Gap in pay between states

[gdk420]

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I was just curious, does anyone know why there is such a big gap in pay for pharmacist between the different states. I looked at the government salary site and I see a major gap in pay between mass and california, but at the same time, the gap was not that big for other health professions such as physicians and dentist. However, I did check salary.com and according to their numbers, the pharmacist in mass. make about the same as in cali. I was curious as to why is there a big gap in pay for our profession and not the other profession.

 

[pharmaz88]

supply and demand.

Not as much population growth on the East Coast as there is out west.

more people = more development = more pharmacies = more pharmacists needed

not enough pharmacists to go around = more money

(I think this is why they want you to take economics as a pre-req. lol )

 

[michelleca4]

The cost of living in CA is expensive in comparison to other states.

 

[pmkinzero]

I know of a few interns that make close to $30.00 an hour in downtown L.A.. However, the jobs really suck, the cost of living is very high, they have to sit in 2 hrs of traffic every night to get home, and they dont even live that far away, oh- and parking is roughly $20.00 a day! All of this = more money, however do you think its worth it?? I'll take my $20 an hour in Washington state, have fun working, and have good memories when I am a pharmacist of my intern hours!

 

[kim.]

Like some of the others said, I think it just depends on the demand for pharmacists in the area. If there is a big shortage they are going to be paying more. Also, like Michelle said you have to take into consideration the cost of living differences. I wonder if there is a source that figures that into it?

 

[lord999]

I would suggest pharmacyonesource.com. It also has all of the regulatory info and product development news you can stand.