The national numbers
BLS puts the May 2024 median pharmacist salary at $137,480 a year, or $66.10 an hour. Since pharmacists require a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree (a professional doctorate that typically takes four years after at least two years of prerequisite coursework), this is one of the higher-paying occupations that does not require a residency or additional post-graduate licensing exam beyond the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) and a jurisprudence exam.
The percentile spread is narrower than in occupations like actuarial science: the bottom 10% of pharmacists earned less than $86,930, and the top 10% earned more than $172,040 in May 2024. A roughly $85,000 gap between deciles in a single-credential profession suggests the spread is driven mainly by setting and geography rather than large differences in required qualifications.
Retail pharmacy vs. clinical and hospital settings
The industry breakdown clarifies where the money actually is. Ambulatory healthcare services (a category that includes outpatient clinics and specialty infusion centers) paid the highest median in May 2024 at $152,980. Hospitals paid close behind at $149,240. General merchandise retailers, meaning big-box stores with in-house pharmacies, paid $145,210.
Pharmacies and drug retailers, the traditional chain and independent retail pharmacy setting most people picture when they hear "pharmacist," paid a median of $131,640, noticeably below the other four categories despite employing a large share of all pharmacists.
Job outlook
BLS projects 5% employment growth for pharmacists from 2024 to 2034, classified as faster than average, adding about 15,400 jobs over the decade. That is a more moderate growth rate than several other healthcare occupations on this site, in part because retail pharmacy chains have been consolidating locations in some regions even as demand for clinical pharmacist roles in hospitals and specialty care has grown.