Pharmacists in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$98,182
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$34,228
25.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$111,135
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$132,410
Kept after tax
$98,182
Worth in national money
$111,135
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Louisiana pays pharmacists a middle wage of $132,410, 50 of 51 states and about 6.03% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Louisiana. It ranks 8 out of 484 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $132,410 you keep $98,182 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $111,135 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $130,490.
- Louisiana's $132,410 median for pharmacists places it 50 of 51 states, about 6.03% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Within Louisiana, pharmacists ranks 8 of 484 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Louisiana is $98,182 after the full tax stack, from $132,410. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $111,135 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $130,490 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Pharmacists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $100,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $132,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $156,740 |
| This salary | $132,410 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Louisiana | $98,182 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $101,768 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,408 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $127,163 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,111 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $132,410 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $100,920 and the ninetieth is $156,740 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $98,182 take-home in Louisiana comes from $132,410. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 8 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Louisiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $111,135, the adjusted value of that $132,410 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 8 of 484 in the state.
- The Louisiana median of $132,410 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $100,920 to $156,740. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $98,182, from $132,410, assumes a single Louisiana filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 8 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 50 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Louisiana, so $111,135 — the adjusted value of that $132,410 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 8 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $100,920 at the bottom tenth to $156,740 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $111,135 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Louisiana's own levy, $98,182 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($100,920 to $156,740) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $111,135 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $98,182 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.