What Pharmacy Technicians earn in St. Louis County, MO
The median pay for Pharmacy Technicians in St. Louis County, MO is $45,220 per year, which works out to $21.74 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area, the labor market that St. Louis County, MO belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $44,680, which is 1.2% below the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 4,980 people working in this occupation across the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. St. Louis County, MO has roughly 995,569 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Pharmacy Technicians in the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $36,020 a year ($17.32 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $58,730 or more ($28.24 an hour). That is a gap of $22,710 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $37,280 at the 25th percentile and $48,190 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.6 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $21.74 an hour or $45,220 a year at the median for St. Louis County, MO. Before any deductions, that is $3,768 a month, $1,739 every two weeks and $870 each week. After taxes the same job pays $17.89 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Pharmacy Technicians
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Pharmacy Technicians this way: "Prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. May measure, mix, count out, label, and record amounts and dosages of medications according to prescription orders."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate"; "Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs"; "Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests"; "Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information".
Job outlook for Pharmacy Technicians
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 471,200 jobs in 2025 to 501,300 in 2035, a change of +6.4%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 44,700 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 9.5% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: moderate-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $45,750 for this occupation; the St. Louis County, MO median of $45,220 is 1.2% below it.
How pay in St. Louis County, MO compares
Compared with the Missouri average
A worker in this occupation in St. Louis County, MO earns $2,744 more than the Missouri average of $42,476, a premium of 6.5%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,744 before tax and roughly $2,258 after tax. Within Missouri, St. Louis County, MO already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
Nationally, Pharmacy Technicians earn an employment-weighted average of $45,239 across the contiguous United States, so $45,220 in St. Louis County, MO is essentially average. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in St. Louis County, MO
Among the 578 occupations with published wages in St. Louis County, MO, Pharmacy Technicians ranks number 448 by median pay, ahead of about 23% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $167,130 a year, which is $121,910 more than the median for Pharmacy Technicians.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Pharmacy Technicians earning the St. Louis County, MO median of $45,220, they add up to $8,002. The result is $37,218 of take-home pay a year ($3,102 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 17.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $29,470. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,298, an effective 7.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,804 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $656. FICA totals $3,459, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Missouri
Missouri income tax on this salary is $1,244 a year, or 2.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 38% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $104 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for St. Louis County, MO
IRS Statistics of Income data for St. Louis County, MO show an average adjusted gross income of $124,514 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 17.1% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.1%, compared with the 7.3% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in St. Louis County, MO
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in St. Louis County, MO: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $37,218 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For St. Louis County, MO, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,104 a month ($13,248 a year), and at $1,349 for two bedrooms. For Pharmacy Technicians, a one-bedroom absorbs 35.6% of take-home pay and 29.3% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 7.6% of gross pay for Pharmacy Technicians in St. Louis County, MO. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Missouri residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,364 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $672, for $2,036 in total. Gasoline in Missouri averages $3.03 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,403.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $20,123 a year in St. Louis County, MO. Subtract that from $37,218 of take-home pay and $17,096 remains, which is $1,425 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 37.8% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for St. Louis County, MO
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in St. Louis County, MO: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for St. Louis County, MO, set beside the Missouri and national medians.
Property taxes in St. Louis County, MO
Homeowners in St. Louis County, MO pay a median of $3,335 a year in real estate taxes, 71% above the Missouri median of $1,948 and 7% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $276,800, the median tax bill is 1.20% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Pharmacy Technicians median of $45,220, a tax bill of that size would equal 7.4% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in St. Louis County, MO
Renters in St. Louis County, MO pay a median gross rent of $1,209 a month in the Census survey, 17% above the Missouri median of $1,033. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,104 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $276,800, 20% above the Missouri median of $230,300. Median household income is $82,936, 17% above the Missouri median of $70,702, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 16.0% of that income.
Commuting in St. Louis County, MO
Workers in St. Louis County, MO who travel to a workplace spend an average of 23.1 minutes each way, 2% below the Missouri average of 23.5. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 3.9 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 18.3% of workers in St. Louis County, MO work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Pharmacy Technicians afford to live in St. Louis County, MO?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $45,220 that ceiling is $1,131 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,104 is $27 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $21.23 an hour; the median for Pharmacy Technicians is $21.74, which is 2% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $17.89 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 14.2 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,349 a month means $675 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,154 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $22,250.
How fast you can save
At $1,425 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 8 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 16 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Pharmacy Technicians pay in St. Louis County, MO
How much do Pharmacy Technicians make per hour in St. Louis County, MO?
The median is $21.74 per hour, based on $45,220 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $17.32 at the 10th percentile to $28.24 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Pharmacy Technicians take home after taxes in St. Louis County, MO?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $45,220 becomes $37,218 a year. That is $3,102 a month, $1,431 every two weeks or $716 a week.
How much tax do Pharmacy Technicians pay in St. Louis County, MO?
Total taxes are $8,002 a year, an effective rate of 17.7%: $3,298 federal income tax, $3,459 FICA and $1,244 Missouri income tax.
Do Pharmacy Technicians earn more in St. Louis County, MO than elsewhere in Missouri?
Yes. The local median of $45,220 is +6.5% versus the Missouri average of $42,476, a difference of $2,744 a year.
Can Pharmacy Technicians afford a one-bedroom apartment in St. Louis County, MO?
A one-bedroom costs $1,104 a month against take-home pay of $3,102, which is 35.6% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,131 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Pharmacy Technicians in St. Louis County, MO?
About $1,425 a month ($17,096 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $20,123 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in St. Louis County, MO at the 30% guideline?
$21.23 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $13,248 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Pharmacy Technicians is $21.74.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Missouri rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.