Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

29-1051 Pharmacists

Dispense drugs prescribed by physicians and other health practitioners and provide information to patients about medications and their use. May advise physicians and other health practitioners on the selection, dosage, interactions, and side effects of medications.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
219,390 1.2 % $36.13 $75,140 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $26.01 $31.83 $37.04 $41.95 $45.47
Annual Wage (2) $54,110 $66,210 $77,050 $87,250 $94,570

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Health and personal care stores 94,850 $36.32 $75,550 1 11
General medical and surgical hospitals 47,830 $36.03 $74,950 2 15
Grocery stores 19,150 $36.72 $76,370 3 9
Federal government (OES designation) 4,850 $36.33 $75,570 4 10
Offices of physicians 4,720 $36.91 $76,770 5 8

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Warehousing and storage 370 $40.01 $83,220 19 1
Insurance agencies, brokerages, and related 70 $39.49 $82,130 30 2
Management of companies and enterprises 500 $38.56 $80,200 17 3
Management and technical consulting services 360 $38.28 $79,620 20 4
Offices of other health practitioners 170 $37.78 $78,590 27 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
West Virginia 1,650 $36.45 $75,820 0.242% 14
Louisiana 4,230 $33.03 $68,700 0.231% 32
Kentucky 3,740 $36.97 $76,900 0.218% 17
Alabama 3,930 $35.15 $73,120 0.216% 26
Wyoming 510 $32.10 $66,760 0.212% 22

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
California 21,720 $41.56 $86,450 0.150% 34
Alaska 370 $38.64 $80,370 0.129% 15
Wisconsin 4,030 $38.60 $80,290 0.150% 13
Florida 12,720 $38.12 $79,300 0.179% 27
Delaware 560 $37.90 $78,820 0.140% 23

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Rochester, MN MSA 360 $37.08 $77,120 0.377%
Medford-Ashland, OR MSA 270 $38.04 $79,120 0.364%
Iowa City, IA MSA 240 $31.61 $65,750 0.355%
Enid, OK MSA 70 $33.65 $69,990 0.329%
Alexandria, LA MSA 170 $31.87 $66,300 0.312%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA MSA 150 $47.00 $97,770 0.125%
Redding, CA MSA 180 $46.63 $97,000 0.278%
Jersey City, NJ PMSA 280 $44.54 $92,650 0.115%
Chico-Paradise, CA MSA 120 $44.34 $92,240 0.162%
Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH PMSA 2,390 $44.29 $92,120 0.221%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

All Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003