The highest-paying pharmacy jobs are those that require a degree in pharmaceutical sciences. Pharmacists who work at hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities generally earn more than those who work in community pharmacies.
Pharmacy technicians and pharmacy aides also fare well in terms of salary. The average annual salary for a registered pharmacist is $124,160 as of January 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The median salary is $111,000.
The highest-paid pharmacist in the United States is William Beaver. He earned $2,818,475 in 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Beaver is the chief executive officer at CVS Health Corp., and he also serves as a director for the company.
The second-highest-paid pharmacist in the United States is John T. Standley III, who earned $1,479,928 in 2016 as a senior vice president of corporate strategy and development at CVS Health Corp., according to Business Insider. The third-highest-paid pharmacist in the United States is Steven Babcock, who earned $1,253,637 during that same period as a director of CVS Health Corp., according to Business Insider.
Pharmacy Highest Salary
US pharmacists moving abroad, beware. You may have to take a pay cut, considering that pharmacists in the United States tend to receive higher salaries than their counterparts in other countries.
See how the United States ranks against some other high-paying countries for pharmacists below:
1. United States
Pharmacist average salary: $107,000 to $118,000
While PayScale estimates the average salary for pharmacists at around $107,000, US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data from May 2014 pegs it even higher at $118,470.
In contrast, the annual mean wage for all occupations in the United States is $47,230, according to BLS.
PayScale reports that US pharmacist salaries are most affected by geographic location, followed by specific kind of employer and years of experience.
2. Switzerland
Pharmacist average salary: $83,600
The majority of pharmacists in Switzerland currently have 1 to 4 years of experience, while only 4% of pharmacists have 20 years or more experience, according to PayScale.
While Swiss pharmacists may not be paid as much as their US counterparts, Switzerland is often named the country with the highest quality of life based on indexes such as health care, safety, traffic, and pollution.
Numbeo ranked Switzerland as the country with the highest quality of life in 2015, followed by Denmark and Germany.
3. Canada
Pharmacist average salary: $80,700
The median hourly rate for pharmacists in Canada is $33.74, but there is not much of a difference in salary for pharmacists with many or few years of experience, according to PayScale.
Most Canadian pharmacists move on to other jobs once they accrue more than 20 years of experience.
The average wage for all Canadians in 2014 was around $49,000, according to Statistics Canada.
4. United Kingdom
Pharmacist average salary: $57,000 to $53,300
According to PayScale, pharmacists in the United Kingdom tend to make around $53,000, but the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimated the average salary at around $57,000 in 2014.
For more context, the highest-paid workers in the United Kingdom in 2014 were city brokers at an average of $205,000, according to ONS. UK pilots tend to make around $138,000.
The UK prime minister’s salary was around $218,000 in 2014, according to The Guardian.
5. Germany
Pharmacist average salary: $44,800
Women in Germany make up 55% of the country’s pharmacist workforce, according to PayScale.
German pharmacists are only allowed to own up to 3 locations, so there are no large drugstore chains like there are in the United States.
Most pharmacies in Germany are closed during the evenings, Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and holidays. Some pharmacies even close on Wednesdays, according to How To Germany.
