Pharmacy Technician Salary in California and How to increase your Pay

By | July 14, 2023
Pharmacy Technician Salary in California
Cities that pay the highest salaries to pharmacy technicians in California include San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland. Image source: californiamedicalcollege.

The pharmacy technician salary in California is $40,387 per year.

A pharmacy technician is someone who is an important member of a pharmacy team that assists pharmacists in the distribution and dispensation of medications.

The pharmacy technician’s main responsibility is to ensure that accurate medicines are distributed to the proper patient and maintain inventory levels.

Pharmacy Technician Salary in California Cities

Here is salary information for the pharmacy technician in California:

 CitiesSalary HourlySalary Yearly
1.Los Angeles$20.85$40,838
2.San Diego$20.35$39,867
3.San Jose$22.16$43,406
4.San Francisco$23.21$45,479
5.Fresno$18.79$36,807
6.Sacramento$20.28$39,729
7.Long Beach$19.62$38,444
8.Oakland$21.56$42,237
9.Bakersfield$19$37,218
10.Anaheim$19.03$37,275
11.Stockton$18.66$36,553
12.Riverside$18.94$37,110
13.Santa Ana$19.26$37,732
14.Irvine$20.72$40,595
15.Chula Vista$18.29$35,824
16.Fremont$21.19$41,514
17.Santa Clarita$18.95$37,122
18.San Bernardino$19.10$37,422
19.Modesto$18.78$36,790
20.Moreno Valley$17.73$34,726
21.Fontana$17.65$34,573
22.Oxnard$18.78$36,797
23.Huntington Beach$18.87$36,964
24.Glendale$19.86$38,908
25.Elk Grove$18.63$36,507
26.Ontario$18.41$36,070
27.Santa Rosa$20.07$39,320
28.Rancho Cucamonga$18.05$35,372
29.Oceanside$18.52$36,286
30.Garden Grove$18.02$35,312
Salaries of pharmacy technicians across cities in California.

10 Cities with Highest Pharmacy Technician Salary in California

Here are top 10 paying cities for pharmacy technicians in California:

 CitiesSalary HourlySalary Yearly
1.San Francisco$23.21$45,479
2.San Jose$22.16$43,406
3.Oakland$21.56$42,237
4.Fremont$21.19$41,514
5.Los Angeles$20.85$40,838
6.Irvine$20.72$40,595
7.San Diego$20.35$39,867
8.Sacramento$20.28$39,729
9.Santa Rosa$20.07$39,320
10.Glendale$19.86$38,908
Cities that pay the highest salaries to pharmacy technicians in California.

Skill-based Pharmacy Technician Salary in California

Pharmacy technicians in California with apt skills and certifications will earn more money than their colleagues who don’t have them. Some of these skills include:

  • Prescription Data Entry
  • Knowledge of Controlled Substances
  • Automated Dispensing Machine (ADM) Skills
  • Pharmacy Information Systems ( PIS )
  • Inventory Control and Safekeeping.

Experience-based Pharmacy Technician Salary in California

Experience is a huge factor in most fields of employment, including the pharmacy technician in California.

A pharmacy technician in California with less than one year of experience will make $38,722 while the one with 10 years of experience or more will earn $48,071.

10 Companies with Highest Pharmacy Technician Salary in California

Here are top 10 paying companies for pharmacy technicians in California:

 CompanyHourly SalaryAnnual Salary
1.College of the Sequoias$37.98$74,412
2.Avella Specialty Pharmacy$36.98$55,357
3.U.S. Army$28.26$50,539
4.Covelo Group$25.80$48,978
5.US Department of Veterans Affairs$25.00$48,450
6.U.S. Army Reserve$24.65$48,285
7.Express Scripts$24.63$48,252
8.eTeam Inc$24.50$48,004
9.Adobe Animal Hospital$23.73$46,488
10.TruePill$23.57$46,371
Companies that pay the highest salaries to pharmacy technicians in California.

10 Highest Paying Pharmacy Technician Jobs in California

Here is a list of the best paying pharmacist technician jobs in California:

  • Head Of Pharmacy Technician; $79,570
  • Pharmacy Technician Program Director; $57,299
  • Certified Pharmacy Technician; $56,164
  • Travel Pharmacy Technician; $40,722
  • Hospital Pharmacy Technician; $47,006
  • Senior Pharmacy Technician; $52,679
  • Pharmacy Technician Per Diem; $45,285
  • Lead Pharmacy Technician; $76,203
  • CVS Pharmacy Technician; $41,134
  • Compounding Pharmacy Technician; $42,162.

