As of 2021, the most recent data available, 16 percent of pharmacy technicians work in hospitals, where their median salary is $38,270. In pharmacies and drugstores, where 50 percent of them work, the median annual pay is $35,940.
The Bureau lists a third work environment, food and beverage stores, in which pharmacy technicians are paid $36,090 and account for 9 percent of the workforce.
As hospital pharmacies struggle to fill this position — which helps fill prescriptions under a pharmacist’s supervision — multiple reports and surveys say higher pay would draw in more applicants and boost retention rates.
