Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

29-2052 Pharmacy Technicians

Prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. May measure, mix, count out, label, and record amounts and dosages of medications according to prescription orders.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic 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)
417,860	0.8 %	$16.35	$34,020	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$10.93	$12.86	$15.72	$18.89	$23.08
Annual Wage (2)	$22,740	$26,750	$32,700	$39,290	$48,010

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Health and Personal Care Stores	220,070	20.65	$15.36	$31,940
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	65,530	1.18	$18.71	$38,920
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	35,190	1.20	$15.12	$31,460
General Merchandise Stores	33,480	1.05	$16.00	$33,280
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	12,790	3.41	$16.83	$35,010

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Health and Personal Care Stores	220,070	20.65	$15.36	$31,940
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4242 and 4246 only)	12,790	3.41	$16.83	$35,010
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses	8,850	2.23	$17.09	$35,550
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	35,190	1.20	$15.12	$31,460
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	65,530	1.18	$18.71	$38,920

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	6,390	0.32	$21.59	$44,900
Outpatient Care Centers	6,740	0.73	$20.32	$42,260
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	1,110	0.02	$20.06	$41,720
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	80	0.03	$19.94	$41,470
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	1,200	0.04	$19.76	$41,100

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	37,630	2.21	0.77	$20.48	$42,610
Texas	37,200	3.07	1.06	$16.48	$34,290
Florida	30,080	3.49	1.21	$15.43	$32,090
Illinois	21,490	3.59	1.24	$15.93	$33,140
New York	19,320	2.06	0.71	$16.66	$34,640

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Kentucky	8,470	4.48	1.55	$14.07	$29,270
West Virginia	2,980	4.28	1.48	$13.78	$28,650
Rhode Island	1,800	3.73	1.29	$17.99	$37,410
Arkansas	4,490	3.71	1.28	$14.25	$29,640
Alabama	7,140	3.68	1.27	$14.44	$30,040

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska	570	1.80	0.62	$20.74	$43,150
California	37,630	2.21	0.77	$20.48	$42,610
Washington	6,950	2.13	0.74	$20.42	$42,470
Oregon	5,020	2.66	0.92	$19.67	$40,920
District of Columbia	840	1.17	0.41	$19.22	$39,980

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	20,190	2.13	0.74	$16.94	$35,230
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	16,420	3.54	1.23	$16.34	$33,980
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	13,510	2.21	0.76	$19.80	$41,180
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	11,230	3.15	1.09	$16.05	$33,390
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	9,140	3.06	1.06	$16.86	$35,070
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	8,830	3.10	1.07	$15.55	$32,350
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	8,500	3.28	1.14	$15.91	$33,090
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	7,650	3.88	1.34	$16.53	$34,380
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	6,840	2.55	0.88	$15.11	$31,420
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	6,800	2.46	0.85	$18.13	$37,710