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Pharmacy

Pharmacist salary in California

Open pharmacist jobs in California post a median of $91 an hour, the middle half $81.25–$102.75 (about $189,300 a year full time), $17 above the national posted median. From 139 jobs at 37 employers that state their pay.

$91
Median posted /hr
$81–$103
Middle half /hr
$189,300
A year, full time
estimate, 2,080 hours
$79.14
BLS median in CA
May 2025

The jobs themselves: Pharmacist jobs in California · Pharmacist pay nationwide

What pharmacists are paid in California

Each bar counts the open jobs posting an hourly rate in its step of pay (a range at its midpoint).

Posted hourly rates of 139 open jobs in California. Lowest posted $44, highest $149.39.

Posted on open jobs in California

$81.25–$102.75/hr

Middle half of 84 employer rates (each employer's advertised range once), median $91. 72% of the 193 open pharmacist jobs in California state an hourly rate.

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Pharmacist pay by town in California

Towns where at least three open jobs state an hourly rate, the towns with the most such jobs first.

TownMedian postedPosted rangeJobs (employers)
Los Angeles$91.50$49.54–$127.1418 (4)
Palo Alto$116.25$60.90–$124.4016 (3)
San Diego$90.25$60.82–$111.8812 (5)
Walnut Creek$110$60–$149.395 (3)
San Francisco$104.75$82.78–$127.145 (2)
La Mesa$93$77.91–$110.585 (1)
Oakland$107.75$87.25–$128.254 (2)
Santa Rosa$106.50$61.06–$127.144 (3)
Roseville$106$82.78–$127.784 (2)
Berkeley$102.50$60.90–$122.154 (2)
Sacramento$102.50$82.78–$122.154 (2)
Visalia$91.25$70.77–$124.184 (1)
Long Beach$84.75$49.54–$119.684 (2)
Burlingame$106.25$87.25–$128.253 (1)
Castro Valley$102.50$60.90–$122.153 (2)
Redding$84.50$49.54–$119.683 (2)
Santa Cruz$84.50$49.54–$122.153 (3)
Fresno$83$65–$108.263 (2)
Rancho Mirage$72.75$57.69–$87.643 (1)
Anaheim$71.50$60.90–$127.143 (3)

Median of employers' rates in the town, the lowest and highest rate posted, and the jobs and employers behind them. A town opens its own job page.

Pharmacist pay by employer in California

What each employer posts for pharmacists here, the employers with the most jobs stating pay first.

EmployerMedian postedPosted rangeJobs stating pay
Cedars-Sinai$89.50$63.36–$110.2115
Stanford Health Care$120.50$116.33–$124.4014
Sharp HealthCare$90.25$59.16–$111.8814
Sutter Health$104.75$82.78–$128.2513
Kaiser Permanente$110.75$101.67–$127.1410
CVS Health$73$60–$819
Walgreens$74.75$60.90–$82.306
CommonSpirit Health$90.25$49.54–$119.685
John Muir Health$107.50$91.56–$149.394
Kaweah Health$91.25$70.77–$124.184
Stanford Medicine Children's Health$99.25$87.93–$115.673
Tenet Healthcare$93.50$59.19–$120.993
MemorialCare$81.50$79–$853
Eisenhower Health$72.75$57.69–$87.643
El Camino Health$108.50$81.23–$126.722
MarinHealth$102.50$76.43–$120.612
Trinity Health$92.75$77.34–$108.262
Scripps Health$91.25$77.50–$105.602
Loma Linda University Health$89.25$70.79–$109.442
Valley Children's Healthcare$88.25$72–$104.402
Community Memorial Hospital - Ventura$81$67.16–$95.512
Shields Health Solutions$78.25$61.06–$91.352
Marshall Medical Center$76.50$68.03–$86.072
San Antonio Regional Hospital$74.75$58.35–$91.962
Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District$101.25$85–$117.661
Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center$99.75$82.94–$116.711
Salinas Valley Health$99.75$94.72–$104.931
Providence$87.25$55.23–$119.171
Option Care Health$83.50$60.82–$105.991
Palomar Health$82.25$65.84–$98.901
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital$81.25$60.03–$102.241
City of Hope California$78$781
Lompoc Valley Medical Center$73.50$61.78–$85.161
AltaMed Health Services$70.25$62.52–$78.161
Coalinga Regional Medical Center$65$60–$701
ScionHealth$64.75$50.44–$78.811
UnitedHealth Group$61.50$44–$791

Median of each employer's jobs in California (a range at its midpoint), and its lowest and highest rate here. An employer's name opens its pay for pharmacists nationwide when it has such a page.

