Pharmacist Salary in Dallas, TX: Median $85,414 in 2026
Dallas (TX) · COL index 105 · Unemployment 3.8% · Metro pop 7,760,000 · Rank #100 of 283 for Pharmacist salary
A Pharmacist in Dallas earns an estimated median of $85,414 per year. That figure starts from the Texas state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($79,020) and scales it by Dallas's composite cost-of-living index of 105 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $41,323; the 90th percentile reaches $164,591. After federal, Texas state (no state income tax), and FICA taxes, a single-filer Pharmacist takes home approximately $68,639/year — about $5,720/month or $2,640 every other week.
Compared to the national Pharmacist median of $136,030, Dallas pays -37.2%. Relative to the Dallas median household income of $69,400, a Pharmacistsalary runs +23.1%. Local unemployment is 3.8%[3], with an estimated 1,083 annual Pharmacist openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (311,560).
Pharmacist Snapshot — Dallas (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Dallas | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmacist median salary | $85,414 | $136,030 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $41,323 | $117,540 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $164,591 | $181,730 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $68,639 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $364,734 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,645/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,525/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $87,155 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 105.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.8% | — | [3] |
How Pharmacist Salaries Work in Dallas
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Texas state-level OEWS median ($79,020) and scaling by Dallas's composite cost-of-living index (105)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and no Texas state income tax — a meaningful wedge worth $4,271–$5,979 per year vs average-tax states[10].
Dallas also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. A tight labor market (unemployment below 4%) gives candidates pricing power in negotiations. Median household income in the metro is $87,155, which frames what "a good Pharmacist salary" means locally: a $$85,414 wage pays about 98% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Pharmacist Salary & Cost-of-Living Context — Dallas
Buy vs rent in Dallas
Monthly PITI on the $364,734 median home in Dallas is ~$2,827/mo — vs a $1,645/mo median rent. Rent burden on median household income is 22.6%, which falls within the recommended 30% guideline for housing costs.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Dallas
Estimated annual expense shares on a $68,639 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Dallas's COL index of 105. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Dallas's COL index of 105[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,275/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Dallas
Renting
Buying
At $5,720/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,716/mo. Dallas's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,645/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,525/mo), making rent very affordable on a median Pharmacist salary. For homebuyers, the 4.3× price-to-income ratio is workable with a strong credit profile and manageable other debts.
How Dallas Stacks Up for Pharmacists
Against 283 major US cities: Dallas ranks #100 for nominal Pharmacist salary, #121 for rent affordability, and #176 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Dallas's nominal wage premium. Pharmacists here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — Pharmacist Salary Comparison
Dallas's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs TX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas, TX ★ | $85,414 | 105 | $1,275 | — |
| Houston, TX | $137,390 | 101 | $1,262 | +60.9% |
| San Antonio, TX | $125,148 | 92 | $899 | +46.5% |
| Austin, TX | $164,596 | 121 | $1,300 | +92.7% |
| Fort Worth, TX | $134,670 | 99 | $1,354 | +57.7% |
| El Paso, TX | $114,265 | 84 | $745 | +33.8% |
Pharmacist Job Market in Dallas
Dallas has an estimated 1,083 annual Pharmacistopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 311,560 national Pharmacists[1]. The 3.8% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
Top employers in Dallas
About the profession: Pharmacists dispense prescription medications and provide expertise on their safe use. They work in retail pharmacies, hospitals, and clinical settings. Typical entry requirement: doctoral degree (pharmd). Projected growth through 2034: -3%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Dallas
Early-career Pharmacists in Dallas start around $41,323, reach the city median ($85,414) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($164,591) at senior / specialized levels.
Related healthcare professions in Dallas
Calculators for Pharmacists in Dallas
Other professions in Dallas
Frequently Asked Questions — Pharmacist in Dallas
How much does a Pharmacist make in Dallas, TX?
The estimated median salary for a Pharmacist in Dallas is $85,414/year, scaled from the BLS OEWS Texas state median ($79,020) by Dallas's composite cost-of-living index of 105 (US = 100). After federal, Texas state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $68,639/year or $5,720/month.
Can a Pharmacist afford to live in Dallas?
On $5,720/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,716/month. Dallas's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,645/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,525/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 17.9%, making housing very affordable for a Pharmacist at the local median. Home-buyers face 4.3× price-to-income, needing roughly 4.3 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Pharmacist pay in Dallas?
On $85,414 gross, a Pharmacist in Dallas pays approximately $10,240 in federal income tax (12.0% effective), $0 in state income tax (Texas has no state individual income tax), and $6,535 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 19.6%. Some Texas cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Dallas rank for Pharmacist salaries vs other cities?
Dallas ranks #100 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Pharmacist salary, #121 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #176 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Pharmacist in Dallas?
On $68,639 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Dallas looks like: housing $15,300/yr (22.3%); food $8,484/yr; transportation $7,001/yr; healthcare $4,877/yr; utilities $3,518/yr; savings + discretionary $29,459/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Dallas's COL index of 105 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Pharmacist job market like in Dallas?
Dallas's unemployment rate is 3.8% across the metro of 7,760,000. Estimated annual Pharmacist openings: ~1,083 (extrapolated from 311,560 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Dallas employers pay above or below the Texas median for Pharmacists?
Not consistently — Dallas's estimated Pharmacist median of $85,414 is 37.2% below the national median. The trade-off is usually lower rents and (in some cases) lower state taxes, which can leave real purchasing power competitive.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Dallas median is derived from the Texas state-level BLS OEWS median ($79,020), scaled by Dallas's composite cost-of-living index of 105. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Pharmacistmedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses Texas's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 105index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 97.1(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- Texas Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
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