What is the real (cost-adjusted) Pharmacist salary in Georgia?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 96.5 for Georgia), the real-wage equivalent is $137,211 — what the $132,400 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $127,096 to $158,994.

How are Georgia Pharmacist salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How many Pharmacists does Georgia employ?

BLS OES counts 11,480 Pharmacists employed in Georgia in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for Georgia different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Georgia's overall index of 96.5 reflects rents 88.3, services 92.3, and goods 97.7.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Georgia?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Georgia.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Retail vs hospital vs clinical pharmacist pay in Georgia?

BLS aggregates pharmacists (29-1051) into one figure. In {state}, retail chain pharmacy (CVS, Walgreens, independents) historically led on starting pay but has compressed as chain consolidation and store-closure cycles squeeze hours. Hospital pharmacy in {state} typically pays mid-band with stronger benefits and pension. Clinical and specialty (oncology, infectious disease, ambulatory care) leads at the senior level, especially with PGY-1/PGY-2 residency credentials. Industry (pharma, PBM, managed care) sits at the high end.

How Much Do Pharmacists Make in Georgia? $132K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Headline Pharmacist pay in Georgia is $132,400. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $137,211.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
P25-P75 spread runs $122,640 to $153,420; P10 floor $78,750, P90 ceiling $169,410.
Pharmacist ranking: #47 on the BLS table, #40 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Georgia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$78,750	$81,611
P25 (lower quartile)	$122,640	$127,096
P50 (median)	$132,400	$137,211
P75 (upper quartile)	$153,420	$158,994
P90 (top tier)	$169,410	$175,565
Mean	$130,430	$135,169
Employment	11,480 Pharmacists in Georgia

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Georgia index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	96.5
Goods	97.7
Services	92.3
Rents	88.3

Georgia's overall RPP (96.5) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Georgia (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Pharmacist)	$132,400	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$20,594	15.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$6,249	5.19% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$10,129	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$95,429	72.1% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$98,896	÷ (96.5 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Georgia state-tax burden means for Pharmacist take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.7% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $95,429 (72.1% of gross). After the 96.5 RPP, real take-home is $98,896.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $137,480 for Pharmacists with mean pay of $137,210 and total employment of 328,870. Georgia sits at #47 on nominal pay and #40 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Georgia climbs 7 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Pharmacist salary in Georgia?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 96.5 for Georgia), the real-wage equivalent is $137,211 — what the $132,400 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $127,096 to $158,994.
How are Georgia Pharmacist salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How many Pharmacists does Georgia employ?: BLS OES counts 11,480 Pharmacists employed in Georgia in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for Georgia different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Georgia's overall index of 96.5 reflects rents 88.3, services 92.3, and goods 97.7.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Georgia?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Georgia.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Retail vs hospital vs clinical pharmacist pay in Georgia?: BLS aggregates pharmacists (29-1051) into one figure. In {state}, retail chain pharmacy (CVS, Walgreens, independents) historically led on starting pay but has compressed as chain consolidation and store-closure cycles squeeze hours. Hospital pharmacy in {state} typically pays mid-band with stronger benefits and pension. Clinical and specialty (oncology, infectious disease, ambulatory care) leads at the senior level, especially with PGY-1/PGY-2 residency credentials. Industry (pharma, PBM, managed care) sits at the high end.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 29-1051, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Georgia Pharmacist pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.