The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that more than over 272,000 pharmacists were employed in the United States as of May 2011. They earned an average salary of $9,347 per month or $112,160 per year. Salaries for pharmacists ranged from $7,040 to $12,007 per month, based on the Bureau’s lowest and highest percentiles.
The salary for pharmacists varies in different metropolitan areas. The highest average salary was in the El Centro, Calif. metropolitan area, according to the BLS. Pharmacists there earned an average of $13,617 per month or $163,410 per year. Lower paying metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, where salaries were under $8,725 per month, included the southern Mississippi non-metropolitan area; the Des Moines, Iowa metropolitan area; and the Scranton, Pa. metropolitan area.