How much does a Pharmacist make in Tennessee?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $131,290 for Pharmacists in Tennessee as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $119,150 and the 75th-percentile is $143,120.

How are Tennessee 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.

Where does Tennessee rank for Pharmacist pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Tennessee 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.

What are the limits of these Pharmacist salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Tennessee?

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 Tennessee.

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

PharmD programs in Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee?

Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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.

How Much Do Pharmacists Make in Tennessee? $131K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Headline Pharmacist pay in Tennessee is $131,290. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $142,561.
Cost of living below the national index lifts real wage by $11,271 over the nominal — a take-home arbitrage that nominal-ranking tables miss.
Bottom quartile $119,150, top quartile $143,120. The P90 ($161,360) is roughly 2.2× the P10 ($72,580).
Nominal: #49/51 · Real: #30/51 — ranking shifts by 19 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — Tennessee

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$72,580	$78,811
P25 (lower quartile)	$119,150	$129,379
P50 (median)	$131,290	$142,561
P75 (upper quartile)	$143,120	$155,406
P90 (top tier)	$161,360	$175,212
Mean	$125,850	$136,654
Employment	8,050 Pharmacists in Tennessee

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Tennessee index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	92.1
Goods	94.3
Services	76.4
Rents	77.9

Tennessee sits below the national baseline (RPP 92.1), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 77.9.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Pharmacist)	$131,290	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$20,328	15.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax (Hall tax repealed 2021)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$10,044	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$100,919	76.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$109,582	÷ (92.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Tennessee levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $6,565 a year for a Pharmacist at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $109,582 — higher than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP is below 100.

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. Tennessee sits at #49 on nominal pay and #30 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Tennessee climbs 19 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Pharmacist make in Tennessee?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $131,290 for Pharmacists in Tennessee as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $119,150 and the 75th-percentile is $143,120.
How are Tennessee 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.
Where does Tennessee rank for Pharmacist pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Tennessee 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.
What are the limits of these Pharmacist salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Tennessee?: 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 Tennessee.
PharmD ROI in Tennessee — does the salary justify $150-220K of tuition?: PharmD programs in Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee?: Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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.