Article
What are the best places in the country for pharmacists?
If you’ve ever wondered what are the best US cities for pharmacists, look no further than this article.
Using a combination of datasets, I have ranked nearly 400 US cities to find the best places for pharmacists. Scores were calculated using weighted percentages of each city’s average annual pharmacist salary, number of pharmacist positions, cost of living index, and location quotient—a factor used to reflect the demand for pharmacists in a particular region.
Cities that made Livability’s 2016 Top 100 Best Places to Live list were given a bonus score based on where they ranked on that list.
Here are the top 10 US cities for pharmacists:
1. Gadsden, Alabama (92.5%)
Topping the list, Gadsden is the perfect combination of high annual pharmacist salary, low cost of living, and above average concentration of employed pharmacists. Gadsden’s average annual pharmacist salary ($155,940) was second-highest on the list, just below Santa Cruz, California ($164,850).
2. Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas (92.3%)
Just a few fractions of a percentage point below Gadsden is Brownsville-Harlingen. This metropolitan area has the 8th-highest average annual pharmacist salary ($139,810) and 6th-lowest cost of living.
3. Anniston-Oxford, Alabama (84.5%)
The metropolitan area of Anniston and Oxford is the second location in Alabama to make this list. Both cities combined have the 5th-highest average annual pharmacist salary ($140,830) with a relatively low cost of living.
4. Huntington, West Virginia; Ashland, Kentucky (83.6%)
The average annual pharmacist salary for Huntington and Ashland ($126,290) is the lowest of all cities in the top 10, but still places in the top 20% overall. These areas benefit from having the third-highest location quotient, indicating that the number of pharmacists working in these cities is more than double the national average.
5. Knoxville, Tennessee (82.8%)
Knoxville employs the highest number of pharmacists (890) on the top 10 list, and the city’s average annual pharmacist salary ($126,880) is also well above the national average.
6. Dalton, Georgia (82.1%)
Despite having the 27th worst location quotient score, Dalton makes the top 10 list due to its extremely high average annual pharmacist salary ($139,500) and low cost of living.
7. Danville, Virginia (82%)
Despite employing just 70 pharmacists, Danville slots in at #7, and its average annual pharmacist salary ($133,690) places it in the top 10% overall.
8. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas (81.9%)
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is the second metropolitan area in Texas to make this list, continuing the trend of southern US cities appearing in the top 10. This area employed 440 pharmacists in 2014, with an average annual salary of $132,830.
9. Kingsport, Tennessee; Bristol, Virginia (81.6%)
The combination of Kingsport and Bristol has the highest cost of living score of the top 10 cities, but it is bolstered by an above average annual pharmacist salary ($129,600) and high concentration of employed pharmacists.
10. Canton-Massillon, Ohio (81.8%)
The home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame rounded out the list by scoring above average across the board.
Rank
City
Pharmacist Jobs
Location Quotient
Pharmacist Salary
Cost of Living
Livability
Top 100
Score
1
Gadsden, AL
100
1.28
$155,940
80
-
92.5%
2
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
300
1.06
$139,810
76
-
92.3%
3
Anniston-Oxford, AL
90
0.98
$140,830
84
-
84.5%
4
Huntington, WV; Ashland, KY
470
2.04
$126,290
81
-
83.6%
5
Knoxville, TN
890
1.25
$126,880
81
-
82.8%
6
Dalton, GA
100
0.69
$139,500
82
-
82.1%
7
Danville, VA
70
0.90
$133,690
81
-
82%
8
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
440
0.86
$132,830
83
-
81.9%
9
Kingsport, TN; Bristol, VA
300
1.21
$129,600
85
-
81.6%
10
Canton-Massillon, OH
370
1.04
$128,280
82
-
81.1%
To find out how more notable US cities ranked, refer to this table:
City
Rank
Pharmacist Jobs
Location Quotient
Pharmacist Salary
Cost of Living
Livability
Top 100
Score
Milwaukee, WI
43
1640
0.93
$125,970
85
-
73%
Rochester, MN
59
390
1.72
$123,080
101
#1
70%
Santa Cruz, CA
64
160
0.83
$164,850
199
#19
69.2%
Sacramento, CA
75
1780
0.97
$132,180
113
-
67.3%
Napa, CA
100
130
0.89
$135,990
157
#68
64%
San Francisco, CA
107
3520
0.77
$137,340
243
-
63.4%
Anchorage, AK
116
310
0.82
$134,480
143
62.1%
St. Louis, MO
141
2830
1.01
$119,180
84
-
59.1%
Baltimore, MD
142
2810
1.01
$120,030
88
-
59.1%
Nashville, TN
143
2560
1.45
$120,500
99
-
58.8%
Los Angeles, CA
149
10390
0.87
$128,630
164
-
58.3%
Cleveland, OH
152
2170
1.00
$117,440
79
-
58%
Atlantic City, NJ
178
270
0.95
$121,280
100
-
52.7%
Phoenix, AZ
192
4280
1.09
$119,210
99
-
50.2%
Detroit, MI
194
4130
1.03
$113,570
73
-
50%
Atlanta, GA
219
5180
1.01
$118,210
97
-
47.5%
Las Vegas, NV
222
1400
0.75
$119,990
99
-
47.3%
Philadelphia, PA
234
6240
1.07
$116,910
96
-
45.4%
New Orleans, LA
241
1300
1.11
$117,210
99
-
44.6%
Orlando, FL
243
2430
1.05
$116,080
92
-
44.2%
Seattle, WA
255
3050
0.81
$120,260
154
-
42%
Dallas, TX
257
5650
0.83
$119,060
106
-
41.6%
Indianapolis, IN
280
2140
1.06
$112,430
89
-
38.3%
Miami, FL
307
7000
1.38
$115,170
119
-
34.8%
New York, NY
313
11390
0.98
$117,040
168
-
33.9%
Chicago, IL
317
8770
0.92
$115,540
103
-
33.6%
Houston, TX
320
4610
0.75
$115,180
98
-
33.2%
Denver, CO
326
3160
1.11
$115,060
115
-
32.3%
Honolulu, HI
332
880
0.91
$116,650
199
#37
31.9%
Pittsburgh, PA
335
2580
1.06
$101,840
84
-
31.6%
Washington D.C, VA
371
4900
0.77
$115,320
154
-
25%
Boston, MA
383
4760
0.85
$113,310
161
-
21.9%
Methodology:
Scores were calculated using weighted percentages from the following categories: average annual pharmacist salary, number of pharmacist jobs, cost of living index, location quotient, and placement in Livability’s 2016 Top 100 Best Places to Live.
Annual pharmacist salary from 394 cities was collected from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2014 data. This category was weighted most to reflect the importance of salary when searching for employment.
It is important to note that BLS groups some of its datasets into multiple cities. For example, the “Los Angeles” grouping also includes data from Long Beach and Santa Ana; however, for simplicity’s sake, it was included in the second table as just “Los Angeles.”
Cost of living scores were collected from Sperling’s Best Places and compare a city’s cost of food, housing, utilities, transportation, and health care with the national average. The lower the cost of living score, the lower the cost to live in that particular city versus the national average.
Location quotient was included to measure the concentration of pharmacists working in a particular area compared with the national average. Thus, a smaller location quotient may suggest a lower demand for pharmacists, while a higher number may correlate a higher demand.
The number of pharmacist jobs per city was weighted least, yet included to reward cities that employed a higher number of pharmacists.
Finally, cities that made Livability’s 2016 Top 100 Best Places to Live list were given an up to 10% multiplier bonus, depending on where they ranked. Livability’s rankings were created from 45 data points across 8 categories.