Pharmacy Technicians salary

SOC 29-2052 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$45,750

per year, nationally

Middle half

$37,850–$49,990

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

471,680

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

+6.4%

49,000 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$36,020$61,040

10th: $36,020
25th: $37,850
Median: $45,750
75th: $49,990
90th: $61,040

Getting in

Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where pharmacy technicians earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Washington	$58,900	107.0	8,150	0.76×
2	California	$55,110	110.7	39,860	0.72×
3	Oregon	$54,900	103.4	4,320	0.72×
4	Alaska	$52,640	102.4	800	0.81×
5	Colorado	$49,970	103.1	6,010	0.69×
6	Montana	$49,400	94.6	1,340	0.86×
7	Minnesota	$48,300	98.6	7,340	0.82×
8	Wyoming	$48,260	92.7	600	0.71×
9	Utah	$48,140	98.9	5,030	0.96×
10	Nevada	$47,980	100.0	4,070	0.87×
11	Vermont	$47,940	98.0	760	0.83×
12	Arizona	$47,640	100.7	12,970	1.32×
13	North Dakota	$47,560	89.0	890	0.68×
14	District of Columbia	$47,410	109.9	1,130	0.53×
15	New Hampshire	$47,360	104.2	1,970	0.95×
16	Connecticut	$47,050	103.6	5,200	1.01×
17	Hawaii	$46,760	110.0	1,540	0.81×
18	Illinois	$46,650	100.0	21,340	1.15×
19	New Mexico	$46,630	92.2	2,550	0.96×
20	Nebraska	$46,610	90.1	2,660	0.85×
21	Massachusetts	$46,470	105.8	10,150	0.92×
22	Delaware	$46,430	99.8	1,480	1.01×
23	Idaho	$46,420	95.5	2,950	1.13×
24	South Dakota	$46,170	88.6	1,230	0.88×
25	Wisconsin	$45,970	94.1	9,540	1.07×
26	Texas	$45,900	97.1	41,740	0.98×
27	Maine	$45,400	97.0	2,070	1.06×
28	Maryland	$45,120	105.0	7,990	0.95×
29	Iowa	$44,860	87.8	4,630	0.98×
30	Virginia	$44,610	101.1	10,720	0.86×
31	Indiana	$44,560	93.3	10,790	1.11×
32	North Carolina	$44,530	94.3	17,260	1.15×
33	Louisiana	$44,410	88.2	6,700	1.14×
34	Rhode Island	$44,380	102.3	1,540	1.01×
35	Michigan	$44,340	96.2	14,240	1.07×
36	New York	$43,930	107.9	24,400	0.83×
37	Florida	$43,590	103.4	38,460	1.28×
38	Kansas	$43,310	90.1	4,270	0.98×
39	South Carolina	$42,120	93.7	8,070	1.15×
40	Tennessee	$41,920	91.9	11,870	1.19×
41	Georgia	$41,910	96.3	14,680	0.99×
42	Ohio	$40,650	92.8	17,820	1.06×
43	Oklahoma	$40,500	87.8	5,500	1.06×
44	Missouri	$40,100	90.8	12,610	1.42×
45	Pennsylvania	$40,040	97.6	18,880	1.03×
46	New Jersey	$39,610	108.8	14,020	1.08×
47	Kentucky	$39,200	90.2	8,870	1.46×
48	Mississippi	$39,040	87.0	4,040	1.14×
49	Alabama	$39,030	88.8	8,510	1.33×
50	Arkansas	$38,680	86.9	4,560	1.15×
51	West Virginia	$38,210	89.5	3,560	1.67×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where pharmacy technicians wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for pharmacy technicians

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Napa, CA	$77,360	112.6	200	0.86×
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$75,490	110.4	1,780	0.52×
3	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$61,800	107.8	370	0.60×
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$61,320	111.1	4,630	0.73×
5	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$60,550	115.6	4,040	0.56×
6	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$59,380	105.6	200	0.70×
7	Vallejo, CA	$58,670	108.5	440	1.00×
8	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$58,590	105.4	2,460	0.67×
9	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$58,470	106.7	2,820	0.86×
10	Longview-Kelso, WA	$58,250	97.5	100	0.81×
11	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$57,830	100.3	740	0.96×
12	Walla Walla, WA	$57,190	98.5	60	0.83×
13	Salinas, CA	$57,180	109.0	360	0.64×
14	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$57,090	103.7	260	0.65×
15	Bend, OR	$56,950	103.6	220	0.68×
16	Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA	$56,600	103.9	130	0.87×
17	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$56,580	108.8	420	0.69×
18	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$56,530	108.6	320	0.87×
19	Chico, CA	$56,320	101.2	220	0.91×
20	Yuba City, CA	$56,160	104.2	190	1.21×
21	Bellingham, WA	$56,010	103.3	180	0.65×
22	Fairbanks-College, AK	$55,850	103.2	80	0.68×
23	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$55,790	102.4	140	0.88×
24	Medford, OR	$54,900	101.4	260	0.96×
25	Bozeman, MT	$54,750	102.5	130	0.60×
26	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$54,500	111.9	3,600	0.77×
27	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$54,070	100.1	280	0.73×
28	Redding, CA	$52,860	100.7	220	1.02×
29	Salem, OR	$52,210	103.6	400	0.69×
30	Fresno, CA	$52,210	102.2	1,320	0.91×
31	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$52,160	105.1	680	0.77×
32	Anchorage, AK	$51,870	105.4	480	0.90×
33	Albany, OR	$51,730	102.1	90	0.63×
34	Grants Pass, OR	$51,700	97.8	80	0.91×
35	Yakima, WA	$51,330	95.5	230	0.78×
36	Boulder, CO	$51,210	105.2	340	0.58×
37	El Centro, CA	$51,130	95.2	160	0.80×
38	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$50,970	105.8	3,260	0.67×
39	Cheyenne, WY	$50,940	96.5	150	1.03×
40	Eugene-Springfield, OR	$50,820	101.6	560	1.17×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where pharmacy technicians wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses$64,400
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians$62,930
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians$80,110
Medical Records Specialists$51,140
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other$50,290
Emergency Medical Technicians$44,470
Psychiatric Technicians$45,130
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians$47,380