National Salary Info » Pharmacists

Highest Paying Industries for Pharmacists

The top 100 highest paying industries for pharmacists (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment in those industries are also shown. As shown in the table, with an average annual salary of $132,990, other general merchandise stores is the highest paying industry for pharmacists. It is followed by offices of physicians industry (average annual salary $131,570). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2015 [1]. For more information about salaries of pharmacists in a specific industry, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest Paying Industries for Pharmacists

Rank	Industry	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Other General Merchandise Stores	$132,990	$106,130	16,290
2	Offices of Physicians	$131,570	$93,250	5,160
3	Outpatient Care Centers	$131,430	$100,140	3,700
4	General Merchandise Stores	$130,150	$102,740	29,270
5	Warehousing and Storage	$129,460	$104,620	180
6	Transportation and Warehousing	$129,460	$104,620	180
7	Ambulatory Health Care Services	$126,550	$96,080	11,360
8	Department Stores	$126,310	$90,300	12,980
9	Retail Trade	$122,860	$87,650	182,490
10	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$122,300	$94,710	2,560
11	Grocery Stores	$121,740	$81,390	23,240
12	Food and Beverage Stores	$121,740	$81,390	23,240
13	Pharmacies and Drug Stores	$121,190	$85,350	125,450
14	Health and Personal Care Stores	$121,180	$85,390	125,810
15	Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses	$120,560	$96,530	3,970
16	Nonstore Retailers	$120,470	$96,900	4,150
17	Offices of All Other Health Practitioners	$119,910	$40,040	180
18	Offices of Other Health Practitioners	$119,810	$85,240	290
19	Insurance Carriers	$119,570	$93,710	1,090
20	Health Care and Social Assistance	$119,430	$96,500	82,240
21	Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers	$119,340	$93,230	1,070
22	Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers	$119,260	$89,410	6,020
23	Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods	$119,240	$89,320	6,040
24	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - Local government owned	$119,150	$96,440	7,460
25	Hospitals - Local government owned	$119,150	$96,370	7,520
26	Insurance Carriers and Related Activities	$119,030	$94,820	1,230
27	Local government, including schools and hospitals	$119,020	$94,710	8,550
28	Finance and Insurance	$119,010	$94,940	1,240
29	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - Privately owned	$118,980	$97,460	55,600
30	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	$118,950	$97,120	66,010
31	Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	$118,850	$99,080	350
32	Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods	$118,850	$99,080	350
33	Hospitals - Privately owned	$118,820	$97,330	58,710
34	Wholesale Trade	$118,780	$89,600	6,880
35	Specialty hospitals - State government owned	$118,720	$99,040	360
36	Hospitals (including private, state, and local government hospitals)	$118,690	$96,670	70,200
37	Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists	$118,540	$96,390	100
38	Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)	$118,230	$89,600	370
39	Direct Selling Establishments	$118,150	$100,300	180
40	Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers	$118,030	$80,180	200
41	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - State government owned	$117,970	$80,310	2,950
42	Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences	$117,430	$87,030	190
43	Scientific Research and Development Services	$117,400	$86,060	190
44	Office Administrative Services	$117,220	$97,370	n/a
45	Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	$116,850	$94,640	3,080
46	Administrative and Support Services	$116,850	$91,900	2,700
47	Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	$116,850	$91,900	2,700
48	Employment Services	$116,670	$90,090	1,890
49	Specialty hospitals - Privately owned	$116,550	$93,790	2,680
50	Nursing and Residential Care Facilities	$116,540	$89,590	560
51	Hospitals - State government owned	$115,930	$82,260	3,980
52	Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	$115,890	$91,560	120
53	Other Insurance Related Activities	$115,840	$98,940	130
54	Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities	$115,840	$98,940	130
55	Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	$115,710	$98,290	100
56	Temporary Help Services	$115,610	$88,780	1,180
57	Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	$115,360	$83,520	870
58	Consumer Goods Rental	$114,980	$89,170	180
59	Individual and Family Services	$114,930	$82,360	110
60	Rental and Leasing Services	$114,840	$89,650	180
61	Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	$114,840	$89,650	180
62	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals - Privately owned	$114,610	$91,950	430
63	Chemical Manufacturing	$114,590	$89,080	300
64	Manufacturing	$114,500	$88,660	310
65	Social Assistance	$114,170	$78,060	130
66	Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	$114,170	$88,550	300
67	Home Health Care Services	$113,940	$89,340	1,860
68	All Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	$113,920	$33,990	n/a
69	Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	$113,920	$33,990	n/a
70	Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers	$113,830	$84,860	490
71	Public sector -- Federal, state, and local government, including government owned schools and hospit	$113,650	$81,940	21,700
72	Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities	$113,460	$85,750	50
73	Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	$113,290	$81,920	910
74	Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities	$112,670	$83,290	70
75	State government, including schools and hospitals	$112,070	$82,010	6,700
76	Federal government, including USPS	$111,600	$52,780	6,450
77	Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	$111,600	$52,780	6,450
78	Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation)	$111,600	$62,220	8,770
79	Federal, State, and Local Government	$111,600	$62,220	8,770
80	Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	$110,910	$79,540	1,360
81	Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	$110,030	$74,440	1,680
82	Educational Services	$109,960	$74,710	1,690
83	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals	$109,610	$83,570	1,120
84	Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations	$108,480	$81,580	70
85	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - Privately owned	$108,400	$51,320	250
86	Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations	$108,300	$81,090	60
87	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - State government owned	$108,060	$80,910	1,270
88	Educational Services - State government owned	$108,050	$80,930	1,270
89	Educational Services - Privately owned	$107,890	$51,530	260
90	Other Services (except Federal, State, and Local Government)	$107,620	$81,640	120
91	Information	$107,220	$86,560	n/a
92	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals - State government owned	$106,110	$81,590	670
93	State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	$104,580	$82,270	1,450
94	Computer Systems Design and Related Services	$91,770	$70,960	n/a