24	$77.22	7,350	2.07
West Virginia	$133,430	47	$149,089	25	$64.15	2,260	3.23
Wisconsin	$148,740	10	$158,074	8	$71.51	5,730	1.95
Wyoming	$139,550	25	$150,554	21	$67.09	510	1.83

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for pharmacists

385 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
Napa, CA	$200,580	$178,208	180
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$199,040	$180,252	1,960
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$177,410	$153,452	3,670
Fairbanks-College, AK	$173,340	$167,952	50
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$172,860	$159,177	240
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$172,680	$161,882	2,310
Longview-Kelso, WA	$172,630	$176,975	70
Hanford-Corcoran, CA	$171,900	$169,173	90
Vallejo, CA	$170,870	$157,514	350
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$170,570	$158,252	330

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	20,000	$141,320	$125,547
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	12,450	$157,440	$138,633
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	8,930	$140,880	$135,991
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	7,230	$138,170	$134,029
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	6,460	$148,740	$145,036
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	6,410	$140,470	$142,423
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	6,150	$135,210	$118,444
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	6,120	$139,870	$139,789
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	5,280	$139,660	$128,997
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	5,260	$150,540	$138,257

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves pharmacist pay: employers and settings

Pharmacist pay is high across the board: the 10th percentile is $99,290, so the spread comes mostly from setting and location rather than whether you earn a professional salary at all.

Setting matters most. Outpatient care centers pay a median of $170,700 and hospitals $157,440; drugstores and pharmacies, the largest employer, pay $132,940. Physicians' offices ($151,380 median) and general merchandise stores ($151,370 median) sit between them, with grocery store pharmacies at $144,000. Government employers pay more than the private-sector median of $139,850: $156,500 for federal, $154,540 for state and $156,870 for local government.

Location adds to that. Alaska leads at $167,310, followed by Oregon at $165,960, California at $164,610, Hawaii at $163,220, and Washington at $160,610. Rhode Island has the lowest median at $128,180.

At the 25th percentile pay is $129,380, at the 90th it is $174,230, and these percentiles show how pay is spread across all pharmacists. They are not a measure of what a given number of years on the job earns.

Where pharmacists work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Health and Personal Care Retailers	37.9%	$132,940
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	29.7%	$157,440
General Merchandise Retailers	6.4%	$151,370
Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only)	6.1%	$144,000
Offices of Physicians	2.7%	$151,380
Outpatient Care Centers	2.2%	$170,700

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	294,400	$139,850
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	6,590	$156,500
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	10,320	$154,540
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	10,650	$156,870

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Pharmacist pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$141K $122K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $121,500 in 2015 to $140,910 in 2025, up 16% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $164,244 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay fell 14% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What pharmacists do

A pharmacist is the licensed drug expert who checks that every prescription is safe for the person taking it. Before a medication goes out, the pharmacist confirms the dose, screens for interactions with the patient's other drugs and allergies, and calls the prescriber when something looks wrong. Pharmacists also counsel patients on how to take a medicine, give vaccines in many community pharmacies, and supervise the pharmacy technicians who count, fill and bill.

The two big settings are retail and hospitals. Drugstores, supermarkets and big-box stores together employ about half of pharmacists in our data, and hospitals about 30%. Retail work means a steady stream of prescriptions, insurance problems and walk-in questions. Hospital pharmacists verify orders, prepare IV medications, adjust doses and round with physicians, and hospitals open around the clock schedule pharmacists for nights, weekends and holidays. Smaller groups work in clinics, outpatient centers, mail-order and specialty pharmacies, insurers and the drug industry. A PharmD and a state license are required.

A typical day

Review each new prescription for the right drug, dose and directions before it is filled
Screen for interactions, duplicate therapy and allergies, and call prescribers to fix problems
Counsel patients on new medicines, side effects and how to take them
Give flu, COVID-19, shingles and other vaccines where state law allows
Check technicians' work and sign off on filled prescriptions
In hospitals, verify medication orders, check IV preparations and adjust doses with the care team
Sort out insurance rejections, prior authorizations and drug shortages

Also called: pharmacists, pharmd, clinical pharmacist, clinical pharmacy specialist (cps), community pharmacist, hospital pharmacist, inpatient pharmacist, pharm d (pharmacy doctor).

