There were about 331,700 pharmacists working in the U.S. as of May 2023 according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Pharmacists work in varied settings, including health and personal care stores, hospitals, food and general merchandise stores with pharmacy services, and other businesses involved in the distribution of pharmacy products and services. With advanced technical training and skills, pharmacists typically earn higher salaries than workers in most other occupations.  As of May 2023, according to BLS estimates the national mean wage for pharmacists was $134,790 per year.  While a well-paying occupation, there is considerable variation from region-to-region in how much pharmacists earn.  This variation is evident in BLS data for May 2023, which shows the following about pharmacist pay in the top 20 metro markets in the United States:

Pharmacist Pay in the Top 20 Metro Markets

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Mean Annual Wage
1	New York-Newark-Jersey City		21,520	$134,470
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim		13,110	$148,600
3	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin		9,420	$134,350
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington		6,800	$136,230
5	Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land		6,760	$137,040
6	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria		4,610	$142,490
7	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington		7,760	$133,680
8	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach		5,680	$129,890
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta		6,200	$131,300
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton		5,630	$131,220
11	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler		5,500	$134,200
12	San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley		4,520	$179,500
13	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario		3,690	$151,310
14	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn		5,360	$127,420
15	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue		6,380	$151,940
16	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington		4,080	$143,980
17	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad		2,810	$155,610
18	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater		3,840	$119,860
19	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood		2,980	$142,200
20	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson		3,280	$129,360
	National		331,700	$134,790

Report Period:  May 2023
Top 20 U.S. Metro areas from the 2020 Census
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Occupational Statistics
Data extracted on August 17, 2024