Pharmacists

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Total Workforce

319k

Average Age

41.7

Average Salary

$102,847

Average Male Salary

$113,194

Average Female Salary

$95,865

About

Pharmacists are most often employed by the Pharmacies & drug stores industry. The average yearly wage for Pharmacists was $102,847 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Pharmacists by wage are Computer network architects, Electrical & electronics engineers, and Information security analysts.

Pharmacists are part of the Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations, along with Chiropractors, Dentists, Dietitians & nutritionists, Optometrists, Pharmacists, and 37 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Pharmacists are Iowa City PUMA, IA, Carmel City & Fishers Town (West) PUMA, IN, and Seattle City (Northeast) PUMA, WA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Pharmacists are South Central Kansas PUMA, KS, Middlesex County (Southeast) PUMA, NJ, and Logan, Champaign & Hardin Counties PUMA, OH.

Photo by Mike Mozart

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations Healthcare practitioners & technical occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Pharmacists and on wages and locations for those in the field. Pharmacies & drug stores is the industry that employs the most Pharmacists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Pharmacists, by average wage, is Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing. Pharmacists are paid most in Walton, Washington, Holmes & Bay Counties PUMA, FL but are relatively concentrated in South Central Kansas PUMA, KS.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$102,847

AVERAGE SALARY

± $2,637

In 2018, Pharmacists earned an average of $102,847, $48,958 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Computer network architects make somewhat more than Pharmacists while Electrical & electronics engineers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Pharmacists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.289

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Pharmacists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.289, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Pharmacists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Pharmacists.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Pharmacists

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Pharmacists.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Pharmacists, by number of employees, are Pharmacies & drug stores, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, and Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Pharmacists, by average wage, are Offices of physicians, Administration of human resource programs, Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Drugs, sundries, & chemical & allied products merchant wholesalers , and Department stores.

Industries by Share

319k

2018 Workforce

± 13,843

8.14%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 5.8%

The number of people employed as Pharmacists has been growing at a rate of 8.14%, from 294,628 people in 2017 to 318,599 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Pharmacists employed by various industries. Pharmacies & drug stores employs the largest share of Pharmacists at 55.8%, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals with 29.6% and Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores with 3.2%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Pharmacists in the US. The average age of male Pharmacists in the workforce is 44.4 and of female Pharmacists is 39.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Pharmacists is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

128k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 8,793

190k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 10,701

59.7% of Pharmacists are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Pharmacists.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Pharmacists

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

66.1% of Pharmacists are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 22.1% of Pharmacists, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Pharmacists.

Age by Gender

44.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.02

39.9

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.638

The median age of Pharmacists is 41.7, and Male employees are generally 4.53 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Pharmacists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Pharmacists is Health but a relatively high number of Pharmacists hold a major in Health.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Pharmacists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pharmacists need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Pharmacists need more than the average amount of Science, Management of Material Resources, and Operations Analysis.