Pharmacists in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$101,457
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$36,703
26.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$104,058
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$138,160
Kept after tax
$101,457
Worth in national money
$104,058
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania sits in the middle of the pack for pharmacists. The median is $138,160, ranking 33 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Pennsylvania. It ranks 14 out of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $138,160 the take-home is $101,457, which is worth about $104,058 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $138,740, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania occupies the middle band for pharmacists: a median of $138,160, ranking 33 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within Pennsylvania, pharmacists ranks 14 of 492 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.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for pharmacists on its $138,160 median: $101,457 retained after tax becomes $104,058 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $138,740 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Pharmacists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $112,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $138,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $163,570 |
| This salary | $138,160 |
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 Pennsylvania | $101,457 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $105,698 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,713 |
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 | $131,954 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,700 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 Pennsylvania earn under $138,160 and half over. The published range runs $112,750 at the tenth percentile to $163,570 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $101,457, from $138,160, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 14 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $104,058, the adjusted value of that $138,160 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Pennsylvania. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 14 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for pharmacists in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $112,750 to $163,570; 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.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $101,457 from $138,160. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 14 of 492 locally.
- This $104,058 adjusted figure, worked from $138,160, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 14 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 14 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $112,750 and the top tenth $163,570, so most people doing this work in Pennsylvania sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $104,058.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Pennsylvania adds its own income tax on top — which is why $101,457 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($112,750 to $163,570) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $104,058 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 $101,457 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.