BLS MSA DATA · SOC 29-1051 · 4,440 MSA WORKERS · NO STATE INCOME TAX
Pharmacist Salary in Seattle, WA 2026, $162,870 Median | BLS + Market Data
Pharmacist pay across the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro, where strong health-system rates, a high local floor and Washington's zero income tax combine into one of the best effective markets in the country.
Updated July 2026 · BLS OEWS May 2025
Compiled by GlobalCybers Labor Market Research · Reviewed by Karen Osei, RN, BSN, Clinical Recruitment Lead · See methodology & sources →
Seattle Median
$162,870
$78.30/hr BLS
P75
$192,860
$92.72/hr
Sector Peak
$209,460
Metro P90
BLS Workers
4,440
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue MSA
vs WA Median
+$2,260
+1.4% above WA
Direct Answer
How much do pharmacists make in Seattle, WA in 2026?
Seattle pharmacists earn a BLS MSA median of $162,870/yr ($78.30/hr), 15.6% above the US figure and 1.4% above the Washington statewide median. The metro band runs $126,410 to $209,460 — a high floor by national standards, indicating comparatively little part-time working. With no state income tax, Seattle's effective pharmacist pay is arguably the strongest of any large US metro. → Full pharmacist career guide, career path, PQAC licence, and Seattle job placement →
Key takeaways
Seattle pharmacists earn a BLS MSA median of $162,870/yr ($78.30/hr) per BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 29-1051, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue MSA), with a metro P10–P90 range of $126,410 to $209,460.
Seattle pharmacists earn 15.6% above the US figure with a high floor — the metro's 10th percentile is close to the national median.
Washington charges no state income tax, so the nominal premium converts almost entirely into take-home.
Health-system and specialty roles reach $209,460 at the top of the published band, well clear of the metro's retail employment.
Seattle Pharmacist Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025
Seattle Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do Seattle pharmacists earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended metro wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute this MSA's own published percentile range across the tiers Seattle employers actually hire at.
Level
MSA Median (BLS percentile-aligned)
New-graduate PharmD, first year
$126,410
Licensed retail pharmacist
$162,870
Health-system inpatient pharmacist
$192,860
Board-certified clinical specialist or pharmacy manager
$209,460
Level medians are aligned to this metro's own published BLS OEWS May 2025 percentiles for SOC 29-1051; BLS does not publish a wage by credential level. GlobalCybers holds no verified placement sample for Seattle pharmacists, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1051, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA. No verified placement data: GlobalCybers has no placement sample for Seattle pharmacists, so every figure on this page is a published BLS estimate and no verified median is claimed. MSA sample size: an OEWS metro cell is drawn from a much smaller establishment sample than the statewide cell, so metro medians carry wider uncertainty and move more between releases. Where BLS suppresses or top-codes the metro wage for this occupation, this page reports the national figure and says so rather than asserting a Seattle median. Employer names mentioned on this page (e.g. in sector or FAQ copy) are illustrative examples of who hires in each market, not a claim of partnership. Full statewide methodology → · Full site methodology & data sources →
Full Data
How much do pharmacists make in Seattle WA in 2026?
Metric
Value
Source
BLS MSA Median (Annual)
$162,870
BLS OEWS May 2025
BLS Median Hourly
$78.30/hr
BLS OEWS May 2025
P10 (Bottom 10%)
$126,410/yr · $60.77/hr
BLS OEWS
P25
$139,400/yr · $67.02/hr
BLS OEWS
P75
$192,860/yr · $92.72/hr
BLS OEWS
P90 (Top 10%)
$209,460/yr · $100.70/hr
BLS OEWS
vs Washington Median
+$2,260 (+1.4%)
vs $160,610 WA
vs National Median
+$21,960 (+15.6%)
vs $140,910 US
Washington State Income Tax
$0, No state income tax
Washington Tax Code
Licensing Authority
PQAC (Washington State Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission)
State board
Reading this page's sources:BLS OEWS is the official published wage, sampled 1–2 years back. Market intelligence rows are directional signals from recruiter conversations and industry sources, not independently verified — treat them as a range, not a benchmark.
