Pharmacists in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$99,802
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$39,188
28.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$95,995
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$138,990
Kept after tax
$99,802
Worth in national money
$95,995
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Maryland pays pharmacists around $138,990 at the midpoint, 28 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations Maryland reports, pharmacists comes in at 26 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Maryland is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $138,990 the take-home is $99,802; in national-average money that behaves like $95,995. The average comes to $140,730, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For pharmacists the Maryland median is $138,990, ranking 28 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Pharmacists ranks 26 of 489 occupations by median in Maryland, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Take-home for pharmacists in Maryland, on $138,990, is $99,802; deflated by the state's price level, $95,995. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $140,730 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Pharmacists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $115,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $138,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $169,890 |
| This salary | $138,990 |
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 Maryland | $99,802 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $106,266 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$13,360 |
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 | $129,533 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$18,942 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of pharmacists in Maryland earn under $138,990 and half over. The published range runs $115,860 at the tenth percentile to $169,890 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maryland's $99,802, worked from $138,990. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 26 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $95,995 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 26.
- Figures are distribution medians for pharmacists in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $115,860 to $169,890; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Maryland take-home of $99,802, on $138,990 for work ranking 26 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 26 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $95,995, worked from $138,990, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Maryland address, on work sitting at 26 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $115,860 at the tenth percentile, $169,890 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Maryland costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $95,995 rather than its face figure.
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 Maryland's own levy, $99,802 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 ($115,860 to $169,890) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $95,995 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $99,802 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.