How to become a pharmacist

Full guide

To become a pharmacist, you complete college prerequisites, earn a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from an ACPE-accredited school, log your state's internship hours, and pass the NAPLEX and a state law exam to get licensed. Most people need 6 to 8 years after high school.

Typical time: 6-8 years; Fastest: About 5 years
Minimum education: Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from an ACPE-accredited program
License: Required in all 50 states and DC
Typical training cost: $96.2K–$144K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a pharmacist: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 6-8 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $96.2K–$144K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $140,910; $89,930 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 68–102%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($89,930 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in about 1.1–1.6 years after training ends (6-8 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for pharmacists

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +5.2%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 325,200; 342,300 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 12,500; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 0.3%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS expects pharmacist jobs to grow from 325,200 to 342,300 between 2025 and 2035, an increase of 5.2%, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. That works out to about 12,500 openings a year, many of them from pharmacists who retire or move into other occupations. Growth will be uneven. BLS sees more demand in hospitals and clinics, where pharmacists are being folded into care teams to manage patients' medications. In retail, which holds the largest share of jobs, demand should stay limited as chains consolidate and more prescriptions are filled by mail or online.

Related careers and their pay

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Pharmacist salary FAQ

How much do pharmacists make an hour?

The median hourly wage for pharmacists was $67.75 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $47.73 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $83.77. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays pharmacists the most?

Alaska has the highest median pay for pharmacists, $167,310 a year, followed by Oregon ($165,960) and California ($164,610). After adjusting for each state's price level, South Dakota comes out ahead at about $165,703 in national-average dollars.

Do pharmacists make $200,000 a year?

Few do: based on the BLS percentiles, fewer than 10% of pharmacists earn more than $200,000 a year. The median is $140,910, and the top 10% earn more than $174,230. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

How many years of school does it take to be a pharmacist?

Usually 6 to 8 years after high school. Most people take at least 2 years of college prerequisites, often a full bachelor's degree, and then a 4-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program. Some schools offer a 3-year accelerated PharmD, and some 6-year programs take students directly out of high school. A 1- or 2-year residency adds time for clinical roles.

Do pharmacists have to do a residency?

No. A license requires a PharmD, intern hours and the licensing exams, not a residency, and many retail and community pharmacists go straight to work. Pharmacists aiming for clinical or other advanced roles can choose a residency of 1 to 2 years. The first year (PGY1) is general training; a second year (PGY2) concentrates on one area of practice, for example cardiology or pediatrics.

What is the difference between a pharmacist and a pharmacy technician?

A pharmacist holds a doctoral degree and a license and is legally responsible for checking prescriptions, counseling patients and catching dangerous errors. A pharmacy technician fills and labels prescriptions, handles insurance and inventory, and works under a pharmacist's supervision. Technician training usually takes a year or less, through a certificate program or on the job, and the pay gap reflects the difference in training and responsibility.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 29-1051
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (29-1051.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Pharmacists, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Tips to Successfully Schedule Your Pharmacist Licensure Exams, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy · checked October 28, 2026
PharmD Program Accreditation, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education · checked October 28, 2026
Retirement of the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT), American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy · checked October 28, 2026
Cost of Attendance: Anticipated Expenses, University of Florida College of Pharmacy · checked October 28, 2026
Take the NAPLEX Exam, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy · checked October 28, 2026
Take the MPJE Exam, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026
Pharmacist Licensure (Applicants), California State Board of Pharmacy · checked October 28, 2026
ASHP Resident Matching Program, ASHP / National Matching Services · checked October 28, 2026
Collaborative Practice Agreements and Pharmacists' Patient Care Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · checked October 28, 2026
UMPJE Participating States, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy · checked October 28, 2026
Pharmacy Technicians, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
Checklist of Requirements for Pharmacist License by Examination, DC Health, Board of Pharmacy · checked October 28, 2026
Physician Assistants, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026

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