What is a Retail Pharmacist?

Retail pharmacists are employed in retail outlets like supermarkets and drug stores to dispense medications. They answer questions about medications and prescriptions and explain how and when they should be taken. Likewise, they examine which other drugs patients are taking and how they might affect the new ones. Also, they note possible side effects and suggest over-the-counter solutions. They handle insurance by liaising with insurance companies to determine the coverage that patients have. Additionally, they follow proper procedures laid down by their employer and other relevant regulations.

Before you apply for this job, you must have a doctor of pharmacy degree. Similarly, you must have a state license to practice. You must be a good communicator and active listener. Likewise, you must possess maths and interpersonal skills. You must be familiar with prescription medications, controlled substances, and the computer, among others. Retail pharmacists earn an average salary of $119,924 per year, equivalent to $57.66 per hour.

What Does a Retail Pharmacist Do

There are certain skills that many retail pharmacists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed computer skills, managerial skills and analytical skills.

Learn more about what a Retail Pharmacist does

How To Become a Retail Pharmacist

If you're interested in becoming a retail pharmacist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 57.7% of retail pharmacists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.3% of retail pharmacists have master's degrees. Even though most retail pharmacists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Retail Pharmacist
Top Retail Pharmacist Jobs Near You

Retail Pharmacist Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of pharmacist you might progress to a role such as pharmacist manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title pharmacist manager.

Retail Pharmacist

Average Salary for a Retail Pharmacist

Retail Pharmacists in America make an average salary of $118,899 per year or $57 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $151,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $93,000 per year.
Average Retail Pharmacist Salary
$118,899 Yearly
$57.16 hourly
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Roles and Types of Retail Pharmacist

The role of a retail pharmacist includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general retail pharmacist responsibilities:

  • Maintain professional working relationships at all times, with the pharmacy personnel, physicians, nurses,
  • Supporting development of deep analytically driven insights into customer populations
  • Of all technicians operations – inpatient pharmacy· ability to acquire skills necessary to operate department computer application packages:o including but not limited to: cerner millennium, aesynt connect rx

There are several types of retail pharmacist, including:

Pharmacist

Role:

Have you ever dreamed of being a legal drug dealer? Well, that's probably not going to happen anytime soon, but becoming a pharmacist is the next best thing. Pharmacists are in charge of filling prescription medications for patients, while being able to explain how to use those medications properly. In general, they work in pharmacies which can be found in drug, general merchandise and general stores.

  • Average Salary: $118,968
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Staff Pharmacist

Role:

Staff pharmacists' role is to dispense prescription medications to patients and provide their expertise in safely using prescribed narcotics. They are responsible for monitoring the medicine prescribed to patients, and offering guidance on safe lifestyles such as food, stress control, and exercise. They also provide immunizations, and perform health and fitness screenings.

Someone in this position might also dispense or supervise the dispensation of medications and related supplies, according to a physicians' prescription. The staff pharmacist's work setting depends on the size of the company. Still, they usually work with a small team of technicians, lab workers, and drivers to maintain a consistent workflow in a laboratory or clinic environment.

Qualifications to work in this position include a bachelor's degree or Ph.D. degree from a college in pharmacy. Experience requirements vary with pay and position level but generally include one to two years of experience in a pharmacy environment.

Other specific requirements vary by state and position, but a state pharmacy license and a driver's license are often required. The average annual salary of a Staff Pharmacist is about $48,000 per year.

  • Average Salary: $118,844
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Pharmacist Manager

Role:

Pharmacist managers are responsible for the proper running of a pharmacy. They oversee the proper dispensation of prescription drugs, hirie, fire, and train personnel, and schedule shifts. They also ensure smooth operations across pharmacy departments, verify that customers are prescribed the correct medicines, and make sure the pharmacy complies with federal and state regulations.

Pharmacist managers need to communicate effectively with customers relating to queries and issues, ensure staff provide high standards of customer service to customers, assist in the onboarding of new hires, and train staff in prioritizing customer orders and delivering them efficiently.

Pharmacists managers need a master's of science in pharmacy from an accredited school and experience working in a pharmacy previously. They should have excellent communication, interpersonal, organizational, time management, and customer service skills and the willingness to stand for long hours.

Pharmacist managers typically earn about $43.77 an hour, which is $91,042 per year. Additionally, the career is projected to grow by 18% between 2018 and 2028, creating 71,600 jobs.

