Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 29-1051

Pharmacists

Median pay sits 58% below the mid peer in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (neighbors include Cardiologists, Dermatologists, Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric, Surgeons, All Other).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Pharmacists: Cardiologists ($496K) , Dermatologists ($329K) , Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric ($359K) , Surgeons, All Other ($414K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Pharmacists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-1051 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability
  2. 2. Assess the identity, strength, or purity of medications
  3. 3. Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage
  4. 4. Analyze prescribing trends to monitor patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions
  5. 5. Maintain records, such as pharmacy files, patient profiles, charge system files, inventories, control records for radioactive nuclei, or…
  6. 6. Collaborate with other health care professionals to plan, monitor, review, or evaluate the quality or effectiveness of drugs or drug regi…
  7. 7. Plan, implement, or maintain procedures for mixing, packaging, or labeling pharmaceuticals, according to policy and legal requirements, t…
  8. 8. Order and purchase pharmaceutical supplies, medical supplies, or drugs, maintaining stock and storing and handling it properly
  9. 9. Compound and dispense medications as prescribed by doctors and dentists, by calculating, weighing, measuring, and mixing ingredients, or…
  10. 10. Contact insurance companies to resolve billing issues
  11. 11. Work in hospitals or clinics or for Health Management Organizations (HMOs), dispensing prescriptions, serving as a medical team consultan…
  12. 12. Advise customers on the selection of medication brands, medical equipment, or healthcare supplies

Pharmacists: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-1051 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Medicine and Dentistry. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.0
  3. 3. Speaking 4.0
  4. 4. Writing 3.9
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.9
  6. 6. Monitoring 3.9
  7. 7. Judgment and Decision Making 3.8
  8. 8. Active Learning 3.6

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Medicine and Dentistry 4.6
  2. 2. Mathematics 4.5
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 4.2
  4. 4. English Language 4.2
  5. 5. Chemistry 4.1
  6. 6. Biology 4.0
Pay vs Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations peers
-58%
vs mid peer median $335,550
This role $140,910/yr
$141K
National median
↑ +5%
Growth 2024-2034
14,200
Annual openings
321,970
Estimated US jobs
Cardiologists
Highest-pay peer · $496K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Doctoral or professional degree

Top Paying States for Pharmacists

1. Colorado $156,030
2. Washington $160,610
3. Oregon $165,960
4. Wisconsin $148,740
5. Minnesota $159,740
6. Delaware $152,880
7. District of Columbia $153,400
8. Hawaii $163,220
9. Alaska $167,310
10. California $164,610

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric $358,550
  2. 2. Cardiologists $496,010
  3. 3. Surgeons, All Other $414,010
  4. 4. Emergency Medicine Physicians $335,550
  5. 5. Dermatologists $328,730
  6. 6. Anesthesiologists $391,490

Among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations peers on this card, Pharmacists sits 58% below the mid peer median ($335,550). Its own median is $140,910.

Employment Projections expect +5% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 14,200 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Colorado at $156,030. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Cardiologists at $496,010. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Pharmacists pay-rank #26 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Pharmacists sits at pay-rank #26 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 29-1051 · national median $140,910 · middle third of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (#26/71). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Pharmacists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-1051

Colorado · top state for Pharmacists

$156K published median

Washington · #2 state pay

$161K · behind Colorado

Cardiologists

Highest-pay peer vs Pharmacists · $496K

Dermatologists

Lower-pay peer beside Pharmacists · $329K

Compare Pharmacists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Pharmacists with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Pharmacists

Against another occupation

Cardiologists card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Pharmacists mid-table among Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #26 of 71 detailed Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Optometrists ($137K), Physician Assistants ($136K), Medical Dosimetrists ($147K), Nurse Midwives ($134K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do pharmacists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Pharmacists. Leading ones include: Review prescriptions to assure accuracy, to ascertain the needed ingredients, and to evaluate their suitability; Assess the identity, strength, or purity of medications; Provide information and advice regarding drug interactions, side effects, dosage, and proper medication storage; Analyze prescribing trends to monitor patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for pharmacists? ▼
For SOC 29-1051, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.0), Active Listening (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Writing (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Medicine and Dentistry, Mathematics, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Pharmacists? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $140,910 as the national median for Pharmacists. The published 10th-90th range is $99,290 to $174,230. Beside Cardiologists ($496,010), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Pharmacists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Pharmacists is +5%. Projected annual openings: about 14,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Pharmacists? ▼
BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Pharmacists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Pharmacists? ▼
Colorado ($156,030), Washington ($160,610), Oregon ($165,960) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Pharmacists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-1051. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Pharmacists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics