Pharmacy Aides

What pharmacy aides do

Typical tasks

• Process medical insurance claims, posting bill amounts and calculating copayments.
• Answer telephone inquiries, referring callers to pharmacist when necessary.
• Prepare prescription labels by typing or operating a computer and printer.
• Operate cash register to process cash or credit sales.
• Prepare, maintain, and record records of inventories, receipts, purchases, or deliveries, using a variety of computer screen formats.
• Receive, store, and inventory pharmaceutical supplies or medications, check for out-of-date medications, and notify pharmacist when inventory levels are low.
• Accept prescriptions for filling, gathering and processing necessary information.
• Maintain and clean equipment, work areas, or shelves.
• Calculate anticipated drug usage for a prescribed period.
• Perform clerical tasks, such as filing, compiling and maintaining prescription records, or composing letters.
• Restock storage areas, replenishing items on shelves.
• Greet customers and help them locate merchandise.

Pharmacy Aides salary

The median annual wage for pharmacy aides is $37,680 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $29,820 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $56,010. The mean annual wage is $40,450.

The mean hourly wage of $19.00 is 2.6× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →

Pay by percentile

Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.

How median, percentiles and the pay range are defined →

Projected pay for Pharmacy Aides (3, 5 and 10 years)est.

Today $37,680 → in 3 years $41,000 → in 5 years $43,300 → in 10 years $49,900 (10-year range $42,900–$57,900). The model assumes pay growth of +2.8% per year.

What drives the annual growth rate

Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →

Outlook score for Pharmacy Aides

Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.

Will AI replace Pharmacy Aides? AI replacement risk

How AI is changing this job

A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.

AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →

Labor demand for Pharmacy Aides

Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.

Skills, education and requirements for Pharmacy Aides

What the work involves

Important abilities

Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)

Difficulty of entry: ★☆☆☆☆ Easy to enter (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)

How to become pharmacy aides

A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.

Career path and how to earn more as pharmacy aides

Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.

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