How Much Does a Pharmacy Tech Make in Rhode Island in 2026?

A typical Pharmacy Tech in Rhode Island earns about $21.34 per hour ($44,380 per year), per the latest government wage data (May 2025). Calculated from that annual figure, pay works out to roughly $3,698 a month or $853 a week. These figures describe typical pay across the state, not a fixed rate every worker receives.

That figure runs 3% below the national typical pay of $45,750 a year, placing Rhode Island 34th among the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Around 1,540 Pharmacy Techs work in the state, a small slice of the 471,680 counted nationwide. Lower pay in Rhode Island tends to track its cost of living relative to higher-paying states nearby.

Entry-level positions in Rhode Island typically offer around $18.40 an hour (about $38,270 a year), close to the $18.55 hourly and $38,590 annual figures seen for those still early in the field. Pay tends to move toward the statewide typical figure of $21.34 an hour within the first few years on the job. New hires usually start near this range regardless of the pharmacy setting.

Experienced Pharmacy Techs in Rhode Island often earn upwards of $24.49 an hour, and the top 10% of earners make over $58,990 a year. That leaves a spread of $20,720 between entry-level and top pay. Setting, years of experience, and which city a technician works in all play a part in where someone lands within that range.

Pharmacy Tech pay in Rhode Island has moved from $30,110 a year in 2015 to $44,380 in 2025, a gain of $14,270. That amounts to a 47% rise over the decade, tracking steady increases most years along the way. Pay dipped briefly in 2021 and 2023 before climbing again.

Nationally, Pharmacy Tech pay rose 50% over the same ten years, putting Rhode Island's climb just behind the country as a whole. Pay for this role has moved up steadily in the state, though past growth is not a guarantee of what happens next. Someone starting now enters a field where pay has trended upward for most of the past decade.

Pay for Pharmacy Techs in Rhode Island is fairly uniform across the state. Providence, the metro area with the largest Pharmacy Tech workforce at 2,240 workers, reports typical pay of $43,800 a year ($21.06 an hour), just under the statewide figure. Warwick, part of the same metro area, reports identical pay, showing little variation by location within Rhode Island.

Warwick posts the same $43,800 annual figure, leaving a city spread of $0 between the two metro areas tracked in the state. Providence carries the larger share of the state's Pharmacy Tech workforce. Because pay barely shifts by city here, cost of living plays less of a role in Rhode Island than it does in states with sharper differences between metro areas.

Rhode Island pays less than both of its close neighbors. Connecticut's typical Pharmacy Tech pay runs $47,050 a year, about 6% higher than Rhode Island's figure, and Massachusetts sits close behind at $46,470, roughly 5% higher. Technicians weighing a move across state lines should know that pharmacy technician registration or certification earned in one New England state can often be transferred or endorsed into a neighboring one.

Pharmacy Techs in Rhode Island typically earn $44,380 a year ($21.34 an hour), a figure that has climbed 47% since 2015. Pay has trended upward over the past decade, though it still runs a bit behind the national figure. Readers considering this path in Rhode Island can check the state's pharmacy technician registration requirements and review city-level pages for Providence and Warwick to see local figures in more detail.