The U.S. Pharmacist
Job Market, Decoded
Real salary and employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, blended with live job market signals — so you know exactly where the opportunities are.
Retail pharmacy in decline: Retail pharmacy positions fell by 8,200 in 2025, a 4.8% decline that puts retail employment at its lowest level since 2010 and 14.2% below the 2017 peak. Margin compression and weaker front end economics continue to squeeze chain drugstores. Source: BLS OEWS
Hospital pharmacy is booming: U.S. hospital pharmacist employment grew 3.0% in 2025. Hospitals now employ nearly a third of all U.S. pharmacists, as health systems keep acquiring community retail locations and expanding in house specialty pharmacies.
Source: BLS OEWS
Employment shift by sector
Employment by setting (2025) Verified BLS
Salary by setting (2025) Verified BLS
Pharmacy Workforce Brief
The numbers behind the headline stats above, pulled from BLS, AACP, ASHP, and Health Affairs.
Pay
| Year | Nominal wage | In 2025 dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $122,230 | $163,563 |
| 2020 | $128,710 | $161,376 |
| 2024 | $137,480 | $140,718 |
| 2025 | $140,910 | $140,910 |
Nominal pay rose 15.3% since 2016. In 2025 dollars, real pay fell 13.8%.
A 2024 AACP/ASHP survey of more than 5,100 licensed pharmacists found self-reported unemployment of 2.8%, the lowest in years, and 55% of respondents reported a raise in 2024, up from 44% in 2019. Average self-reported salary was $145,908, about $5,000 above the BLS OEWS figure above, likely because it captures bonuses and differentials BLS wage data excludes.
Source: BLS OEWS national wage data, 2016 to 2025, deflated by CPI-U for the same month each year; AACP/ASHP, 2024 National Pharmacist Workforce Study.
Who’s coming in
| Year | Graduates |
|---|---|
| 2018 (peak) | 14,905 |
| 2022 | 13,323 |
| 2023 | 12,639 |
| 2024 | 11,386 |
| Annual openings needed | ~12,500 |
BLS projects about 12,500 pharmacist openings a year. The class of 2024 was 11,386, the first class on record to land below that number. Only 16.1% of working pharmacists are 55 or older, so retirements are not expected to close the gap.
Source: AACP, Fall 2024 Degrees Conferred, and BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.10.
Who’s leaving
| Occupation | Transfer rate |
|---|---|
| All occupations | 5.5% |
| Registered nurses | 2.0% |
| Physician assistants | 2.5% |
| Pharmacists | 1.1% |
This does not support “pharmacists are fleeing the profession.” At 1.1% a year, pharmacists have one of the lowest occupational transfer rates BLS tracks, about a fifth of the national average.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.10, 2025 to 2035 projections.
Closures, with the denominator
“Nearly 1 in 3 retail pharmacies closed since 2010” is accurate as printed and tells the opposite of the true story. The number of pharmacies in the US rose 7.7% over that period, from 59,902 in 2010 to 64,530 in 2021. More opened than closed.
| 2010–2021 | |
|---|---|
| Opened | 30,773 |
| Closed | 26,145 |
| Net change | +4,628 |
| Chains, 2018–21 | −5.0% |
| Independents, 2018–21 | +2.3% |
Rite Aid went from over 4,900 stores to zero by October 2025. CVS plans to open about 60 stores in 2026, its first expansion in four years, and Walgreens cut its planned 2026 closures to under 100.
Sources: Health Affairs, Guadamuz and Qato (2024); Drug Channels, The K-Shaped Pharmacy Shakeout (Aug 2026); company disclosures.
Where the jobs are moving
| Sector | Change since 2016 |
|---|---|
| Managed care / insurance | +172% |
| Pharma and industry | +175% |
| Ambulatory and clinic-based | +87% |
| Drug stores (retail) | −9% |
Independent analysis from Drug Channels reaches a similar conclusion from a different angle. Retail chains are shedding positions as margins compress and stores close, while hospitals continue absorbing pharmacists into higher paying roles, a structural shift in where pharmacists work rather than a drop in overall demand.
Source: BLS OEWS industry-specific estimates, SOC 29-1051, May 2016 and May 2025; Drug Channels, Pharmacist Salaries and Employment in 2025.
Credentials
| 2026 residency Match | Count |
|---|---|
| Matched to a PGY1 | 3,621 |
| Applied, did not match | 561 |
| Overall match rate | 84% |
About 1 in 3 of the graduating class matched into a PGY1 in 2026. Fewer than 1 in 5 pharmacists hold a board certification.
Sources: 2026 ASHP Match applicant statistics, National Matching Service; Board of Pharmacy Specialties, 2025 certification results.
Sources
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national data filesBLS OEWS, May 2016 through May 2025
- Table 11b, Employed persons by detailed occupation and ageBLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages
- Table 1.10, Occupational separations and openingsBLS Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035
- Fall 2024 Degrees Conferred, Profile of Pharmacy StudentsAACP
- More US Pharmacies Closed Than Opened In 2018–21Guadamuz & Qato, Health Affairs, Dec 2024
- 2026 ASHP Match applicant statisticsNational Matching Service
State-by-state salary & demand map
Top states for pharmacist hiring (2025)
| State | Mean salary | Employment | Demand | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $162,340 | 34,030 | High | |
| Texas | $137,510 | 24,700 | High | |
| New York | $140,260 | 19,760 | High | |
| Florida | $130,190 | 21,540 | High | |
| Washington | $159,100 | 7,350 | High |
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State-by-state salary & demand
All states ranked by mean salary Verified BLS
| # | State | Mean annual salary | Mean hourly | Employment | Demand |
|---|