Healthcare Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 31-9095

Pharmacy Aides

O*NET task statements lead this Pharmacy Aides card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Healthcare Support Workers, All Other, Occupational Therapy Aides, Phlebotomists, Medical Equipment Preparers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Pharmacy Aides: Healthcare Support Workers, All Other ($48K) , Occupational Therapy Aides ($39K) , Phlebotomists ($45K) , Medical Equipment Preparers ($48K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Pharmacy Aides publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 31-9095 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Greet customers and help them locate merchandise
  2. 2. Prepare prescription labels by typing or operating a computer and printer
  3. 3. Accept prescriptions for filling, gathering and processing necessary information
  4. 4. Operate cash register to process cash or credit sales
  5. 5. Answer telephone inquiries, referring callers to pharmacist when necessary
  6. 6. Compound, package, and label pharmaceutical products, under direction of pharmacist
  7. 7. Process medical insurance claims, posting bill amounts and calculating copayments
  8. 8. Receive, store, and inventory pharmaceutical supplies or medications, check for out-of-date medications, and notify pharmacist when inven…
  9. 9. Unpack, sort, count, and label incoming merchandise, including items requiring special handling or refrigeration
  10. 10. Restock storage areas, replenishing items on shelves
  11. 11. Perform clerical tasks, such as filing, compiling and maintaining prescription records, or composing letters
  12. 12. Prepare, maintain, and record records of inventories, receipts, purchases, or deliveries, using a variety of computer screen formats

Pharmacy Aides: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 31-9095 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.5 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.5
  2. 2. Speaking 3.4
  3. 3. Service Orientation 3.4
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 3.3
  5. 5. Social Perceptiveness 3.3
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.0
  7. 7. Coordination 3.0
  8. 8. Judgment and Decision Making 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.8
  2. 2. English Language 3.4
  3. 3. Administrative 3.1
  4. 4. Sales and Marketing 3.0
  5. 5. Law and Government 2.9
  6. 6. Administration and Management 2.9
National median after O*NET task lead
$37,680
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Greet customers and help them locate merchandise
$38K
National median
↓ -0%
Growth 2024-2034
6,100
Annual openings
39,530
Estimated US jobs
Healthcare Support Workers, All Other
Highest-pay peer · $48K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Pharmacy Aides

1. Hawaii $46,250
2. Nevada $39,080
3. California $42,200
4. Pennsylvania $39,470
5. Washington $45,110
6. Oregon $40,250
7. Arizona $43,360
8. Utah $51,600
9. District of Columbia $59,960
10. Texas $38,630

Other Healthcare Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Phlebotomists $45,230
  2. 2. Medical Equipment Preparers $47,700
  3. 3. Medical Assistants $45,690
  4. 4. Occupational Therapy Aides $39,160
  5. 5. Dental Assistants $48,070
  6. 6. Healthcare Support Workers, All Other $48,430

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Pharmacy Aides (SOC 31-9095). The national OEWS median is $37,680 inside Healthcare Support Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Healthcare Support Workers, All Other, Occupational Therapy Aides, Phlebotomists, Medical Equipment Preparers. Lead published task: Greet customers and help them locate merchandise.

Employment Projections expect -0% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 6,100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent 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: Hawaii at $46,250. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Healthcare Support Workers, All Other at $48,430. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Pharmacy Aides pay-rank #15 in Healthcare Support Occupations

On the Healthcare Support Occupations median table (17 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Pharmacy Aides lands at #15, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third 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 31-9095 · national median $37,680 · lower third of Healthcare Support Occupations (#15/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Pharmacy Aides salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 31-9095

Hawaii · top state for Pharmacy Aides

$46K published median

Nevada · #2 state pay

$39K · behind Hawaii

Healthcare Support Workers, All Other

Highest-pay peer vs Pharmacy Aides · $48K

Occupational Therapy Aides

Lower-pay peer beside Pharmacy Aides · $39K

Compare Pharmacy Aides

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

Role and task next reads

Pharmacy Aides full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Pharmacy Aides land on the Healthcare Support Occupations median table? ▼
Pharmacy Aides is pay-rank #15 of 17 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers ($38K), Orderlies ($38K), Home Health and Personal Care Aides ($36K), Physical Therapist Aides ($35K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do pharmacy aides do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Pharmacy Aides. Leading ones include: Greet customers and help them locate merchandise; Prepare prescription labels by typing or operating a computer and printer; Accept prescriptions for filling, gathering and processing necessary information; Operate cash register to process cash or credit sales. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for pharmacy aides? ▼
For SOC 31-9095, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.5), Speaking (3.4), Service Orientation (3.4), Reading Comprehension (3.3). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administrative. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Pharmacy Aides? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $37,680 as the national median for Pharmacy Aides. The published 10th-90th range is $29,820 to $56,010. Beside Healthcare Support Workers, All Other ($48,430), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Pharmacy Aides? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Pharmacy Aides is -0%. Projected annual openings: about 6,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Pharmacy Aides? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Pharmacy Aides. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Pharmacy Aides? ▼
Hawaii ($46,250), Nevada ($39,080), California ($42,200) 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 Pharmacy Aides card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 31-9095. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Pharmacy Aides. 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