What is the salary of a pharmacy technician in 2019? As with most jobs, pharmacy technician pay varies depending on your employer and your level of experience. Fortunately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has published comprehensive salary statistics. Here is a brief overview of these statistics to help you with your career planning.
For pharmacy technicians, the median annual wage is $31,750 ($15.26 per hour). This means that half of all pharmacy techs earn more than this, and half earn less than this. The top 10% of techs earned more than $46,980 while the bottom 10% had an annual wage below $22,000. If you are just beginning your pharmacy technician career, your salary will normally be at the lower end of this pay scale.
Pharmacy technician pay varies by your employer as well. The best paying positions are typically found in medical and surgical hospitals, where the median pay is $36,710. Median pay at grocery store pharmacies like Kroger, Albertsons, Publix, and Safeway is $29,860. Median pay in drugstores such as Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid is $29,500. Positions in general merchandise stores such as the Target and Walmart pharmacies have a slightly lower median salary of $31,320. Mail order pharmacies typically pay a little better salary than most retail jobs.
These figures were last updated in May of 2017, and provide a good overview of the typical salary of a pharmacy technician. This should be helpful in determining if this career will be a good fit for you. Obviously your exact pay will depend on many more variables that are not tracked by the BLS, including geography, the number of job applicants, and whether or not you are certified.
More Resources:
- What is a Pharmacy Technician
- How to become a Pharmacy Technician
- Pharmacy Technician Schools
- PTCB Practice Tests