Best States to be a Pharmacist In

Where are the best states to practice pharmacy? To determine the answer, a career website looked at several criteria most important to job seekers. Most important to people is the availability of jobs and the pay for those jobs. So, using information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2016, the career site compiled data on job opportunities in each state, as well as the average salary for entry level pharmacy jobs, experienced pharmacists, and the average salary overall.

To determine the concentration of pharmacy jobs in a state, the location quotient  (LQ) was used. This figure is a way of comparing the concentration of a certain type of job in a state to the national average. If the concentration in a state is the same as the national average, the LQ is 1. If the concentration in the state is greater than the national average, the number will be higher than one; if lower than the national average, it will be less than one. The higher the LQ, the greater the concentration above the national average.

In order to make a comparison across different states, the salary data also allows for cost of living. Each state was then ranked using all of the criteria. Here are the states that came out on top.


This state has an LQ of 1.13, with an average annual salary of more than $121,000. Average entry level salary is more than $93,000, while the average salary for an experienced pharmacist is around $157,000 a year.


The LQ for Tennessee is 1.27. The average annual salary is about $120,000. Average entry level pay is about $93,000, and average experienced salary is more than $155,000 a year.


Here the LQ is 1.36. Average annual salary is about $117,000, with average annual entry level pay at about $82,000. The average salary for experienced pharmacists is about $154,000 a year.


This state has an LQ of 1.09. The average annual salary for pharmacists in the state is almost $122,000; for entry level pharmacists, about $95,000; and for experienced pharmacists, $158,000 a year.


Missouri is at number five on the list, with an LQ of 1.09. It has an average annual salary of almost $121,000. For entry level, the average annual salary is $103,000. And salaries for experienced pharmacists average out at almost $156,000 a year.

Rounding out the top ten in order, we have Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina, and Indiana.

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