Pharmacy Assistants: Job, Salary, and School Information from The Riley Guide

Pharmacy Assistants

Career and Education Info

Job Numbers and Growth

Pharmacy assistants in the US number about 50,000. Compared to other occupations, unemployment is considered low.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

About 23% of employees work fewer than 40 hours per week. About 4% of pharmacy assistants are self-employed.

Training and Education

Expect to need to get short-term on-the-job training if you pursue this occupation. 10% of employees have a bachelor's degree. 59 of people working as pharmacy assistants have had some college education, but stopped short of a degree. About 31% of those working as workers have a high-school diploma, but no further education. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which, if any, could help you with this career.

Area Job Conditions

Jobs per capita for employees are most common in Madera (California), Bay City (Michigan), and Morristown (Tennessee), and least common in Milwaukee (Wisconsin), Phoenix (Arizona), and Fort Worth (Texas).

Jobs for pharmacy assistants pay the most in Denver (Colorado), San Jose (California), and Danbury (Connecticut), and the least in Anniston (Alabama), Tuscaloosa (Alabama), and Birmingham (Alabama).

Career Overview Video About Pharmacy Assistants

Pharmacy Assistants: Job and Salary Data by Metropolitan Area

The table below shows data for Pharmacy Assistants, as of 2008. The Popularity in Area number tells you how common jobs for Pharmacy Assistants are in the area, compared to other US metro areas. A value of 1.0 means an average number of people in the position for area population. Lower numbers mean fewer of these positions in the metro area. The most popular areas for Pharmacy Assistants are starred .

