How many Pharmacists does Maryland employ?

BLS OES counts 5,850 Pharmacists employed in Maryland in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does Maryland rank for Pharmacist pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Maryland ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

How wide is the wage spread in Maryland?

P10 to P90 spans $108,680 to $167,230. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Maryland?

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 Maryland.

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.

PharmD ROI in Maryland — does the salary justify $150-220K of tuition?

PharmD programs in Maryland typically run $35-60K/year tuition × 4 years plus 4 years of foregone earnings, putting the all-in cost over $200K for many students. With a Maryland pharmacist median in the BLS table above and retail pay compression in 2023-2025, ROI breakeven is now 12-18 years post-graduation in most markets — substantially worse than a decade ago. Hospital and industry tracks payback faster; retail-only careers have a much weaker ROI than the historical baseline.

Is the pharmacist labor market oversupplied in Maryland?

Maryland pharmacist labor markets vary. National PharmD graduate output peaked around 2018 and has stayed above retiree replacement rates, contributing to chain-pharmacy hour cuts and offers below historical BLS norms in saturated metros. Rural Maryland markets remain undersupplied — sign-on bonuses of $20-50K for rural retail or hospital roles are common. Hospital and clinical roles requiring PGY-1/PGY-2 residency are not oversupplied; specialty boards (BCPS, BCOP, BCACP) are still differentiators that push pay above the BLS median.

Maryland Pharmacist Salary: BLS $136K Median, Real $130K (2026)

TL;DR

Maryland pays Pharmacists a BLS median of $135,550 — the more useful number is $129,586, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
Pharmacist ranking: #33 on the BLS table, #46 once cost of living is in.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
Bottom quartile $127,510, top quartile $155,220. The P90 ($167,230) is roughly 1.5× the P10 ($108,680).

Wage breakdown — Maryland

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$108,680	$103,899
P25 (lower quartile)	$127,510	$121,900
P50 (median)	$135,550	$129,586
P75 (upper quartile)	$155,220	$148,391
P90 (top tier)	$167,230	$159,873
Mean	$136,210	$130,217
Employment	5,850 Pharmacists in Maryland

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Maryland index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	104.6
Goods	103.2
Services	108.7
Rents	119.9

Maryland's overall RPP (104.6) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Pharmacist)	$135,550	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$21,350	15.8% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$6,368	2–5.75% (graduated, +county piggyback 2.25–3.2%)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$10,370	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$97,463	71.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$93,175	÷ (104.6 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Maryland 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 $97,463 (71.9% of gross). After the 104.6 RPP, real take-home is $93,175. Local-tax overlay: Maryland counties piggyback 2.25–3.2% on state liability — Baltimore City and Howard / Montgomery / PG counties at the top of the range.

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. Maryland sits at #33 on nominal pay and #46 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Maryland falls 13 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How many Pharmacists does Maryland employ?: BLS OES counts 5,850 Pharmacists employed in Maryland in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does Maryland rank for Pharmacist pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Maryland ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
How wide is the wage spread in Maryland?: P10 to P90 spans $108,680 to $167,230. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Maryland?: 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 Maryland.
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.
PharmD ROI in Maryland — does the salary justify $150-220K of tuition?: PharmD programs in Maryland typically run $35-60K/year tuition × 4 years plus 4 years of foregone earnings, putting the all-in cost over $200K for many students. With a Maryland pharmacist median in the BLS table above and retail pay compression in 2023-2025, ROI breakeven is now 12-18 years post-graduation in most markets — substantially worse than a decade ago. Hospital and industry tracks payback faster; retail-only careers have a much weaker ROI than the historical baseline.
Is the pharmacist labor market oversupplied in Maryland?: Maryland pharmacist labor markets vary. National PharmD graduate output peaked around 2018 and has stayed above retiree replacement rates, contributing to chain-pharmacy hour cuts and offers below historical BLS norms in saturated metros. Rural Maryland markets remain undersupplied — sign-on bonuses of $20-50K for rural retail or hospital roles are common. Hospital and clinical roles requiring PGY-1/PGY-2 residency are not oversupplied; specialty boards (BCPS, BCOP, BCACP) are still differentiators that push pay above the BLS median.

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 Maryland 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.