How Much Does a Pharmacist Make? Pharmacist Salary Data for 2026

According to the 2024 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for pharmacists (SOC 29-1051), the national median annual wage was $130,020, or approximately $62.51 per hour.

BLS wage percentiles for pharmacists:

• 10th percentile: ~$85,000/year
• 25th percentile: ~$109,000/year
• 50th percentile (median): $130,020/year
• 75th percentile: ~$149,000/year
• 90th percentile: ~$163,020/year

These figures cover pharmacists across all settings — community pharmacy, hospital and health-system pharmacy, mail-order pharmacy, and clinical or ambulatory care roles.

For context on related healthcare compensation, the nurse practitioner salary and the doctor salary reflect the earnings that come with additional years of training above the PharmD.

The relatively narrow spread between the 25th and 75th percentiles reflects the fact that pharmacist wages are anchored to licensure requirements that create a high floor, while the ceiling is constrained by the nature of salaried employment in most pharmacy settings.

To see exactly how wages like $62 an hour translate to annual, monthly, and after-tax take-home, our guide on $62 an hour is how much a year breaks down every pay period. For other rates in the range above, browse our hourly wage conversion guide index.

Pharmacist compensation typically increases with years of practice, specialization, and movement into clinical or management roles. The following ranges reflect typical national estimates:

Pharmacists who pursue Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) certification in areas such as oncology, ambulatory care, or pharmacotherapy, or who advance into pharmacy director or clinical pharmacy specialist roles, may earn toward the upper end of these ranges.

State of employment is a meaningful driver of pharmacist pay. According to BLS OEWS state-level data, top-paying states for pharmacists include:

• California (CA): The highest-paying state for pharmacists, with a median annual wage of approximately $159,950 — well above the national median of $130,020. The cost of living in California and strong demand in both retail and health-system pharmacy drive wages upward.
• Alaska (AK): Geographic isolation and limited pharmacist supply support above-median compensation.
• Wisconsin (WI): Consistently appears among top-paying states in BLS OEWS data, with wages above the national median.

States with lower costs of living — particularly in the rural South and Midwest — tend to report pharmacist wages closer to the 10th–25th percentile range nationally.

The cost of living in California helps explain why the state's pharmacist median of ~$159,950 remains attractive despite high expenses., though compensation may still be competitive relative to local living costs.

Pharmacists in Texas benefit from a competitive compensation environment alongside a manageable cost of living in Texas.

Several factors beyond years of experience meaningfully influence what a pharmacist may earn:

• Practice setting: Community retail pharmacy (chain drug stores, independent pharmacies) represents the largest employment sector. Hospital and health-system pharmacists typically earn slightly more than retail counterparts due to clinical complexity and overnight/weekend shift differentials. Clinical pharmacists embedded in physician practices or ambulatory care clinics may earn comparable wages with greater clinical autonomy.
• Specialty certification: The Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) offers certification in more than a dozen areas, including oncology pharmacy, ambulatory care pharmacy, and critical care pharmacy. Board-certified pharmacists may command higher salaries, particularly in hospital and academic medical center settings.
• Employer type: Health system and hospital employers often provide structured pay scales, comprehensive benefits, and support for continuing education. Retail chain pharmacies have their own pay bands. Independent pharmacies and compounding pharmacies may pay differently based on local market conditions.
• Management and leadership roles: Pharmacy directors, clinical pharmacy managers, and regional pharmacy managers typically earn above the BLS median for staff pharmacists.
• Automation impact: Automated dispensing technology has changed the workflow in many pharmacy settings and contributed to slower-than-average projected employment growth. This is a structural factor that affects the overall demand for pharmacists.

According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook for pharmacists, employment in this occupation is projected to grow 3% from 2023 to 2033 — slower than the average for all occupations.

The BLS cites the expansion of automated dispensing technology and mail-order pharmacy as factors moderating demand growth even as the U.S. population ages and prescription volume increases.

Approximately 12,400 pharmacist job openings per year are projected over the decade, primarily from the need to replace pharmacists who retire or leave the occupation.

Entry into pharmacy practice requires completion of a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree — typically four years of professional pharmacy school following approximately two years of undergraduate prerequisites — and passing the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) as well as the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE) or a state-specific law exam.

Pharmacists carrying PharmD student debt should review the student loan interest deduction and consider whether their 401(k) contribution rate is fully optimized for the relatively high starting salaries in this profession.

With a stable high income, understanding average net worth by age benchmarks is a useful financial planning reference.