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Average Pharmacy Technician Salaries
To begin this analysis on pharmacy technician salaries in metropolitan areas we need to have a look at the overall salary options across the state. On average you can expect to earn around $28,940 a year and $13.92 an hour. However there are huge differences in these salaries from state to state and, within states, from metropolitan area to metropolitan area. Some areas have higher salaries and hourly rates than others, and it is important that you consider all of the parameters involved when looking for a pharmacy technician job. You may not necessarily have the opportunity to choose which area to work in for a variety of reasons, but it is worth knowing what your options are and where the best places to work as a pharmacy technician are considered to be.
Highest Pharmacy Technician Salaries in Metropolitan Areas
Annually
On a yearly basis these were the highest paying metropolitan areas in 2008. In the San Francisco area in California a pharmacy technician can expect to earn around $42.66K on an annual basis. California is quite a high paying state in general. In the San Jose area you can expect to earn around $40.11K annually as a pharmacy technician and in Oakland you can earn around $40.03K. in the Tacoma area in Washington you can expect to earn in the region of $38.44K on a yearly basis, and then we have another California metropolitan area coming in fifth, namely Santa Cruz where you can earn around $37.95K a year.
Hourly
Some metropolitan areas pay more than others on an hourly basis:
- Olympia in Washington pays its pharmacy technicians an average of $18.55 an hour
- Tacoma in Washington pays its pharmacy technicians an average of $18.75 an hour
- Anchorage in Alaska pays its pharmacy technicians an average of $19.10 an hour
- Fairbanks in Alaska pays its pharmacy technicians an average of $19.13 an hour
- Salinas in California pays its pharmacy technicians an average of $19.17 an hour
- The San Francisco, San Mateo, and Redwood City metropolitan division in California pays its pharmacy technicians an average of $19.23 an hour
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles in California pays its pharmacy technicians an average of $19.24 an hour
- Santa Cruz, Watsonville in California pay their pharmacy technicians an average of $19.48 an hour
- Oakland, Fremont, and Hayward metropolitan division in California pay their pharmacy technicians an average of $19.76 an hour
- San Jose, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara in California pay their pharmacy technicians an average of $20.16 an hour
Pharmacy Technician Salaries For Metropolitan Areas With The Highest Employment Levels
It is important to remember that often the metropolitan areas that have the highest salaries are not the areas where the most people are employed. It is therefore very important that you also take the salaries of the metropolitan areas that have the highest numbers of employees into account when making a decision about where to work as a pharmacy technician. Gadsden Alabama is a popular state with a high number of employees, but the yearly salary is only $21.96K. There are also a number of job opportunities for pharmacy technicians in Madera, California, but again the salary is not the highest. In Madera you will only earn something in the region of $30.99K on yearly basis. However this does make it the best metropolitan area to work in as this is not a bad salary and there are a number of job opportunities for you to take advantage of. Punta Gorda in Florida is also a popular area in terms of the number of job opportunities, but the salary you can earn here is only about $26.24K annually. Hot Springs in Arizona is another area with a fair number of job openings, but again you will only make about $27.92K on a yearly basis. Last but not least in Columbia in Missouri you can earn around $23.36K on an annual basis and be sure of a high number of jobs to choose from.
