Pharmacist pay varies by more than $35,000 depending on practice setting, according to a June Drug Channels Institute analysis of May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The figures reflect average base pay and exclude bonuses and employer benefit costs. Here are five things to know.
- Pharmacists at outpatient care centers earned the most, averaging $166,820, followed by hospital pharmacists at $150,840, physician offices at $145,050 and home healthcare services at $142,180. Pharmacists in nonretail settings averaged about $151,300, roughly $18,000 more than the $133,270 average for retail outpatient pharmacists.
- Within retail, pharmacists at mass merchants such as big-box retailers averaged $143,020 and supermarket pharmacists averaged $137,680. Pharmacists at drugstores and independent pharmacies, the largest retail group, averaged $130,900.
- Retail outpatient pharmacists saw pay rise 3.2% over the prior year, a rebound for the setting. Hospital pharmacists saw a 2.2% increase, comparable to the previous year, while pay for pharmacists in physician offices rose 0.2%.
- Consumer prices grew 2.4% over the same period, so hospital and physician office pay growth trailed inflation. Drug Channels said retail pharmacists were the only major group to see meaningful inflation-adjusted pay growth.
- Pharmacists still earn about 30% more than the average healthcare practitioner, whose average salary was $108,700 in 2025. That gap has narrowed from about 54% a decade ago.