Seattle Sectors
Which Seattle sector pays pharmacists the most?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for pharmacists across the whole Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro and does not break it out by industry. The sectors below are ranked in the order Seattle employers actually pay, with each row anchored to this metro's own published percentile ladder (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 29-1051).
Sector
MSA Median
Notes
Academic and specialty clinical pharmacy
$209,460
Board-certified specialists and pharmacy managers at the region's academic and cancer centres sit at the $209,460 top of the published band.
Health-system inpatient pharmacists
$192,860
Inpatient staff pharmacists across the Puget Sound systems sit around the $192,860 P75, with off-shift differentials on top.
Retail chain and ambulatory pharmacy
$162,870
The typical Seattle pharmacist in a chain retail or ambulatory role sits at the $162,870 metro median.
Independent, relief and part-time pharmacy
$139,400
Independent pharmacies, relief cover and part-time schedules sit near the $139,400 P25 — a floor above most metros' median pharmacist pay.
Real Take-Home
What is the actual take-home pay for a Seattle pharmacist?
Real Seattle scenarios, line by line. No state income tax in Washington, so at the $162,870 metro median a Seattle pharmacist pays federal income tax, FICA and small state payroll premiums for paid family leave and long-term care. Against California at a comparable gross, that difference is worth more than most metro pay premiums for this occupation.
Estimates only. Pre-tax deductions (401k, health premium) reduce taxable income further. Consult a tax professional.
Seattle pharmacists earn a BLS MSA median of $162,870/yr, or $78.30/hr, with a published metro range of $126,410 to $209,460. That is 15.6% above the US figure and 1.4% above the Washington statewide median. The unusually high floor suggests most Seattle pharmacist employment is full-time rather than relief work.
Do pharmacists earn more in Seattle than elsewhere in Washington?
Yes, by 1.4% — and Seattle is what sets the Washington figure, since the Puget Sound region concentrates the state's health-system and specialty pharmacy employment. Rates elsewhere in the state generally follow Seattle rather than lead it.
Is Seattle the best-paying pharmacist market?
On effective pay it is very close to it. The published median is 15.6% above the national figure, the local floor is high, and Washington levies no state income tax — so a Seattle pharmacist keeps materially more than a California counterpart earning a similar gross. The offsetting factor is regional housing costs.
What licence do Seattle pharmacists need?
A Washington pharmacist licence from the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission within the Department of Health. You need an ACPE-accredited PharmD, the NAPLEX, the state law examination and documented intern hours. Washington also authorises collaborative drug therapy agreements, which expand what a pharmacist can manage.
What raises a Seattle pharmacist above the median?
Health-system employment and board certification. Inpatient staff roles sit around $192,860 before differentials and specialty roles reach $209,460, while retail employment clusters at the metro median. Residency training is the usual entry to that track.
Why Seattle's pharmacist floor is so high
The metro has comparatively little part-time and relief pharmacist working, so the published distribution measures full-time employment almost throughout — which is why the 10th percentile lands close to what many metros pay at the median. Combine that with strong health-system rates and a high regional cost base that employers must meet, and the whole band shifts upward rather than just its top.
What this figure does not capture
The estimate excludes shift differentials and benefits, and it covers the whole Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area, blending Eastside and Tacoma employer economics. It also cannot show the effect of collaborative drug therapy agreements, which change what a Washington pharmacist does day to day without necessarily appearing as a separate wage category.
The collaborative-practice mechanic
Washington has long allowed pharmacists to manage drug therapy under collaborative agreements with prescribers, giving them a clinical role that in many states sits with physicians or advanced practice nurses. That expanded scope is part of why health-system pharmacist pay here runs so far above retail: the pharmacist is doing work the system would otherwise have to staff differently.
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Outlook & openings: Nationally BLS projects 4.6% growth in pharmacist employment across 2024–2034; scaled to the Seattle metro's share of national employment that is roughly 200 openings a year, a pro-rated figure taken from the national EP total rather than a Seattle-specific projection. (2024–2034 · national BLS EP 2024–34, pro-rated to the metro)
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