Pharmacist Salary in California and How to Increase your Pay

The pharmacist salary in California is about $144,500 annually.

Pharmacy is a job in the medical field which attracts a very good pay in California. A pharmacist in California has the opportunity to earn up to $144,500 annually and up to $69.40 hourly.

The job of the pharmacist is to dispense drugs, conduct health screenings as directed by the doctor or other healthcare professional.

Pharmacist Salary in California Cities

	Cities	Salary hourly	Salary Yearly
1.	Anaheim	$62.73	$130,496
2.	Antioch	$78.30	$162,876
3.	Bakersfield	$73.32	$152,508
4.	Benton	$67.83	$141,102
5.	Berkeley	$81.46	$169,453
6.	Burbank	$76.94	$160,049
7.	Carlsbad	$73.46	$152,815
8.	Carson	$76.33	$158,773
9.	Chico	$69.87	$145,332
10.	Chino	$74.65	$155,277
11.	Chula Vista	$73.87	$153,670
12.	Citrus Heights	$73.88	$153,690
13.	Clovis	$67.88	$141,201
14.	Compton	$76.33	$158,773
15.	Concord	$76.77	$159,685
16.	Corona	$73.12	$152,109
17.	Costa Mesa	$76.33	$158,773
18.	Daly City	$85.57	$177,997
19.	Downey	$76.69	$159,517
20.	East Los Angeles	$76.33	$158,773
21.	El Cajon	$73.66	$153,214
22.	Elk Grove	$73.69	$153,290
23.	Escondido	$73.46	$152,815
24.	Fairfield	$76.71	$159,571
25.	Fontana	$73.23	$152,337
26.	Fremont	$85.75	$178,367
27.	Fresno	$68.58	$142,657
28.	Fullerton	$76.50	$159,129
29.	Garden Grove	$76.50	$159,129
30.	Glendale	$77.42	$161,049
31.	Hayward	$81.32	$169,165
32.	Hemet	$72.69	$151,203
33.	Hesperia	$72.71	$151,246
34.	Huntington Beach	$76.33	$158,778
35.	Indio	$72.67	$151,165
36.	Inglewood	$77.42	$161,049
37.	Irvine	$76.33	$158,773
38.	Jurupa Valley	$72.67	$151,165
39.	Lake Forest	$76.25	$158,602
40.	Lancaster	$77.01	$160,194
41.	Livermore	$80.10	$166,618
42.	Long Beach	$76.33	$158,773
43.	Los Angeles	$77.42	$161,049
44.	Menifee	$73.61	$153,123
45.	Merced	$72.25	$150,286
46.	Mission Viejo	$76.16	$158,432
47.	Modesto	$76.02	$151,141
48.	Moreno Valley	$73.61	$153,123
49.	Murrieta	$74.66	$155,303
50.	Newport Beach	$76.33	$158,773
51.	Norwalk	$76.40	$158,923
52.	Oakland	$81.46	$169,453
53.	Oceanside	$73.98	$153,890
54.	Ontario	$73.12	$152,109
55.	Orange	$76.33	$158,773
56.	Oxnard	$73.38	$152,650
57.	Palmdale	$76.91	$159,981
58.	Pasadena	$77.42	$161,049
59.	Pomona	$76.34	$158,788
60.	Rancho Cucamonga	$72.88	$151,592
61.	Redding	$69.46	$144,478
62.	Rialto	$72.93	$151,702
63.	Richmond	$81.27	$169,044
64.	Riverside	$73.24	$152,337
65.	Sacramento	$73.99	$153,918
66.	Salinas	$75.85	$157,768
67.	San Bernardino	$72.93	$151,702
68.	San Buenaventura (Ventura)	$73.99	$153,918
69.	San Diego	$73.86	$153,630
70.	San Francisco	$85.57	$177,997
71.	San Jose	$85.91	$178,709
72.	San Leandro	$81.46	$169,453
73.	San Marcos	$73.46	$152,815
74.	San Ramon	$81.19	$168,884
75.	Santa Ana	$76.40	$158,916
76.	Santa Barbara	$73.74	$153,391
77.	Santa Clara	$85.91	$178,709
78.	Santa Clarita	$76.34	$158,789
79.	Santa Maria	$72.65	$151,125
80.	Santa Monica	$77.31	$160,821
81.	Santa Rosa	$74.75	$155,498
82.	Simi Valley	$75.06	$156,143
83.	South Gate	$77.42	$161,049
84.	Sunnyvale	$85.91	$178,709
85.	Temecula	$73.63	$153,161
86.	Thousand Oaks	$74.50	$154,961
87.	Torrance	$76.33	$158,773
88.	Tracy	$72.81	$151,668
89.	Turlock	$72.55	$150,913
90.	Upland	$72.99	$151,824
91.	Vacaville	$76.22	$158,558
92.	Vallejo	$76.93	$160,026
93.	Victorville	$72.64	$151,108
94.	Visalia	$67.69	$140,803
95.	Vista	$73.46	$152,815
96.	Walnut Creek	$81.41	$169,339
97.	West Covina	$76.34	$158,788
98.	Westminster	$76.38	$158,891
99.	Whittier	$76.88	$159,918
100.	Yuba City	$73.15	$152,159

Cities with Highest Pharmacist Salary in California

In California, the city that you live in can hugely affect how much you’ll earn as a pharmacist. That’s why it’s vital to know what each city pays before choosing where to go

Here are the 10 highest paying cities for pharmacists in California:

	City	Salary Hourly	Salary Yearly
1.	San Jose	$85.91	$178,709
2.	Santa Clara	$85.91	$178,709
3.	Sunnyvale	$85.91	$178,709
4.	Fremont	$85.75	$178,367
5.	Daly City	$85.57	$177,997
6	San Francisco	$85.57	$177,997
7.	San Leandro	$81.46	$169,453
8.	Berkeley	$81.46	$169,453
9.	Walnut Creek	$81.41	$169,339
10.	Hayward	$81.32	$169,165

Skill-based Pharmacist Salary in California

A very skilled pharmacist in California stands a chance of earning a whole lot more than a fairly skilled one.

