Pharmacy Technicians
Pharmacy Technicians is a dynamic career path with diverse opportunities. The field has seen strong growth, with employment increasing by 9.2% over recent years. Professionals in this field are primarily employed in industries such as Cross-industry and Cross-industry, Private Ownership only.
Key Statistics
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Pharmacy Technicians workforce.
Employment Over Time
45,210 Workforce in 2023
The Pharmacy Technicians workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Pharmacy Technicians.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$57,799 Average Wage
In 2023, Pharmacy Technicians earned an average of $57,799.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Pharmacy Technicians.
Salary distribution for Pharmacy Technicians.
Employment Growth Projections
3.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
208,068 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 16.5%
242,345 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 35.7%
This occupation is projected to grow at 3.1% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Pharmacy Technicians.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Pharmacy Technicians and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Pharmacy Technicians employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Pharmacy Technicians.
Wage Trends by Industry
2.5% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Pharmacy Technicians.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Pharmacy Technicians.
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: 41,680 employees, $57,846 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Pharmacy Technicians.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 11,980 employees, $55,151 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 4,820 employees, $54,749 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 4,060 employees, $54,085 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 3,840 employees, $56,536 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 3,140 employees, $60,398 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 2,560 employees, $68,464 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 2,080 employees, $73,495 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 1,690 employees, $70,867 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 1,400 employees, $52,961 avg wage
- Bakersfield-Delano MSA: 1,010 employees, $52,622 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Pharmacy Technicians.
Diversity
Demographic information on Pharmacy Technicians in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Pharmacy Technicians in 2023 was 45,210 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Pharmacy Technicians.
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 Pharmacy Technicians.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Pharmacy Technicians.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Pharmacy Technicians in 2023 were Pharmacy Technology, Health Sciences, Biology.
Common majors for Pharmacy Technicians.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Pharmacy Technicians workers.
Education level distribution for Pharmacy Technicians.
Skills
Pharmacy Technicians need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Active Learning.
Required skills for Pharmacy Technicians.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Pharmacy Technicians.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Pharmacy Technicians include Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry, Mathematics, English Language, Computers and Electronics.
Knowledge areas required for Pharmacy Technicians.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Pharmacy Technicians include Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Near Vision, Speech Recognition.
Required abilities for Pharmacy Technicians.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Pharmacy Technicians.
Daily Activities
Pharmacy Technicians spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Working with Computers, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Processing Information, Documenting/Recording Information.
Most important work activities for Pharmacy Technicians.
About
Pharmacy Technicians
The average yearly wage for Pharmacy Technicians was $57,799 in 2023.
SOC Code
29-2052 - Pharmacy Technicians
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Pharmacy Technicians reports an average salary of $57,799.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 45,210 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 3.1%, 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.