Highest Salary for a Pharmacist
- The top 10 percent of pharmacists brought in an average of $134,290 annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2009. The mean annual wage of all pharmacists is $106,630. In addition to distributing prescription medicine to patients, pharmacists increasingly are being called upon to counsel patients and plan drug therapy programs.
- While health and personal care stores employ the most pharmacists, at a mean annual wage of $107,810, they are not the highest paying. Management, scientific and technical consulting services pay the most, offering an average salary of $116,710. Residential mental retardation, mental health and substance abuse facilities offer the second-highest salary at $114,580 annually.
- Areas with higher costs of living typically pay higher salaries for most occupations, including those in pharmaceuticals. The Bureau of Labor Statistics names California as the highest-paying state for pharmacists, with an annual mean wage of $117,080. Maine, Alabama, Minnesota and Alaska follow with salaries ranging from $113,460 to $115,760.
- The more years of experience a pharmacist has, the higher his salary will be. PayScale states that a pharmacist with 20 years or more of experience earned between $95,245 and $118,592 as of January 2011. Those with 10 to 19 years of experience earned between $90,231 and $112,835, while those with only one to four years earned between $70,125 and $101,633.