State	Area	Positions	Typical Pay	Popularity in Area
Alabama	Anniston	60	$17,690	4.9
Alabama	Birmingham	170	$17,250	1.1
Alabama	Mobile	40	$21,220	0.8
Alabama	Montgomery	80	$21,210	1.6
Alabama	Tuscaloosa	90	$15,860	3.6
Arizona	Phoenix	130	$21,860	0.2
Arkansas	Fort Smith	40	$18,760	1.2
Arkansas	Little Rock	180	$18,280	1.8
California	Bakersfield	310	$21,580	4
California	Chico	60	$21,610	3.2
California	Fresno	150	$20,070	1.5
California	Madera	90	$20,270	9.8
California	Oakland	360	$28,050	1.2
California	Oxnard	200	$23,580	2.3
California	Redding	80	$23,460	4.5
California	Riverside	910	$21,970	2.4
California	Sacramento	480	$28,380	1.8
California	San Diego	740	$24,670	1.8
California	San Francisco	250		0.8
California	San Jose	370	$26,800	1.3
California	Santa Ana	630	$23,370	1.4
California	Santa Barbara	180	$20,840	3.7
California	Santa Cruz	140	$23,580	5.8
California	Santa Rosa	50	$25,160	0.9
California	Vallejo	120	$25,450	3.5
Colorado	Denver	210	$29,690	0.6
Connecticut	Bridgeport	140	$24,770	1.1
Connecticut	Danbury	30	$28,790	1.6
Connecticut	Hartford	400	$23,980	2.3
Connecticut	Norwich	100	$26,560	2.9
District of Columbia	Washington	660	$23,700	0.9
Florida	Deltona	200	$17,560	4.5
Florida	Fort Lauderdale	380	$20,980	1.7
Florida	Gainesville	80	$19,080	2.5
Florida	Jacksonville	260	$19,620	1.4
Florida	Naples	100	$22,140	3
Florida	Ocala	100	$18,580	3.8
Florida	Orlando	420	$21,050	1.3
Florida	Panama City	120	$19,330	6.5
Florida	Pensacola	180	$19,340	4.2
Florida	Sarasota	260	$19,260	3.4
Florida	Sebastian	50	$21,620	4
Florida	Tallahassee	170	$21,260	3.6
Florida	Tampa	1,100	$19,000	3
Florida	West Palm Beach	490	$18,610	3.1
Georgia	Athens	70	$19,400	3.4
Georgia	Atlanta	920	$19,630	1.3
Georgia	Macon	70	$17,120	2.5
Georgia	Warner Robins	60	$17,030	4.6
Hawaii	Honolulu	150	$22,720	1.2
Illinois	Peoria	70	$19,520	1.4
Illinois	Rockford	80	$23,480	1.8
Indiana	Columbus	30	$21,620	2.8
Indiana	Elkhart	40	$18,890	1.1
Indiana	Evansville	50	$23,610	1
Indiana	Indianapolis	750	$19,600	2.8
Indiana	Muncie	30	$19,460	2.6
Indiana	South Bend	50	$18,770	1.3
Kansas	Wichita	60	$18,000	0.7
Kentucky	Lexington	150	$22,050	2.1
Kentucky	Louisville	70	$18,910	0.4
Louisiana	Baton Rouge	130	$18,120	1.2
Louisiana	New Orleans	210	$20,010	1.4
Louisiana	Shreveport	150	$23,930	3
Maryland	Baltimore	350	$21,840	0.9
Maryland	Bethesda	150	$22,850	0.9
Maryland	Hagerstown	70	$19,370	2.5
Massachusetts	Barnstable Town	110	$22,990	3.9
Massachusetts	Boston	680	$24,420	1.3
Massachusetts	Framingham	60	$21,160	1.3
Massachusetts	Lawrence	40	$25,040	2.6
Massachusetts	Springfield	60	$23,060	0.7
Michigan	Bay City	70	$21,540	8
Michigan	Detroit	420	$20,240	2
Michigan	Warren	500	$20,810	1.4
Minnesota	Minneapolis	430	$20,860	0.8
Minnesota	Rochester	60	$23,710	2.3
Mississippi	Gulfport	60		2
Mississippi	Jackson	50	$21,560	0.7
Missouri	Kansas City	170	$22,390	0.5
Missouri	St Louis	240	$24,500	0.6
Nebraska	Omaha	120	$21,620	0.9
Nevada	Las Vegas	110	$25,130	0.4
New Hampshire	Nashua	30	$19,930	0.8
New Jersey	Camden	230	$19,660	1.5
New Jersey	Edison	800	$20,000	2.6
New Jersey	Newark	350	$22,290	1.2
New Jersey	Vineland	50	$21,740	3.3
New Mexico	Albuquerque	200	$23,520	1.7
New Mexico	Las Cruces	120		7.4
New York	Albany	100	$22,460	0.8
New York	Buffalo	150	$22,930	0.9
New York	Nassau	350	$26,290	0.9
New York	New York	2,060	$22,940	1.3
New York	Poughkeepsie	80	$23,010	1.1
New York	Rochester	220	$20,720	1.5
New York	Syracuse	280	$22,220	3.1
North Carolina	Asheville	40	$18,440	0.8
North Carolina	Charlotte	180	$20,000	0.7
North Carolina	Durham	40	$21,940	0.5
North Carolina	Raleigh	190	$23,760	1.2
North Carolina	Winston Salem	80	$18,280	1.3
North Dakota	Fargo	80	$21,050	2.5
Ohio	Cincinnati	640	$20,170	2
Ohio	Columbus	210	$22,090	0.7
Ohio	Dayton	240	$22,970	2.1
Ohio	Toledo	210	$21,470	2.3
Ohio	Youngstown	100	$21,360	1.5
Oklahoma	Lawton	30	$18,760	3.2
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	260	$18,170	1.5
Oklahoma	Tulsa	220	$17,430	1.7
Pennsylvania	Allentown	220	$22,230	2.2
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg	50	$20,360	0.5
Pennsylvania	Lancaster	40	$21,300	0.6
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	610	$22,530	1.1
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	310	$24,000	0.9
Pennsylvania	Scranton	130	$22,150	1.7
Rhode Island	Providence	440	$20,970	2.6
South Carolina	Charleston	80	$20,580	0.9
South Carolina	Florence	100	$19,520	4.4
South Carolina	Myrtle Beach	150	$19,130	4.5
South Carolina	Spartanburg	60	$21,810	1.7
Tennessee	Chattanooga	160	$20,680	2.4
Tennessee	Johnson City	90	$20,860	4.5
Tennessee	Kingsport	80	$18,310	2.5
Tennessee	Knoxville	140	$17,990	1.4
Tennessee	Memphis	520	$22,840	2.8
Tennessee	Morristown	90	$17,220	7.5
Texas	Austin	260	$23,470	1.1
Texas	Corpus Christi	60	$22,450	1.2
Texas	Dallas	440	$21,550	0.7
Texas	Fort Worth	60	$21,410	0.2
Texas	Houston	520	$22,090	0.7
Texas	Lubbock	60	$20,300	1.8
Texas	Mcallen	170	$22,710	2.7
Texas	San Antonio	340	$22,320	1.3
Texas	Wichita Falls	40	$21,290	2.6
Utah	Salt Lake City	110	$20,050	0.6
Vermont	Burlington	60	$19,110	2
Virginia	Blacksburg	50	$19,730	3.1
Virginia	Richmond	180	$20,900	1
Virginia	Roanoke	110	$24,030	2.4
Washington	Bellingham	50	$22,370	2.3
Washington	Kennewick	40	$23,320	1.6
Washington	Mount Vernon	40	$22,910	3.5
Washington	Seattle	230	$24,540	0.5
Washington	Tacoma	40	$25,280	0.5
Washington	Yakima	40	$24,410	1.8
West Virginia	Charleston	160	$17,790	3.9
West Virginia	Huntington	140	$18,530	4.4
West Virginia	Morgantown	50	$21,060	4.2
West Virginia	Wheeling	50	$19,240	3
Wisconsin	Green Bay	40	$18,830	0.8
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	70	$17,050	0.3