Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of pharmacist salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest pharmacist salary of $161,597
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Arkansas has the lowest pharmacist salary of $89,660
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The national average salary for pharmacists is $118,968
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The national hourly pay for pharmacists is $57.2
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do pharmacists get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for pharmacist by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for pharmacists after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for pharmacist salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Pharmacists By State
| Rank | State | Average Pharmacist Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $161,597 | $124,000 | $209,000 |
| 2 | Oregon | $155,710 | $116,000 | $208,000 |
| 3 | Washington | $149,466 | $111,000 | $200,000 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $141,041 | $110,000 | $180,000 |
| 5 | Nevada | $140,869 | $107,000 | $183,000 |
| 6 | Maine | $139,517 | $109,000 | $178,000 |
| 7 | Vermont | $137,658 | $107,000 | $176,000 |
| 8 | Delaware | $136,276 | $106,000 | $173,000 |
| 9 | Maryland | $135,894 | $106,000 | $173,000 |
| 10 | Connecticut | $134,175 | $104,000 | $171,000 |
| 11 | Alaska | $134,044 | $114,000 | $156,000 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | $131,978 | $103,000 | $168,000 |
| 13 | Rhode Island | $131,960 | $103,000 | $168,000 |
| 14 | New Jersey | $131,698 | $103,000 | $168,000 |
| 15 | New York | $131,594 | $102,000 | $168,000 |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | $129,724 | $101,000 | $166,000 |
| 17 | New Mexico | $129,145 | $100,000 | $166,000 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | $128,918 | $97,000 | $169,000 |
| 19 | Minnesota | $128,502 | $97,000 | $169,000 |
| 20 | Virginia | $128,380 | $101,000 | $162,000 |
| 21 | Hawaii | $128,245 | $108,000 | $151,000 |
| 22 | Arizona | $126,174 | $98,000 | $161,000 |
| 23 | Idaho | $125,760 | $93,000 | $169,000 |
| 24 | North Carolina | $125,068 | $98,000 | $158,000 |
| 25 | Michigan | $124,768 | $95,000 | $163,000 |
| 26 | Colorado | $120,986 | $92,000 | $158,000 |
| 27 | Illinois | $120,887 | $92,000 | $158,000 |
| 28 | Kansas | $118,122 | $90,000 | $153,000 |
| 29 | Ohio | $117,573 | $90,000 | $152,000 |
| 30 | Kentucky | $117,448 | $91,000 | $151,000 |
| 31 | Indiana | $117,338 | $90,000 | $152,000 |
| 32 | Missouri | $116,513 | $89,000 | $151,000 |
| 33 | Nebraska | $116,366 | $88,000 | $152,000 |
| 34 | Utah | $116,009 | $87,000 | $154,000 |
| 35 | South Carolina | $115,570 | $91,000 | $145,000 |
| 36 | West Virginia | $115,339 | $89,000 | $148,000 |
| 37 | Texas | $115,089 | $90,000 | $145,000 |
| 38 | North Dakota | $114,359 | $87,000 | $150,000 |
| 39 | Georgia | $114,118 | $90,000 | $143,000 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $112,879 | $88,000 | $144,000 |
| 41 | Wyoming | $112,326 | $84,000 | $148,000 |
| 42 | Montana | $111,924 | $84,000 | $148,000 |
| 43 | Iowa | $110,405 | $84,000 | $144,000 |
| 44 | Florida | $109,106 | $88,000 | $134,000 |
| 45 | Alabama | $106,271 | $84,000 | $134,000 |
| 46 | Mississippi | $105,677 | $83,000 | $133,000 |
| 47 | Louisiana | $102,542 | $81,000 | $129,000 |
| 48 | South Dakota | $100,246 | $75,000 | $132,000 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $98,951 | $76,000 | $127,000 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $89,660 | $69,000 | $115,000 |
Methodology: Pharmacist Salary By State
To better understand pharmacist pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for pharmacists by state.
We took the average annual salary data for pharmacists from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for pharmacists.
Pharmacist Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for pharmacists?
The highest-paid state for pharmacists is California with an average salary of $161,597 per year.
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What city pays pharmacists the most?
Sacramento, CA pays pharmacists the most with an average salary of $169,716 per year.
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What is the worst state for pharmacists?
The worst state for pharmacists is Arkansas with an average salary of $89,660 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