Night shift pharmacist pay in California

Where one employer posts both night and other pharmacist jobs in the same state (5 such employers and states), the night jobs post the same base rate as the rest (the median gap is $0): most employers state their night differential apart from the base pay, so check the posting for it.

Employer, stateNight jobs, medianOther jobs, median
Cedars-Sinai, CA$89.50 (2)$89.50 (13)
Sharp HealthCare, CA$90.75 (2)$90.25 (12)
Stanford Health Care, CA$124.50 (1)$120.50 (13)
CVS Health, CA$70.50 (1)$73 (8)
John Muir Health, CA$107.50 (1)$107.50 (3)

A job counts as a night job when its title names nights ("Nights", "NOC", "7p-7a"). Jobs in brackets.

Jobs that state a yearly salary

Measured on their own, never converted to hourly.

5 open jobs in California state a yearly salary: a median of $139,100, the middle half $134,300 to $180,000.

Best-paid open pharmacist jobs in California

The open jobs posting the highest hourly rates tonight, at most two from one employer.

What BLS measures in California

What people employed in the occupation earned in the state, at every level of experience, from the BLS survey. A posting advertises what a new hire is offered.

Hourly wages, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, California. Each figure opens its BLS page.
BLS occupation10th pct25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctEmployed
Pharmacists (29-1051)$43.54 (source: BLS OEWS, Pharmacists, opens in a new tab)$66.52 (source: BLS OEWS, Pharmacists, opens in a new tab)$79.14 (source: BLS OEWS, Pharmacists, opens in a new tab)$95.12 (source: BLS OEWS, Pharmacists, opens in a new tab)$102.80 (source: BLS OEWS, Pharmacists, opens in a new tab)34,030 (source: BLS OEWS, Pharmacists, opens in a new tab)

BLS median by metro area

Pharmacist salary in California: common questions

How much does a pharmacist make in California?

Open pharmacist jobs in California that state an hourly rate post a median of $91, the middle half $81.25–$102.75 (139 jobs from 37 employers). Full time that is about $189,300 a year. BLS measured a median of $79.14/hr ($164,610 a year) for people employed in the occupation in California (May 2025).

Where in California do pharmacists earn the most?

By the median rate open jobs post, in the towns with the most jobs stating pay: Los Angeles ($91.50), Palo Alto ($116.25), San Diego ($90.25) and Walnut Creek ($110). The town table lists 20.

Which employers in California pay pharmacists the most?

Among employers stating a rate on at least three open jobs here: Stanford Health Care ($120.50), Kaiser Permanente ($110.75) and John Muir Health ($107.50).

How does California compare with the rest of the country?

The posted median in California ($91) is $17 above the national posted median of $74. In the BLS survey California ranks 3 of 52 by median wage.

Where do these figures come from?

From the pay open jobs state, read every night from each employer's own job board: 139 of 193 open pharmacist jobs in California (72%) state an hourly rate. No pay is estimated for a job that states none; "up to" ceilings and weekly travel rates are left out.

Pharmacist pay in other states

Pharmacist salary nationwide →Every healthcare salary →

Sources and method

Only pay a job states is used, a range at its midpoint. In the state's median and middle half each employer's advertised range counts once, so an employer posting one range in many towns does not set the figure; a town's median follows the same rule. "Up to" ceilings, weekly travel rates and rates far from the occupation's median are left out. A state has a page while at least 8 jobs from 3 employers state a rate there. The yearly estimate is the hourly rate times 2,080 hours. BLS figures are as published.
  1. CareJobs.Now job board: the pay open jobs state, read nightly from each employer's own careers site, published October 24, 2026
  2. BLS OEWS May 2025: Pharmacists (SOC 29-1051), every state, published May 15, 2026
  3. BLS OEWS May 2025: Pharmacists, national, published May 15, 2026
  4. BLS OEWS May 2025: Pharmacists by metropolitan area, published May 15, 2026

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). Pharmacist salary in California. Data as of October 24, 2026. https://carejobs.now/salaries/pharmacist/california

How the board counts