Pay for pharmacy technicians in every state, what it comes to after tax, and how far it goes after local prices and rent.
Pharmacy technicians earn a median of $45,750 a year, or $22.00 an hour, 10.3% less than the $50,980 median for all jobs. Pay is highest in Washington ($58,900) and lowest in West Virginia ($38,210). Occupation code 29-2052 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey.
Half of the 471,680 pharmacy technicians in the survey earn between $37,850 and $49,990. The bottom tenth earn under $36,020, the figure the Bureau itself uses as a rough guide to starting pay, and the top tenth more than $61,040. The average is $46,620.
| Nationally | Per year | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $36,020 | $17.32 |
| Bottom quarter earn less than | $37,850 | $18.20 |
| Median | $45,750 | $22.00 |
| Top quarter earn more than | $49,990 | $24.03 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $61,040 | $29.35 |
Hourly figures divide the yearly ones by 2,080 hours, the survey's own full-time year. Convert any salary.
The highest state medians are in Washington ($58,900), California ($55,110), Oregon ($54,900), Alaska ($52,640) and Colorado ($49,970). The lowest are in West Virginia ($38,210), Arkansas ($38,680), Alabama ($39,030), Mississippi ($39,040) and Kentucky ($39,200).
Higher pay often comes with higher prices. Adjusted for each state's price level, pay goes furthest in Washington ($55,040 at national prices), North Dakota ($53,463), Oregon ($53,115), Montana ($52,195) and South Dakota ($52,119).
The most pharmacy technicians work in Texas (41,740), California (39,860) and Florida (38,460). Relative to all jobs, the work is most common in West Virginia (5.1 per 1,000 jobs), Kentucky (4.4) and Missouri (4.3).
On the national median of $45,750, a single filer in a state with no income tax takes home about $38,940 a year after federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, or $1,498 every two weeks. On each state's own median and taxes, take-home ranges from $31,629 in Alabama to $49,506 in Washington. Work out your own paycheck.
The typical rent in each state's median county takes a median 41.6% of a pharmacy technician's gross pay, and stays under the usual 30% guideline in 1 of the 50 states and DC. With 10% down at a 7.03% mortgage rate, a single pharmacy technician earning the state median could afford the typical home in its median county in 0 of the 50 states and DC, under the 28% guideline. On the national median alone, that guideline stretches to about $123,691. Try it with your own numbers, or see where this pay covers the typical rent.
| Alabama | $39,030 | $18.77 | −14.7% | $43,941 | $31,629 | 42.2% | 8,510 |
| Alaska | $52,640 | $25.31 | +15.1% | $51,427 | $44,476 | 41.6% | 800 |
| Arizona | $47,640 | $22.90 | +4.1% | $47,320 | $39,268 | 42.1% | 12,970 |
| Arkansas | $38,680 | $18.60 | −15.5% | $44,492 | $32,195 | 34.1% | 4,560 |
| California | $55,110 | $26.50 | +20.5% | $49,774 | $44,619 | 53.4% | 39,860 |
| Colorado | $49,970 | $24.02 | +9.2% | $48,490 | $40,132 | 48.5% | 6,010 |
| Connecticut | $47,050 | $22.62 | +2.8% | $45,411 | $38,117 | 50.8% | 5,200 |
| Delaware | $46,430 | $22.32 | +1.5% | $46,519 | $37,296 | 48.9% | 1,480 |
| District of Columbia | $47,410 | $22.79 | +3.6% | $43,139 | $37,592 | 64.0% | 1,130 |
| Florida | $43,590 | $20.96 | −4.7% | $42,151 | $37,205 | 52.6% | 38,460 |
| Georgia | $41,910 | $20.15 | −8.4% | $43,523 | $33,763 | 48.0% | 14,680 |
| Hawaii | $46,760 | $22.48 | +2.2% | $42,528 | $37,302 | 81.3% | 1,540 |
