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These Are The 10 Best Cities For Pharmacists

By Chris Kolmar
Dec. 11, 2016

Find a Job You Really Want In

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Whether you’re just starting out your career, or looking to make a move, it can be important to know what part of the country offers the best chance for your long term career prospects. And for a very common profession like Pharmacists, the regional differences can have a big impact on your salary and career options.

To help you make the best decision possible, we at Zippia wanted to look at the cities that offer pharmacists the most for their career. These are the cities across the US where pharmacists get paid well, relative to the cost of living, and jobs are plentiful.

So we did what we do best and dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which cities have the best opportunities for pharmacists.The result is this list of the best cities pharmacists:

  1. Beckley, WV
  2. Decatur, AL
  3. Dothan, AL
  4. Florence, SC
  5. Brunswick, GA
  6. Springfield, MO
  7. Hilton Head Island, SC
  8. Jonesboro, AR
  9. Parkersburg, WV
  10. Cape Girardeau, MO

So there you have it — Beckley is the best city when it comes to being a pharmacist.

And where should you consider avoiding if you’re a pharmacist? That would be Albany.

Read on to see how we completed our research on the best cities for pharmacists and for more on the top ten cities.

How we determined the best cities to be a pharmacists?




Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:

  • Availability of jobs
  • Pay

So in order to find out the best cities for pharmacists in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well pharmacists get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:

  • Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given city.
  • Average annual salary.
  • Average annual salary for entry level work.

To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across cities, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.

This left us with enough data for 411 metro areas across the country. We then took the primary area of the metro and labeled that the ‘city’ for this analysis. So, for example, “Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division” became simply Boston.

In order to develop an overall ranking, we ranked each city for each criteria from 1 to 411 where 1 was the best.

We then averaged all the rankings for a city into a Job Score with the city having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best city for pharmacists in America.

So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each city so great for pharmacists.

1. Beckley, WV

Total Jobs: 160
Average Annual Salary: $140,060
Average Entry Level Salary: $110,750
Location Quotient: 1.68

2. Decatur, AL

Total Jobs: 170
Average Annual Salary: $129,720
Average Entry Level Salary: $105,470
Location Quotient: 1.49

3. Dothan, AL

Total Jobs: 270
Average Annual Salary: $120,110
Average Entry Level Salary: $103,380
Location Quotient: 2.31

4. Florence, SC

Total Jobs: 250
Average Annual Salary: $127,620
Average Entry Level Salary: $104,150
Location Quotient: 1.44

5. Brunswick, GA

Total Jobs: 140
Average Annual Salary: $122,290
Average Entry Level Salary: $105,580
Location Quotient: 1.71

6. Springfield, MO

Total Jobs: 490
Average Annual Salary: $129,960
Average Entry Level Salary: $108,980
Location Quotient: 1.17

7. Hilton Head Island, SC

Total Jobs: 250
Average Annual Salary: $117,840
Average Entry Level Salary: $104,480
Location Quotient: 1.67

8. Jonesboro, AR

Total Jobs: 130
Average Annual Salary: $124,640
Average Entry Level Salary: $101,230
Location Quotient: 1.19

9. Parkersburg, WV

Total Jobs: 120
Average Annual Salary: $117,490
Average Entry Level Salary: $97,230
Location Quotient: 1.39

10. Cape Girardeau, MO

Total Jobs: 110
Average Annual Salary: $135,920
Average Entry Level Salary: $98,600
Location Quotient: 1.26

And that’s our list of the best cities for pharmacists

If you’re looking to start out your career as a pharmacist these are the cities that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.

If you’re curious, here are the worst cities to be a pharmacist in America:

