Pharmacists Salary: $166,516 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 328,870 pharmacists nationally earn a mean of $166,516. Employment in the series shown fell about 4% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 2.0% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Pharmacists: what the data shows
Common questions about pharmacists careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a pharmacists?
Pharmacists is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 29-1051.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 328,870 workers.
What does a pharmacists do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Documenting/Recording Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Getting Information, Working with Computers, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a pharmacists make?
BLS national median annual wage: $137,480 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $166,516 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $89,539 |
| 25th percentile | $141,278 |
| Median (50th) | $169,638 |
| 75th percentile | $202,354 |
| 90th percentile | $213,725 |
What education do you need?
For Pharmacists, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, and knowledge areas including Medicine and Dentistry, Mathematics, English Language, Customer and Personal Service. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is pharmacists in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 2.0% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 10.5%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 22.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 328,870.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do pharmacistss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 328,870 | 16.4% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 301,160 | 15.0% |
| Hospitals | 198,950 | 9.9% |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 185,400 | 9.2% |
| Retail Trade | 171,400 | 8.5% |
| Health and Personal Care Retailers | 125,550 | 6.2% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Pharmacists in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Pharmacy Technicians | 487,920 | $43,460 |
| Pharmacy Aides | 41,100 | $37,000 |
| Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians | 136,390 | $78,680 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | 75,710 | $155,020 |
| Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | 43,640 | $39,270 |
| Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | 156,300 | $100,590 |
| Biochemists and Biophysicists | 34,520 | $103,650 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Pharmacists workforce.
Employment Over Time
328,870 Workforce in 2023
The Pharmacists workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Pharmacists.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$166,516 Average Wage
In 2023, Pharmacists earned an average of $166,516.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Pharmacists.
Salary distribution for Pharmacists.
Employment Growth Projections
2.0% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
150,729 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 10.5%
166,564 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 22.1%
This occupation is projected to grow at 2.0% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Pharmacists.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Pharmacists and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Pharmacists employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Pharmacists.
Wage Trends by Industry
2.5% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Pharmacists.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Pharmacists.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 32,270 employees, $166,844 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Pharmacists.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 9,360 employees, $157,178 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 3,800 employees, $160,722 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 3,020 employees, $153,639 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 2,820 employees, $167,204 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 2,380 employees, $191,040 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 2,320 employees, $172,556 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 1,950 employees, $192,575 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 1,640 employees, $187,806 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 930 employees, $162,335 avg wage
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA: 660 employees, $157,764 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Pharmacists.
Diversity
Demographic information on Pharmacists in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Pharmacists in 2023 was 328,870 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Pharmacists.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Pharmacists.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Pharmacists.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Pharmacists in 2023 were Health Sciences, Pharmacy Technology, Chemistry.
Common majors for Pharmacists.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Pharmacists workers.
Education level distribution for Pharmacists.
Skills
Pharmacists need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Monitoring.
Required skills for Pharmacists.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Pharmacists.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Pharmacists include Medicine and Dentistry, Mathematics, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Chemistry.
Knowledge areas required for Pharmacists.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Pharmacists include Oral Expression, Written Comprehension, Oral Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Near Vision.
Required abilities for Pharmacists.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Pharmacists.
Daily Activities
Pharmacists spend their time on activities such as Documenting/Recording Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Getting Information.
Most important work activities for Pharmacists.
About
Pharmacists
The average yearly wage for Pharmacists was $166,516 in 2023.
SOC Code
29-1051 - Pharmacists
Insights and Analysis
High earnings profile: Pharmacists reports an average salary of $166,516, placing it among stronger-paying occupations.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 328,870 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 2.0%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.