| Idaho | $46,420 | $22.32 | +1.5% | $48,610 | $37,018 | 39.9% | 2,950 |
| Illinois | $46,650 | $22.43 | +2.0% | $46,670 | $37,354 | 30.9% | 21,340 |
| Indiana | $44,560 | $21.42 | −2.6% | $47,745 | $36,669 | 31.9% | 10,790 |
| Iowa | $44,860 | $21.57 | −1.9% | $51,116 | $36,520 | 27.7% | 4,630 |
| Kansas | $43,310 | $20.82 | −5.3% | $48,086 | $34,650 | 35.0% | 4,270 |
| Kentucky | $39,200 | $18.84 | −14.3% | $43,479 | $32,305 | 38.5% | 8,870 |
| Louisiana | $44,410 | $21.35 | −2.9% | $50,347 | $36,531 | 36.0% | 6,700 |
| Maine | $45,400 | $21.83 | −0.8% | $46,780 | $35,855 | 43.8% | 2,070 |
| Maryland | $45,120 | $21.69 | −1.4% | $42,988 | $36,343 | 51.6% | 7,990 |
| Massachusetts | $46,470 | $22.34 | +1.6% | $43,940 | $37,195 | 63.1% | 10,150 |
| Michigan | $44,340 | $21.32 | −3.1% | $46,083 | $35,923 | 36.3% | 14,240 |
| Minnesota | $48,300 | $23.22 | +5.6% | $48,975 | $38,188 | 32.0% | 7,340 |
| Mississippi | $39,040 | $18.77 | −14.7% | $44,898 | $32,387 | 44.4% | 4,040 |
| Missouri | $40,100 | $19.28 | −12.3% | $44,155 | $32,696 | 38.5% | 12,610 |
| Montana | $49,400 | $23.75 | +8.0% | $52,195 | $39,533 | 37.0% | 1,340 |
| Nebraska | $46,610 | $22.41 | +1.9% | $51,730 | $37,811 | 33.4% | 2,660 |
| Nevada | $47,980 | $23.07 | +4.9% | $47,990 | $40,732 | 45.3% | 4,070 |
| New Hampshire | $47,360 | $22.77 | +3.5% | $45,466 | $40,234 | 52.7% | 1,970 |
| New Jersey | $39,610 | $19.04 | −13.4% | $36,405 | $33,303 | 69.6% | 14,020 |
| New Mexico | $46,630 | $22.42 | +1.9% | $50,568 | $37,865 | 38.0% | 2,550 |
| New York | $43,930 | $21.12 | −4.0% | $40,706 | $35,271 | 42.3% | 24,400 |
| North Carolina | $44,530 | $21.41 | −2.7% | $47,209 | $36,183 | 43.6% | 17,260 |
| North Dakota | $47,560 | $22.86 | +4.0% | $53,463 | $40,394 | 30.6% | 890 |
| Ohio | $40,650 | $19.55 | −11.1% | $43,816 | $34,441 | 38.3% | 17,820 |
| Oklahoma | $40,500 | $19.47 | −11.5% | $46,105 | $33,114 | 37.6% | 5,500 |
| Oregon | $54,900 | $26.39 | +20.0% | $53,115 | $41,807 | 37.4% | 4,320 |
| Pennsylvania | $40,040 | $19.25 | −12.5% | $41,036 | $33,123 | 39.3% | 18,880 |
| Rhode Island | $44,380 | $21.34 | −3.0% | $43,391 | $36,175 | 66.6% | 1,540 |
| South Carolina | $42,120 | $20.25 | −7.9% | $44,928 | $34,795 | 43.4% | 8,070 |
| South Dakota | $46,170 | $22.20 | +0.9% | $52,119 | $39,278 | 33.7% | 1,230 |
| Tennessee | $41,920 | $20.15 | −8.4% | $45,630 | $35,863 | 42.6% | 11,870 |
| Texas | $45,900 | $22.07 | +0.3% | $47,292 | $39,061 | 38.5% | 41,740 |
| Utah | $48,140 | $23.14 | +5.2% | $48,693 | $38,718 | 43.4% | 5,030 |
| Vermont | $47,940 | $23.05 | +4.8% | $48,939 | $39,093 | 44.3% | 760 |
| Virginia | $44,610 | $21.45 | −2.5% | $44,123 | $35,717 | 49.3% | 10,720 |
| Washington | $58,900 | $28.32 | +28.7% | $55,040 | $49,506 | 37.2% | 8,150 |
| West Virginia | $38,210 | $18.37 | −16.5% | $42,694 | $31,832 | 34.7% | 3,560 |
| Wisconsin | $45,970 | $22.10 | +0.5% | $48,855 | $37,230 | 31.6% | 9,540 |
| Wyoming | $48,260 | $23.20 | +5.5% | $52,065 | $40,957 | 33.2% | 600 |
Click a column to sort it. “After local prices” divides the median by the state's price level (national average = 100). Take-home is for a single filer on the state median with no retirement or health deductions. Rent share is a year of the typical rent in the state's median county against the median pay. A dash means the survey publishes no figure.
Registered Nurse $97,550 · LPN $64,400 · Nurse Practitioner $132,300 · Pharmacist $140,910 · Physical Therapist $102,760 · Radiologic Technologist $80,110 · Dental Hygienist $98,100 · Speech-Language Pathologist $97,870