Pay for pharmacists is unusually consistent across the country: $104,900 at the bottom of the range, $200,580 at the top, a spread of only 1.91×. Where you work matters less for this role than it does for most — which usually points to pay being set by structure (scales, licensure, collective agreements) rather than local bidding.
From $99,290 at the 10th percentile to $174,230 at the 90th is only 1.75×, which is narrow. Pay for pharmacists is set more by structure than by individual outcome — scales, steps, licensure. That makes income predictable and makes the ceiling real: the way to earn materially more is usually to change role or location, not to out-perform within this one.
7 of the ten best-paying metros for pharmacists are in CA. When one state dominates the top of the table like this, cost of living is doing part of the work but rarely all of it — state licensing rules, public-sector pay scales and the presence of a few large employers usually explain the rest. If you are comparing an offer in CA against one elsewhere, adjust for housing before concluding anything.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napa CA | $200,580 | $96.43 | 1.14 | 180 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $199,040 | $95.69 | 0.83 | 1,960 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $177,410 | $85.29 | 0.75 | 3,670 |
| Fairbanks-College AK | $173,340 | $83.34 | 0.67 | 50 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA | $172,860 | $83.11 | 0.95 | 240 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $172,680 | $83.02 | 1.03 | 2,310 |
| Longview-Kelso WA | $172,630 | $83.00 | 0.88 | 70 |
| Alaska nonmetropolitan area | $172,080 | $82.73 | 0.66 | 150 |
| Hanford-Corcoran CA | $171,900 | $82.64 | 0.9 | 90 |
| Vallejo CA | $170,870 | $82.15 | 1.18 | 350 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $170,570 | $82.00 | 0.78 | 330 |
| Corvallis OR | $170,470 | $81.96 | 1.28 | 100 |
| Salem OR | $169,210 | $81.35 | 0.78 | 300 |
| Fresno CA | $169,160 | $81.33 | 0.9 | 890 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $168,830 | $81.17 | 0.83 | 2,070 |
| Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area | $167,420 | $80.49 | 0.62 | 170 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area | $166,850 | $80.22 | 0.85 | 180 |
| Redding CA | $166,800 | $80.19 | 1.09 | 160 |
| Eastern Oregon nonmetropolitan area | $166,500 | $80.05 | 0.59 | 90 |
| Salinas CA | $166,470 | $80.03 | 0.68 | 260 |
| Ann Arbor MI | $166,350 | $79.98 | 1.26 | 570 |
| North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area | $166,310 | $79.96 | 0.9 | 200 |
| Bend OR | $165,960 | $79.79 | 0.8 | 180 |
| Walla Walla WA | $165,210 | $79.43 | 1.1 | 60 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $165,130 | $79.39 | 0.89 | 2,840 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aguadilla PR | $104,900 | $50.43 | 1.68 | 170 |
| Arecibo PR | $105,880 | $50.90 | 1.82 | 130 |
| Ponce PR | $107,010 | $51.45 | 1.18 | 150 |
| Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area | $110,750 | $53.24 | 1.51 | 90 |
| Mayaguez PR | $111,950 | $53.82 | 1.32 | 140 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $113,420 | $54.53 | 1.03 | 1,480 |
| Guayama PR | $117,950 | $56.71 | 1.69 | 40 |
| Lafayette-West Lafayette IN | $122,990 | $59.13 | 1.37 | 290 |
| Cleveland TN | $124,160 | $59.69 | 1.32 | 120 |
| El Paso TX | $124,910 | $60.05 | 0.85 | 590 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa City IA | $142,530 | $68.53 | 2.34 | 450 |
| Morgantown WV | $130,710 | $62.84 | 2.15 | 300 |
| East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area | $134,040 | $64.44 | 1.95 | 370 |
| Sioux Falls SD-MN | $148,330 | $71.31 | 1.85 | 690 |
| Arecibo PR | $105,880 | $50.90 | 1.82 | 130 |
| Slidell-Mandeville-Covington LA | $131,200 | $63.08 | 1.8 | 370 |
| Weirton-Steubenville WV-OH | $129,630 | $62.32 | 1.8 | 130 |
| Winston-Salem NC | $135,710 | $65.24 | 1.79 | 1,010 |
| Lexington-Fayette KY | $136,530 | $65.64 | 1.78 | 1,060 |
| Florence SC | $155,020 | $74.53 | 1.76 | 320 |
| Alexandria LA | $134,340 | $64.59 | 1.74 | 220 |
| Rochester MN | $164,250 | $78.97 | 1.74 | 440 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $141,320 | $67.94 | 1.02 | 20,000 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $157,440 | $75.69 | 0.96 | 12,450 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $140,880 | $67.73 | 0.96 | 8,930 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $138,170 | $66.43 | 0.86 | 7,230 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $148,740 | $71.51 | 1.08 | 6,460 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $140,470 | $67.54 | 0.94 | 6,410 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $135,210 | $65.01 | 1.05 | 6,150 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $139,870 | $67.25 | 1.02 | 6,120 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $139,660 | $67.14 | 0.94 | 5,280 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $150,540 | $72.38 | 0.81 | 5,260 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $144,490 | $69.46 | 1.03 | 5,050 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $162,870 | $78.30 | 1.03 | 4,440 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 29-1051. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 524 of 528 metropolitan areas — near-complete coverage, which means the ranges above are reliable rather than drawn from a handful of markets. Read the methodology.