The Most Popular Metropolitan Areas for Pharmacy Technicians
http://www.rileyguide.com/careers/pharmacy-technicians.shtml has a comprehensive list of the metropolitan areas in each and every state as well as giving you an idea of how many jobs there are in that state, what the pharmacy technician salary in each of the metropolitan areas in that state is, and how popular the state is in terms of how many people are employed there. The most popular metropolitan areas according to http://www.rileyguide.com/careers/pharmacy-technicians.shtml are: Gadsden in Alabama where there are around 210 pharmacy technician jobs and where you can earn a salary of about $21,960; the Arkansas metropolitan areas of Hot Springs where there are about 170 at a salary of about $27,920, and Jonesboro, where there are around 210 at a salary of $23,160; the metropolitan areas in California of Hanford, with 130 job openings at a salary of $35,890, and Madera with 190 job openings and a salary of about $30,990; Punta Gorda in Florida where there are around 190 positions for pharmacy technicians at a salary of around $26,240; the state in Indiana of Kokomo which holds 180 pharmacy technician jobs at a salary of about $23,770; Bay City in Michigan which has around 150 jobs for pharmacy technicians at a salary of $27,490; the metropolitan area of Rochester in Minnesota that has as many as 420 jobs at a salary of $33,800; a metropolitan area in Mississippi called Hattiesburg that has around 250 pharmacy technician jobs at a salary of about $23,360; the metropolitan area in Missouri called Columbia that holds around 370 at a salary of about $23,360; Cleveland in Tennessee that has about 150 pharmacy technician jobs at $26,200; and last but not least Weirton in West Virginia that has around 180 pharmacy technician jobs at a salary of $22,100.
Yearly Increases in Pharmacy Technician Salaries
We have seen yearly increases in pharmacy technician salaries in metropolitan areas and these increases are one of the reasons why becoming a pharmacy technician is such a good idea. The increases are as follows (Note: this is a mean average for the entire country):
In the year 2009 pharmacy technicians earned around $28,940
In the year 2010 pharmacy technicians earned around $32,011
In the year 2011 pharmacy technicians earned around $34,000
In the year 2012 pharmacy technicians earned around $35,000
These increase will continue each and every year, so not only will you be able to earn well to begin with, you can also be assured that you will receive consistent increases as the years pass.
Salaries By State
There are some states that, overall, pay a higher rate than others. If you are looking into pharmacy technician salaries by metropolitan areas it is well worth considering which states offer the highest salaries overall during your search. These are the states that pay the highest:
- District of Columbia pays an hourly mean wage to its pharmacy technicians of around $16.75
- Hawaii pays an hourly mean wage to its pharmacy technicians of around $16.79
- California pays an hourly mean wage to its pharmacy technicians of around $17.92
- Washington pays an hourly mean wage to its pharmacy technicians of around $17.93
- Alaska pays an hourly mean wage to its pharmacy technicians of around $18.85
Once again we see that California is one of your best options when looking into salaries by metropolitan areas for pharmacy technicians.
Salaries By Sector
In department stores you can earn around $25,660 a year and $12.34 an hour. In grocery stores pharmacy technicians earn in the region of $28,610 a year and $13.76 an hour. The yearly rate of pharmacy technicians working in health and personal care stores is about $27,590, and the hourly rate is $13.27. If you want to work in other general merchandise stores you can expect an annual salary of around $26,310 and an hourly salary of around $12.65. Last but not least, pharmacy technicians who work in general medical and surgical hospitals earn about $32,710 a year and $15.73 an hour.
Salaries By Industry
This is what you can expect to earn as a pharmacy technician in different industries:
- Specialty hospitals (except for psychiatric) = $35,470 a year and $17.06 an hour
- Management of companies and enterprises) = $36,470 a year and $17.53 an hour
- Insurance carriers = $37,610 a year and $18.08 an hour
- Scientific research and development services = $38,870 a year and $18.69 an hour
- Federal Government (Executive Branch) = $39,040 a year and $18.77 an hour
Non Metropolitan Areas
Out of interest let’s have a look at the hourly wages in non-metropolitan areas:
- In the Southeast Alaska non-metropolitan area the average hourly rate is $17.56
- In the Railbelt and Southwest Alaska non-metropolitan area the average hourly rate is $17.92
- In the Northwestern Washington non-metropolitan area the average hourly rate is $17.94
- In the Mother Lode region in California non-metropolitan area the average hourly rate is $18.01
- In the Northern Mountains Region of California non-metropolitan area the average hourly rate is $18.71