Compounding pharmacy technicians assist pharmacists with creating customized medications, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most medication comes premixed and divided into prescribed dosages, but the individuality of each patient sometimes requires a pharmacist to compound medications. Technicians also perform clerical tasks, such as answering the phone, taking prescriptions and following up with clients’ doctors.
National Average Salary
Pharmacy technicians, including those who hold a certification in compounding, earned $10.74 an hour on average in 2009, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for an annual income of $22,330. The 10th percentile salary for technicians that year was $7.86 an hour, or $16,340 a year, and the 90th percentile salary was $14.92 an hour, or $31,040 a year. PayScale’s 2011 statistics showed the middle 50 percent of compounding pharmacy techs, between the 25th and 75th percentile, earning from $9.84 to $18.78 an hour, or from $20,827 to $41,707 a year.
Highest Paying States
Pharmacy technicians, including those who know how to compound medicines, earned the most money in Alaska in 2009, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the hourly average being $14.18, or $29,490 a year. Illinois was also a high-paying state for pharmacy techs that year, at $13.20 an hour, or $27,450 a year, as was Montana, at $13.15 an hour, or $27,350 a year.
Low-Paying States
Puerto Rico was the lowest-paying American territory for pharmacy technicians in 2009, with techs earning $8.49 an hour, or $17,660 a year, but Oklahoma was barely higher at $8.64 an hour, or $17,970 a year. Pharmacy technicians, both compounding and otherwise, in South Carolina were paid $9.37 an hour on average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, while those in West Virginia were paid $9.48 an hour, or $19,710 a year.
Highest-Paying Cities
Denver, Colorado was the highest-paying city in America for pharmacy technicians in 2009, where techs were paid $14.95 an hour on average, or $31,090 a year. California boasted two high-paying cities that year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: San Jose, at $14.20 an hour, or $29,530 a year, and San Francisco, at $13.92 an hour, or $28,960 a year. The average in Chicago, Illinois was identical to that of San Francisco.