How Much to Librarians Make?

You might not think of the position of librarian as a high-paying job. It turns out, however, that librarians can have quite lucrative careers! Librarians are classified by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as “librarians and media collections specialists.” According to the BLS, librarians working in the U.S. earned a mean annual wage of $63,560 as of May 2020. They estimated that 135,070 librarians currently work in the U.S. 

The most popular industries across the nation in which librarians work are:

• Elementary and secondary schools: $65,230
• Local government: $57,160
• Colleges, universities, professional schools: $69,070
• Other information services: $63,500

The top-paying industries in the U.S. which librarians work are:

• Federal executive branch: $92,930
• Scientific research and development services: $80,130
• Legal services: $79,710
• Software publishers: $75,440
• Grantmaking and giving services: $73,920

Librarian jobs involve more than just working in your local public library. The wide variety of jobs available, as you can see from the industries above, often correlate to higher-than-average salaries. 

Librarian Salaries Corresponding to Education and Experience

The American Library Association (ALA) states that the preferred degree for professional librarians in the U.S. is a master of library science (MLS) or master of library and information science (MLIS). There are some librarians working with undergraduate degrees, of course, as not all areas in the country require a graduate degree.  The mean annual wage for librarians quoted above is generally accepted as being those holding a master’s degree. Often, librarians working in school systems need a bachelor’s degree and teaching certificate. School librarians and others with an undergraduate degree make slightly less than masters-level librarians, earning $51,045 annually per Payscale.com. 

With experience, librarians can earn even more. A survey conducted by San Jose State University School of Information in 2021 found that previous experience is an important trend for masters-trained librarians. It can help librarians to get better jobs and to move up the library career ladder. Experience also lends itself to supervisory and managerial librarian positions. 

Those earning in the 75^th percentile, for example, are making $77,680; while those in the 90^th percentile earn $97,460. While these salaries are not available in all areas of the U.S., they can be something for which to strive. 

Salary Data for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists by State

The following information on librarian salaries by state is provided by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, circa May 2020:

STATE	EMPLOYMENT	HOURLY MEAN WAGE	ANNUAL MEAN WAGE	HOURLY MEDIAN WAGE	HOURLY 75TH PERCENTILE	HOURLY 90TH PERCENTILE	ANNUAL MEDIAN WAGE	ANNUAL 75TH PERCENTILE	ANNUAL 90TH PERCENTILE
AL	2450	25.59	53230	27.02	29.99	32.71	56210	62390	68040
AK	340	33.16	68970	34.46	42.45	49.93	71680	88300	103860
AZ	1520	25.96	53990	24.9	31.91	38.66	51780	66370	80410
AR	1420	25.25	52520	25.54	29.83	34.36	53120	62060	71480
CA	14190	37.64	78300	36.07	45.49	55.64	75030	94610	115730
CO	1970	29.63	61620	28.88	34.96	40.98	60070	72730	85240
CT	2330	35.19	73190	33.47	42.94	50.52	69620	89310	105090
DE	370	33.39	69440	31.35	42.24	49.39	65220	87850	102720
DC	1170	41.59	86520	41.67	48.43	54.12	86670	100720	112580
FL	5340	27.50	57190	26.16	32.79	40.14	54410	68200	83480
GA	3310	30.10	62600	31.19	37.28	42.08	64870	77550	87520
HI	440	34.27	71280	33.87	39.71	48.00	70440	82600	99830
ID	610	21.08	43850	19.88	27.54	35.87	41360	57270	74600
IL	6080	29.40	61150	28.06	35.76	45.90	58370	74380	95460
IN	2500	23.67	49230	22.29	29.39	36.50	46360	61120	75910
IA	1560	24.15	50220	23.11	32.03	38.37	48070	66630	79800
KS	2060	22.83	47480	22.17	30.29	38.18	46120	62990	79410
KY	1990	28.54	59370	28.66	33.10	38.02	59620	68850	79080
LA	2640	25.97	54010	25.94	29.68	32.96	53950	61740	68560
ME	790	26.08	54240	25.52	31.64	38.84	53080	65810	80780
MD	3080	37.48	77950	36.59	47.52	55.94	76110	98840	116350
MA	4820	35.58	74000	34.01	42.28	51.55	70730	87950	107220
MI	3510	26.56	55250	25.66	32.31	40.01	53370	67210	83220
MN	2390	31.11	64700	30.70	37.00	42.66	63850	76960	88740
MS	1400	21.27	44240	21.83	25.86	30.89	45400	53790	64240
MO	2080	27.38	56950	25.46	34.33	39.69	52950	71400	82560
MT	570	25.05	52100	25.06	32.10	37.36	52130	66760	77710
NE	980	25.72	53510	26.97	33.25	38.84	56100	69150	79740
NV	510	34.46	71670	34.78	39.49	45.13	72350	82150	93870
NH	1050	27.80	57830	26.80	33.80	39.15	55740	70310	81440
NJ	3730	35.05	72920	34.88	42.58	49.40	72550	88570	102760
NM	610	25.24	52500	24.60	29.72	37.09	51170	61830	77150
NY	11370	35.43	73690	33.51	42.63	53.35	69700	88670	110960
NC	4170	27.99	58210	27.46	31.99	38.30	57110	66540	79670
ND	380	27.94	58110	27.32	32.14	39.24	56830	66840	81610
OH	5140	25.89	53860	24.30	32.22	39.70	50550	67030	82570
OK	1850	23.56	48990	22.94	29.44	36.60	47720	61230	76140
OR	1370	32.11	66790	31.86	39.10	49.05	66260	81320	102030
PA	5320	28.18	58610	27.55	35.67	43.63	57300	74180	90750
RI	650	33.12	68890	32.12	39.95	46.95	66810	83100	97660
SC	1800	28.97	60260	28.26	34.95	41.27	58790	72690	85830
SD	530	20.41	42440	18.86	24.52	30.43	39230	51010	63300
TN	2420	27.30	56790	26.55	31.63	38.44	55220	65800	79950
TX	9650	29.52	61390	29.12	34.15	39.34	60580	71020	81830
UT	1480	23.09	48030	19.83	28.12	39.29	41240	58500	81710
VT	550	24.52	51000	23.69	29.90	35.73	49270	62190	74320
VA	4330	34.58	71920	31.11	42.22	57.52	64710	87810	119650
WA	2890	37.66	78330	38.38	46.13	50.71	79830	95950	105470
WV	710	19.68	40930	19.31	24.77	31.11	40160	51520	64710
WI	2200	26.70	55540	26.28	31.97	38.20	54660	66510	79450
WY	450	24.89	51760	24.28	30.89	36.44	50510	64260	75790

Examining the Numbers: State and Metropolitan Area Salary Highlights for Librarians 

According to the BLS, the highest paying states in which librarians worked as of May 2020 were:

• District of Columbia: $86,520
• Washington: $78,330
• California: $78,300
• Maryland: $77,950
• Massachusetts: $74,000

The highest paying metropolitan areas in which librarians worked in May 2020 were:

• Washington/Arlington/Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV: $88,390
• Vallego/Fairfield, CA: $85,920
• Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue, WA: $84,230
• Fresno, CA: $84,020
• Kennewick/Richland, WA: $82,590

The highest paying nonmetropolitan areas in which librarians worked in May 2020 were in:

• Western Washington: $70,730
• Southeast Minnesota: $68,460
• Hawaii/Kauai $68,060
• Massachusetts: $66,510
• Nevada: $61,550

Trends in Library Jobs and Careers

The San Jose State University School of Information survey discovered that 46 percent of librarian employers are looking for candidates who are willing to work with a diverse public and build inclusivity in the community. Working remotely has also increased, as librarians who have remote technology experience and self-management skills are in demand. More and more, library positions involving information science are full-time, not part-time as some were previously.

Some newer titles for library positions include:

• Engagement Manager
• Current Awareness Manager
• Digital Project Specialist
• Data Steward
• Multimedia Specialist
• Metadata Strategist

Employing Organizations for Librarians 

The San Jose State University School of Information survey found that over half of job postings for librarians were in universities, colleges and public libraries. Other jobs for librarians exist in industries, companies, government agencies, health and research organizations, and nonprofit organizations. 

Finding Librarian Jobs

Here are some links sponsored by the ALA to help prospective librarians find jobs:

ALA Recruitment Clearinghouse

American Library Association Job List

LibraryCareers.org

Special Libraries Association Jobs

Society of American Archivists Career Center