More Benefits for Pharmacy Technicians in California

Employers in California usually offer pharmacy technicians the following benefits:

  1. Paid Vacation

Pharmacy technicians in California employed by companies with over 500 employees get a median paid vacation of 20 days per year (median for all industries), whereas those employed by companies with fewer than 500 employees receive a median of 15 days.

2. Paid Sick leave

Pharmacy technicians in California employed by companies with over 500 employees get a median of ten days paid sick leave per year (median for all industries), whereas those employed by companies with fewer than 500 employees receive a median of 5 days paid sick leave.

3. Health Insurance

Health insurance entails medical and dental benefits, prescription drug coverage, and vision benefits.

There is a difference in the type of insurance offered to pharmacy technicians depending on how much they are paid.

4. 401K Plans

401K plans ensures that a certain percentage of money that is paid by the employer goes into a retirement fund.

This can be a significant benefit if the Pharmacy Technician works for many years and then retires.

What Related Job Titles to Pharmacy Technician Earn in California

Here are earnings of related job titles to pharmacist technicians in California:

  • Pharmacy assistant; $47,828
  • Pharmacy clerk; $37,263
  • Paramedic; $87,055
  • Physician assistant; $157,976
  • Nursing assistant; $46,832.

Pharmacy Technician Salary and Job Outlook in California

Because of factors such as an aging population and the expansion of pharmaceuticals throughout the state, employment growth for pharmacy technicians in California appears to be quite promising.

Although not a high-paying field, the job outlook for pharmacy technicians in California is still promising due to the low educational requirements.

If you enjoy working in a pharmacy and are looking for a good paying job with job stability, this is the right career for you in the state of California.

There are approximately 37,600 pharmacies in the state of California.

Technicians are employed, with 422,300 hired nationally. As a result, California employs approximately 8.90% of all pharmacy technicians in the United States.

In California, approximately 3,740 new pharmacy technician jobs are created each year.

According to the BLS, employment for pharmacy technicians is expected to increase by 13.30% from 2018 to 2028, compared to 3.62% nationally.

This indicates that the employment outlook for pharmacy technicians is nearly 9% better than the national projection.

How to increase your Pay as a Pharmacy Technician in California

There are certain things that you can do to increase your pay as a pharmacy technician in California, here are some that you should consider:

  1. Increase your Skills

You can improve your skills by getting certifications, either through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board of California (Pharmacy Technician Certificate Program) or through other organizations. Certifications will enable you to advance your career.

2. Increase your Experience

You can earn more if you have gained a lot of experience in pharmacy technician jobs. The more years of experience you have as a pharmacy technician, the better your pay will be.

3. Get High Paying Jobs

There are high paying jobs like Hospital Pharmacy Technician and Travel Pharmacy Technician that will get you higher pay than assistant or technician positions.

4. Work in Hot Industries

There are industries that offer better opportunities and higher pay than others. You can explore these industries or get a job in one of them and with time, your salary will increase.

5. Work in High Paying Parts of California

Of the 53 counties in California, the top ten highest paying ones for Pharmacy Technicians are Los Angeles, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Orange, San Diego, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Ventura.

More Career Opportunities for Pharmacy Technicians in California

Here are some of the most commonly held careers for pharmacy technicians in California:

  1. Hospital Pharmacy Technician

Hospital Pharmacy Technicians create medications that are prescribed by doctors from general pharmacy departments or from specialists.

They take patients’ prescription, imprint them on vial, pill, tablet or syrup bottle and deliver them to the patient.

2. Compounding Pharmacy Technician

Compounding Pharmacy Technicians prepare medications based on prescriptions given by pharmacists and other medical practitioners.

They receive orders from pharmacists and then prepare them.

3. Retail Pharmacy Technician

Retail Pharmacy Technicians dispense prescription drugs to patients and are responsible for recording their prescription information in the pharmacy’s computer.

They also educate patients about their medicine, provide information about any negative side-effects of the medicine and help the patient take it.

4. Travel Pharmacy Technician

Travel Pharmacy Technicians travel throughout California to various retail pharmacies that have hired them to fill orders for client pharmacies and hospitals.

Conclusion

Pharmacy technicians play a vital role in California for their contributions to the industry, community, and economy.

The pharmacy technician jobs in California are in demand and growing, so you will have a lot of opportunities and have a high-paying career.

This post has provided detailed information of the pharmacy technician salary in California to help you make the right decision about working in the state.  

Information sources: indeed.com, glassdoor.com, bls.gov, and pharmacytechnicianguide.com