Average Salary

• In May 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics collated pay data from 331,890 individual pharmacy technicians working across America and concluded that the average yearly salary for the role was $28,940. It also published the median salary -- earned by the middle 50 percent -- as $28,070, while practitioners in the bottom 10 percent of earners received an average of $19,480. Those in the top 10 percent bracket achieved $40,160.
  
  

Salary by Employer

• Different areas of the health-care industry offer differing levels of salary to pharmacy technicians, the BLS says. The two sectors with the largest employment of pharmacy technicians are health and personal care stores and general medical and surgical hospitals. They are listed with average salaries of $27,590 and $32,710 respectively. Other general merchandise stores and department stores pay comparable levels of pay -- $26,310 and $25,660 respectively. Federal government agencies are among the highest payers --$39,040 -- along with scientific research and development services -- $38,870.
  
  

Salary by State

• Calculated across all industry sectors, the BLS also found variations in salary according to state. It lists Alaska and California as the highest-paying states --$37,090 and $36,770 respectively -- followed by Washington -- $36,670 -- and Hawaii --$35,130. Nevada completes the top five with average annual pay of $33,960. Alabama and Kentucky offer similar wages -- $24,570 and $24,480 respectively -- while West Virginia is listed at just $23,760.
  
  

Salary by Area

• On a smaller geographic scale, location also plays an important role in determining pharmacy technician salaries. According to the BLS, California supplies the top three locations for the highest wages. The San Francisco, San Mateo, Redwood City area pays an average of $43,500, the San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale district is listed at $42,260 and the Oakland, Freemont, Hayward area offers $41,220. Elsewhere, Johnson City in Tennessee is listed at an average pay rate of $24,120 while Gadsden, Ala., offers just $22,090.
  
  

Prospects

• The BLS expects to see the job market for pharmacy technicians grow by 31 percent from 2008 to 2018. This represents an excellent rate, given that the growth rate for all occupations in the country is not expected to be more than 13 percent over the same time. An aging American population -- middle-aged and elderly people use more prescription drugs than younger people -- will be the primary driver for this growth.