Independent payroll-schedule reference · Updated July 2026 Methodology · Submit a correction

Why healthcare & pharma employers choose a biweekly cycle

A biweekly payroll schedule pays employees every other week, producing 26 paychecks per year. Two months out of the year contain three paydays. Biweekly is the single most common cadence in the United States and is standard for salaried employees at most large industrial, healthcare, and consumer-products employers.

In the Healthcare & Pharma sector, the biweekly cadence shows up wherever the underlying labor profile favors it. Hospitals, insurers, pharmaceuticals, devices tend to align payroll with the rhythm of biweekly cycles that compromise between hourly cash-flow needs and salaried-staff predictability. The biweekly schedule also simplifies tax-deposit timing and benefits accruals across multi-state operations.

For employees, the practical implications are straightforward: 26 paychecks per year, with the gross divided across 26 equal periods. Workers comparing offers between same-sector employers can largely ignore pay-frequency differences when calculating annual compensation — but should pay attention when comparing weekly to monthly cycles, since the cash-flow gap can affect rent timing and bill autopay setups. Use the pay schedule calculator to model the per-check size against your current take-home.

All 69 Healthcare & Pharma employers paying biweekly

CompanyPaydayHQEmployees
AbbVie Friday North Chicago, IL 50,000
Abbott Laboratories Friday Abbott Park, IL 114,000
Acadia Healthcare Friday Franklin, TN 23,800
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Friday Cambridge, MA 2,050
Amgen Friday Thousand Oaks, CA 26,200
Avantor Friday Radnor, PA 14,000
Baxter International Friday Deerfield, IL 60,000
Becton Dickinson Friday Franklin Lakes, NJ 70,000
Bio-Rad Laboratories Friday Hercules, CA 8,250
Bio-Techne Friday Minneapolis, MN 3,000
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Friday San Rafael, CA 3,300
Biogen Friday Cambridge, MA 7,400
Boston Scientific Friday Marlborough, MA 48,000
Bristol-Myers Squibb Friday New York, NY 34,300
CVS Health Friday Woonsocket, RI 259,500
Cardinal Health Friday Dublin, OH 47,410
Catalent Friday Somerset, NJ 18,000
Cencora Friday Conshohocken, PA 46,000
Centene Friday St. Louis, MO 67,700
Charles River Laboratories Friday Wilmington, MA 21,300
Cigna Group Friday Bloomfield, CT 70,256
Community Health Systems Friday Franklin, TN 60,000
DaVita Friday Denver, CO 71,500
Danaher Friday Washington, DC 79,000
Doximity Friday San Francisco, CA 1,200
Edwards Lifesciences Friday Irvine, CA 18,000
Elevance Health Friday Indianapolis, IN 102,200
Eli Lilly Friday Indianapolis, IN 43,000
Encompass Health Friday Birmingham, AL 44,000
Fresenius Medical Care Friday Bad Homburg, DE 128,000
Gilead Sciences Friday Foster City, CA 18,000
GoodRx Friday Santa Monica, CA 750
HCA Healthcare Friday Nashville, TN 285,000
Henry Schein Friday Melville, NY 24,000
Hims & Hers Health Friday San Francisco, CA 1,300
Hologic Friday Marlborough, MA 7,100
Humana Friday Louisville, KY 67,100
IQVIA Holdings Friday Durham, NC 87,000
Illumina Friday San Diego, CA 9,700
Incyte Friday Wilmington, DE 2,400
Intuitive Surgical Friday Sunnyvale, CA 11,500
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Friday Dublin, IE 3,000
Johnson & Johnson Friday New Brunswick, NJ 131,900
LabCorp Friday Burlington, NC 75,000
McKesson Friday Irving, TX 51,000
Medtronic Friday Dublin, IE 95,000
Merck Friday Rahway, NJ 68,000
Moderna Friday Cambridge, MA 5,600
Molina Healthcare Friday Long Beach, CA 19,000
Owens & Minor Friday Mechanicsville, VA 20,000
Patterson Companies Friday St. Paul, MN 8,500
PerkinElmer (Revvity) Friday Waltham, MA 16,000
Pfizer Friday New York, NY 88,000
Premier Friday Charlotte, NC 2,700
Quest Diagnostics Friday Secaucus, NJ 50,000
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Friday Tarrytown, NY 13,000
Repligen Friday Waltham, MA 2,100
Seagen Friday Bothell, WA 3,300
Stryker Friday Kalamazoo, MI 51,000
Teladoc Health Friday Purchase, NY 5,200
Tenet Healthcare Friday Dallas, TX 110,000
Thermo Fisher Scientific Friday Waltham, MA 130,000
UnitedHealth Group Friday Minnetonka, MN 440,000
Universal Health Services Friday King of Prussia, PA 96,700
Veeva Systems Friday Pleasanton, CA 6,300
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Friday Boston, MA 5,300
Walgreens Boots Alliance Friday Deerfield, IL 311,000
Waters Friday Milford, MA 7,900
West Pharmaceutical Services Friday Exton, PA 10,500

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