  1. Albany, OR
  2. California, MD
  3. Hartford, CT

Detailed List Of The Best Cities For Pharmacists

Rank State Average Salary Entry Level Salary # Of People
1 Beckley, WV $140,060 $110,750 160
2 Decatur, AL $129,720 $105,470 170
3 Dothan, AL $120,110 $103,380 270
4 Florence, SC $127,620 $104,150 250
5 Brunswick, GA $122,290 $105,580 140
6 Springfield, MO $129,960 $108,980 490
7 Hilton Head Island, SC $117,840 $104,480 250
8 Jonesboro, AR $124,640 $101,230 130
9 Parkersburg, WV $117,490 $97,230 120
10 Cape Girardeau, MO $135,920 $98,600 110
11 Anniston, AL $131,540 $105,710 100
12 Athens, GA $123,180 $102,920 260
13 Greenville, NC $125,700 $105,800 280
14 Kingsport, TN $132,280 $99,390 310
15 Spartanburg, SC $125,430 $105,380 340
16 Jackson, MS $121,540 $99,870 690
17 Wheeling, WV $124,050 $104,360 140
18 New Bern, NC $130,190 $106,840 110
19 Albany, GA $125,660 $105,160 150
20 Canton, OH $128,970 $99,500 390
21 St. Joseph, MO $125,780 $107,110 120
22 Nashville, TN $120,260 $96,720 2,660
23 Gary, IN $117,680 $103,100 740
24 Columbia, MO $122,830 $106,730 200
25 La Crosse, WI $129,150 $106,180 230
26 Corpus Christi, TX $128,420 $106,050 440
27 Elizabethtown, KY $116,460 $99,000 110
28 Muncie, IN $113,890 $100,690 170
29 Boise City, ID $118,290 $102,500 670
30 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY $120,480 $103,040 1,310
31 Jackson, TN $114,100 $103,380 180
32 Huntsville, AL $125,020 $97,650 490
33 Wilmington, NC $126,160 $103,900 320
34 Chico, CA $141,670 $130,970 190
35 Greenville, SC $123,500 $102,370 850
36 Bowling Green, KY $120,080 $93,990 150
37 Fort Wayne, IN $121,410 $100,770 480
38 Wenatchee, WA $127,480 $106,360 120
39 Brownsville, TX $142,360 $123,920 260
40 Flint, MI $116,150 $103,360 530
41 Durham, NC $120,710 $102,870 920
42 Gadsden, AL $142,190 $82,910 100
43 Fayetteville, AR $135,420 $110,510 420
44 Knoxville, TN $130,600 $90,460 960
45 Morristown, TN $130,830 $100,910 80
46 Johnson City, TN $113,720 $93,860 300
47 Yuma, AZ $136,130 $113,850 130
48 Lubbock, TX $119,710 $98,350 380
49 Fayetteville, NC $127,280 $104,440 280
50 Joplin, MO $126,520 $104,600 150
51 Weirton, WV $116,210 $82,990 120
52 Bismarck, ND $118,500 $101,370 170
53 Chattanooga, TN $122,490 $105,080 470
54 Oklahoma City, OK $121,730 $85,980 1,780
55 Clarksville, TN $121,500 $104,340 170
56 Hattiesburg, MS $115,290 $87,860 210
57 Myrtle Beach, SC $120,200 $90,210 390
58 Youngstown, OH $122,470 $96,370 460
59 Longview, WA $129,240 $104,250 90
60 Charleston, SC $118,290 $86,730 990
61 Billings, MT $118,060 $103,380 190
62 Evansville, IN $118,500 $104,040 320
63 St. Louis, MO $116,580 $95,380 3,090
64 Amarillo, TX $125,700 $107,420 230
65 Daphne, AL $114,220 $87,410 230
66 Wichita, KS $118,970 $101,160 710
67 Goldsboro, NC $132,450 $100,560 90
68 Winston, NC $122,790 $98,900 730
69 Decatur, IL $129,600 $107,910 120
70 Lexington, KY $113,520 $86,850 600
71 Sioux Falls, SD $109,750 $88,920 580
72 Huntington, WV $121,830 $66,130 550
73 Tuscaloosa, AL $115,140 $91,750 250
74 Owensboro, KY $129,700 $108,850 80
75 Fort Smith, AR $115,870 $85,620 270
76 Rocky Mount, NC $135,780 $108,470 100
77 Santa Cruz, CA $171,090 $132,190 140
78 Rapid City, SD $116,250 $92,900 140
79 McAllen, TX $137,240 $107,170 420
80 Hickory, NC $131,420 $104,820 290
81 St. George, UT $123,870 $105,780 110
82 Kansas City, MO $117,520 $88,500 2,580
83 Lake Havasu City, AZ $136,330 $103,660 100
84 Great Falls, MT $112,310 $96,310 100
85 Odessa, TX $136,020 $115,060 120
86 Wichita Falls, TX $124,810 $100,650 110
87 Grants Pass, OR $123,430 $106,070 70
88 Kokomo, IN $114,490 $100,670 90
89 Fort Worth, TX $122,530 $103,130 1,950
90 Macon, GA $126,210 $106,990 170
91 El Paso, TX $121,720 $106,590 580
92 Stockton, CA $138,020 $111,530 700
93 Longview, TX $138,600 $109,480 150
94 Mansfield, OH $117,800 $98,780 100
95 Laredo, TX $148,320 $125,100 100
96 Cleveland, OH $115,100 $90,670 2,390
97 Gulfport, MS $119,320 $82,520 370
98 Fort Lauderdale, FL $128,880 $102,610 1,990
99 Redding, CA $143,770 $117,360 130
100 Sherman, TX $122,570 $104,220 80
Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

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.

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