Pharmacy Aides in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,426
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$6,684
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,395
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$45,110
Kept after tax
$38,426
Worth in national money
$35,395
State rank
4
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for pharmacy aides is strong here. Washington's middle earner gets $45,110, putting the state 4 of 48 — about 19.72% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Washington, this one sits low: 446 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $45,110 the take-home is $38,426. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $35,395 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $45,390, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For pharmacy aides, Washington sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $45,110, ranking 4 of 48 and running about 19.72% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Pharmacy aides occupies position 446 of 493 in Washington's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $38,426 for pharmacy aides, from $45,110. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,395. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $45,390 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Pharmacy Aides
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,390 |
| This salary | $45,110 |
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 Washington | $38,426 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,426 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,148 |
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 | $45,110 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,016 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 pharmacy aides in Washington earn under $45,110 and half over. The published range runs $36,400 at the tenth percentile to $60,390 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $38,426 take-home in Washington comes from $45,110. 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 446 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,395 uses one figure for the whole of Washington. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 446.
- Figures are distribution medians for pharmacy aides in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,400 to $60,390; 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.
- Retained pay of $38,426, from $45,110, assumes a single Washington 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 446 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 4 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,395, worked from $45,110, 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 Washington address, on work sitting at 446 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,400 and the top tenth $60,390, so most people doing this work in Washington sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $35,395 of national purchasing power.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $38,426 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,400 to $60,390) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $35,395 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $38,426 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.