Pharmacists possessing many skills or having diverse areas of expertise earn the most in the field.  In a year, they can earn $160,000 or even higher.

Experience-based Pharmacist Salary in California

In the field of pharmacy, experience is a big deal. The more experienced you are, the more likely that you’ll be employed and also paid more.

Most employers in California value experience a lot as it shows that you’re more than capable of handling issues more easily

Pharmacists with just a year’s experience will likely earn just about $49.49 on average while those with ten or more years of experience can earn as much as $61.78.

10 Companies with Highest Pharmacist Salary in California

Some companies are well known for paying their staff very well. This doesn’t exclude pharmacists. Due to the importance of pharmacists to their companies, some companies in California pay them really well.

Here’s a list of the 10 highest paying companies for pharmacists in California:

	Company	Salary Yearly	Salary Hourly
1.	Stanford Health Care	$177,694	$85.43
2.	UCLA Health	$160,992	$77.40
3.	Cedars-Sinai	$158,288	$76.10
4.	Dignity Health	$154,648	$74.35
5.	Meijer	$153,670	$73.88
6.	MedWatchers Inc	$144,060	$69.26
7.	City of Hope	$143,977	$69.22
8.	Costco Wholesale	$141,356	$67.96
9.	Vista Community Clinic	$140,296	$67.45
10.	California Correctional Health Care Services	$140,150	$67.38

10 Highest Paying Jobs for Pharmacists in California

The jobs that pay pharmacists the highest salaries in California include:

• Pharmacist – Clinical – Part-time: Salary is about $146,411 yearly.
• Associate Chief – Outpatient Pharmacy: Salary is about $176,300 yearly.
• Pharmacy Program Manager (Compliance): Salary is about $162,437 yearly.
• Clinical Pharmacist: Salary is about $167,399 yearly.
• Pharmacist, Outpatient: Salary is about $145,000 yearly.
• Clinical Pharmacy Specialist – Inpatient: Salary is about $176,300 each year.
• Retail Pharmacy Manager: Salary is about $144,000.
• Pharmacist, Outpatient – Salary is about $144,000 yearly.
• Staff Pharmacist II: Salary is about $141,000 each year.
• Pharmacist- Inpatient: Salary is about $148,000 yearly.

More Benefits for Pharmacists in California

There are tons of benefits available to pharmacists in California apart from their salaries, they include:

• Health Savings Account

This is an account set apart for health purposes. The benefit of this account is that it’s not taxed. Pharmacists in some companies are entitled to this benefit.

• Parental Leave

This is a leave given to employees to take care of their children, especially when they’re still little. They could be paid or unpaid to pharmacists in California.

• Performance-based Bonuses

Most pharmacists employed in California are entitled to performance-based bonuses in the role. The bonus is offered to the high-performing pharmacists so as to encourage them to put in more effort on the job.

• Vision Insurance

Pharmacists in California may enjoy the benefit of having their eyes taken care of whenever there is a need for that because of this incentive. It covers both the cost of medical eye care and eye exams.

What Related Job Titles Do Pharmacist Earn in California?

There are jobs, closely related to pharmacy, in which one can venture into in California, they include:

• Clinical Program Manager

They are responsible for strategizing, managing, and executing clinical studies and projects for the regulatory submission within the program(s).

Clinical program managers earn about $80,000 each year.

• Pharmacy Specialist

Pharmacy specialists are responsible for the preparation of medications in a pharmacy, hospital, medical clinic, or a healthcare facility. Their average earning in California is $49,871 per year.

• Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy technicians aid pharmacists in preparing and distributing medications and in the maintenance of the drug inventory as well as patient and pharmacy records in a healthcare facility.

A laboratory technician earns an average of $36,027 every year in California.

Pharmacist Salary and Job Outlook in California

There have been 3,520 workers added to the total number of pharmacists in California in 5 years.

In California, there has been a steady growth of 12.14% in employment rate since 2015 and this is due to the increasing demands for pharmacists in the state.

The salary of pharmacists has gone up about 7.8% in the last five years and is further projected to go up by about 3.8% in the coming years.

How to Increase your Earnings as a Pharmacist in California

A pharmacist hoping to increase earnings needs to do the following:

• Firstly, pharmacists could start a consulting practice as this would help them earn more and establish them as authorities.

• Pharmacists can also write a book with the knowledge they have amassed in order to earn more.

• They can also lecture in Universities on part-time in addition to their major job as a pharmacist, bringing in added income.

More Career Opportunities for Pharmacists in California

Career opportunities for pharmacists are a lot and they include:

• Medical writer

Medical writers create scientific papers like drug-related or research content, documents, and/or literature for use in medical or healthcare websites.

They earn about $70,844 every year.

• Medical representative

Medical representatives are responsible for selling the various products of their companies which include pharmaceutical drugs and medical equipment.

They usually earn about $77,813 yearly.

• Research scientist

They are responsible for designing and analyzing information in laboratory experiments, investigations and trials. Research scientists could earn up to $107,617 every year.

Conclusion

To earn good salary as a pharmacist in California depends on some factors, which have been highlighted in this article in order to keep you enlightened.

This post is of help to anyone seeking to work as a pharmacist in California, to learn what salary they may earn living and working in a city in the State.

Information sources: indeed.com, bls.gov, glassdoor.com, payscale.com, pharmapproach.com, beckershospitalreview.com, pharmacytechnicianguide.com, and salary.com