USA · Healthcare · Salary

Pharmacists: pay by state and city

What pharmacists — the main job for this pathway — earn across the U.S., from the latest BLS wage survey (May 2025).

U.S. median$140,910
BLS OEWS · May 2025
Occupational Employment and Wage StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Period
May 2025
SOC
29-1051 Pharmacists
File
oe.data.0.Current (download.bls.gov)
View official data
U.S. average (mean)$140,920
Jobs in the survey321,970
Most jobsCalifornia34,030 jobs · median $164,610

Pay where you want to work

Pick a state or search a metro area. The bar shows the spread from the lowest-paid 10% to the top 10% in that place.

United States

Pharmacists · annual wages, May 2025
BLS OEWS · May 2025
Occupational Employment and Wage StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Period
May 2025
SOC
29-1051 Pharmacists
File
oe.data.0.Current (download.bls.gov)
View official data
Lowest 10% below
$99,290
25th percentile
$129,380
Median
$140,910
75th percentile
$161,840
Top 10% above
$174,230
Middle half of workersMedianMean $140,920Jobs 321,970

BLS publishes this occupation for 54 state-level areas (50 states, DC and territories where available) and 526 metro and nonmetro areas. Places it does not publish are not estimated here.

Where the jobs are, and where pay is highest

Median annual pay, May 2025. Highest-pay lists only include places with at least 500 jobs. BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs, which are usually higher where pay is higher.

States with the most jobs

  1. California34,030 jobs$164,610
  2. Texas24,700 jobs$138,260
  3. Florida21,540 jobs$135,970
  4. New York19,760 jobs$142,090
  5. Pennsylvania14,090 jobs$138,160

Highest-paying states

  1. Alaska560 jobs$167,310
  2. Oregon3,250 jobs$165,960
  3. California34,030 jobs$164,610
  4. Hawaii1,190 jobs$163,220
  5. Washington7,350 jobs$160,610

Metro areas with the most jobs

  1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ20,000 jobs$141,320
  2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA12,450 jobs$157,440
  3. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN8,930 jobs$140,880
  4. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX7,230 jobs$138,170
  5. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD6,460 jobs$148,740

Highest-paying metro areas

  1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA1,960 jobs$199,040
  2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA3,670 jobs$177,410
  3. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA2,310 jobs$172,680
  4. Fresno, CA890 jobs$169,160
  5. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA2,070 jobs$168,830
All 54 state-level areas (sortable)
Pay by state; select a column heading to sort
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Every job in this pathway

National figures. A field of study leads to several occupations, each with its own pay.

OccupationLowest 10%MedianTop 10%Jobs
Pharmacists —$140,910——

"Jobs" counts wage-and-salary jobs in the OEWS survey; it differs from the employment totals in BLS projections. "—": BLS publishes this group as separate occupations; the median shown is the group figure from the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Median pay by industry · pharmacists

  • Pharmacies and drug retailers$132,940
  • Hospitals; state, local, and private$157,290
  • General merchandise retailers$151,370
  • Ambulatory healthcare services$153,920
Data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national, state, metro and nonmetro estimates). How Margdarshan sources its data → · Back to Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)