  • Average Salary: $93,996
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Retail Pharmacist Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active retail pharmacist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where retail pharmacists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Retail Pharmacist Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California7,196$158,965
2Texas4,883$116,065
3Pennsylvania3,286$143,828
4Illinois3,255$123,116
5Florida2,822$113,435
6Georgia2,457$116,785
7North Carolina2,356$120,516
8Virginia2,059$126,719
9New York1,991$136,836
10Ohio1,883$115,672
11Washington1,787$145,577
12Michigan1,725$128,135
13Tennessee1,666$112,290
14Minnesota1,588$130,342
15Missouri1,515$118,810
16Massachusetts1,452$132,063
17Wisconsin1,446$131,147
18Maryland1,383$137,019
19Colorado1,372$119,855
20Indiana1,363$121,793
21New Jersey1,345$131,593
22Alabama1,224$108,327
23Kentucky1,158$117,633
24Arizona1,091$108,645
25Oregon1,025$159,527
26Iowa949$104,211
27Oklahoma777$114,472
28South Carolina741$111,799
29Kansas716$119,810
30Mississippi671$107,782
31Arkansas647$90,644
32Utah616$125,379
33Louisiana614$110,332
34Connecticut532$135,342
35Nebraska451$126,975
36New Mexico413$133,622
37Idaho397$126,065
38New Hampshire367$131,413
39Delaware306$123,895
40Nevada303$142,389
41West Virginia299$109,745
42Montana292$119,007
43Maine246$125,001
44South Dakota202$100,940
45Rhode Island197$137,215
46North Dakota184$114,369
47Vermont182$136,260
48Alaska175$143,835
49Wyoming143$113,810
50Hawaii98$126,511

Retail Pharmacist Education

Retail Pharmacist Majors

Pharmacy
74.8 %
Biology
6.0 %
Business
3.5 %

Retail Pharmacist Degrees

Bachelors

57.7 %

Doctorate

25.1 %

Masters

6.3 %

Top Colleges for Retail Pharmacists

1. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

3. University of California, Irvine

Irvine, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$13,700

Enrollment

29,722

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

5. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,522

Enrollment

13,760

6. University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, WI • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,555

Enrollment

30,360

7. University of California - Davis

Davis, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,402

Enrollment

30,698

8. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

9. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

10. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

Top Skills For a Retail Pharmacist

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 28.7% of retail pharmacists listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as computer skills and managerial skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Retail Pharmacist Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Retail Pharmacist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Retail Pharmacist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Retail Pharmacist diversity

Retail Pharmacist Gender Distribution

Female
Female
56%
Male
Male
44%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among retail pharmacists, 56.2% of them are women, while 43.8% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among retail pharmacists is White, which makes up 61.1% of all retail pharmacists.

  • The most common foreign language among retail pharmacists is Spanish at 36.1%.

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Best States For a Retail Pharmacist

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a retail pharmacist. The best states for people in this position are Oregon, California, Washington, and Alaska. Retail pharmacists make the most in Oregon with an average salary of $159,527. Whereas in California and Washington, they would average $158,965 and $145,577, respectively. While retail pharmacists would only make an average of $143,835 in Alaska, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Pennsylvania

Total Retail Pharmacist Jobs: 3,286
Highest 10% Earn:
$185,000
Location Quotient:
1.26

$143,828

Avg. Salary

View 3,286 Retail Pharmacist Jobs In PA

2. Oregon

Total Retail Pharmacist Jobs: 1,025
Highest 10% Earn:
$214,000
Location Quotient:
1.1

$159,527

Avg. Salary

View 1,025 Retail Pharmacist Jobs In OR

3. California

Total Retail Pharmacist Jobs: 7,196
Highest 10% Earn:
$206,000
Location Quotient:
1.1

$158,965

Avg. Salary

View 7,196 Retail Pharmacist Jobs In CA
Full List Of Best States For Retail Pharmacists

How Do Retail Pharmacists Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Retail Pharmacist Employers

Most Common Employers For Retail Pharmacist

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Safeway$140,961$67.7716
2Hy-Vee$137,993$66.345
3Hannaford Supermarkets$135,328$65.064
4Rite Aid$134,392$64.61134
5Walmart$134,185$64.5157
6Albertsons Companies$133,754$64.306
7Kroger$127,634$61.3613
8Walgreens$126,632$60.88388
9Kmart$125,943$60.5511
10Meijer$123,337$59.309
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Updated April 6, 2023