Pharmacy Technicians Average Salary in Washington
$61,140 average · $61,140 median · BLS OEWS 2025
SOC Code: 29-2052What is this?
This page shows employer-reported wages for Pharmacy Technicians in Washington, drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey — median and mean pay, the full percentile distribution, and the industries that employ this occupation locally. Credential level sets the floor and ceiling: each step up the licensure ladder (LPN to RN to NP, for example) moves the entire distribution, not just the median. Setting matters next — hospitals generally pay above clinics and far above schools or home care for the same license. Shift differentials, overtime, and travel/contract arrangements can push actual earnings well above the base wages recorded here.
How much do Pharmacy Technicians make in Washington?
The average pharmacy technicians salary in Washington is $61,140 per year. That works out to about $29.39 per hour on average. BLS counts roughly 8,150 pharmacy technicians jobs in Washington.
Mean and median are close, so pay is relatively concentrated around $61,140. Entry-level roles (10th percentile) report about $61,140; experienced workers at the 90th percentile report about $61,140 — a 0% spread from bottom to top. Figures are employer-reported wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — not self-reported survey averages — so they are the right baseline for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
How Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Careers Are Structured
Healthcare practitioner wages are among the most reliable in the labor data: demand is demographic rather than cyclical, licensure restricts supply, and the aging population guarantees the trend. This group spans an enormous range — from technologists to physicians — so the occupation-level detail on this page matters more than group generalizations.
The wage tables and percentile chart on this page show how pharmacy technicians pay is distributed in Washington specifically — and because state-level wages for the same occupation routinely differ by 30% or more, the local figures here are the ones that matter for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
What Moves Pay in This Field
Credential level sets the floor and ceiling: each step up the licensure ladder (LPN to RN to NP, for example) moves the entire distribution, not just the median. Setting matters next — hospitals generally pay above clinics and far above schools or home care for the same license. Shift differentials, overtime, and travel/contract arrangements can push actual earnings well above the base wages recorded here.
Every occupation in this group has a defined educational and licensure pipeline, which makes career planning unusually concrete: the prerequisites, program length, and resulting wage distribution are all knowable in advance. The highest-return calculation in healthcare is comparing the cost and duration of the next credential against the permanent distribution shift it buys.
New to reading wage distributions? Our guide to salary percentiles explains how to place yourself on the chart above, and the negotiation playbook shows how to use these numbers in an actual conversation.
What Do Pharmacy Technicians Do?
Pharmacy Technicians positions belong to the healthcare practitioners and technical field. Healthcare practitioner wages are among the most reliable in the labor data: demand is demographic rather than cyclical, licensure restricts supply, and the aging population guarantees the trend. This group spans an enormous range — from technologists to physicians — so the occupation-level detail on this page matters more than group generalizations.
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code: 29-2052
Pharmacy Technicians pay in Washington
In Washington, pharmacy technicians report a median of $61,140 (about $29.39/hour) across roughly 8,150 jobs. The local pay band runs from about $61,140 at the 10th percentile to $61,140 at the 90th.
Compared with the national distribution, local industry mix and cost of living are the main reasons Washington wages for this occupation sit where they do — toggle Regional Price Parity on this page to see purchasing-power-adjusted pay.
What your paycheck is really worth in Washington
Prices in Washington run 7% above the national average (RPP 107.0). So a nominal salary of $61,140 has the buying power of about $57,133 in national terms.
Washington vs. United States for Pharmacy Technicians
The median pharmacy technicians salary in Washington is $61,140, which is +33.1% above the national median of $45,930 (mean pay is +30.4% above the U.S. mean of $46,871). Among 51 states and D.C. with OEWS data, Washington ranks #1 by median wage for this occupation (top tier). Washington accounts for about 0.3% of U.S. pharmacy technicians employment in the latest OEWS release.
See every state ranked for this occupation on the best-paying states page, or compare purchasing power on real wages.
Income reality check
The median salary for Pharmacy Technicians in Washington of $61,140 falls in the Middle class band of this framework - roughly ~10% of the U.S. population and ~10% of the global population sit in this band.
Illustrative relative standing for education only - this ladder is a simplified framework, not an official Census, BLS, or World Bank statistical series. Salary figures on Wage Atlas come from official BLS OEWS data.
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Occupation Report Card
Top Industries for Pharmacy Technicians
| $58,700 | $57,550 | $28 | 25,460 | |
| $54,851 | $51,060 | $26 | 331,630 | |
| $54,280 | $50,470 | $26 | 107,130 | |
| $43,212 | $40,257 | $21 | 861,640 |
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SOC: 43-5052 • 91% match | $62,540 | $62,540 | $30 | 1,972,920 |
SOC: 51-4121 • 92% match | $56,841 | $56,580 | $27 | 2,131,530 |
SOC: 47-2141 • 93% match | $55,485 | $54,670 | $27 | 1,299,460 |
SOC: 39-9031 • 93% match | $52,446 | $52,590 | $25 | 1,905,350 |
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SOC: 21-1093 • 92% match | $47,871 | $45,950 | $23 | 2,441,840 |
SOC: 53-3051 • 92% match | $47,680 | $45,880 | $23 | 2,660,290 |
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Viewing: Pharmacy Technicians (SOC: 29-2052)