The salary statistics of librarians are shown in Table 1. In the next few tables we compare the average salaries of librarians within different industry sectors and in the 50 states of the United States. The librarians annual salary statistics are from the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].
| Percentile Bracket | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th Percentile Wage | $34,630 |
| 25th Percentile Wage | $46,130 |
| 50th Percentile Wage | $59,050 |
| 75th Percentile Wage | $74,740 |
| 90th Percentile Wage | $93,050 |
Table 1 shows the average annual salary for librarians. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) librarians is $93,050. The median annual salary (50th percentile) is $59,050. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $34,630. We note that in the United States, the annual salary of the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is almost 168% higher than that of the bottom 10 percent.
The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of librarians from 2012 to 2018.
| Year | Median Salary | Yearly Growth | 6-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $59,050 | 0.90% | 6.23% |
| 2017 | $58,520 | 1.44% | - |
| 2016 | $57,680 | 1.39% | - |
| 2015 | $56,880 | 1.25% | - |
| 2014 | $56,170 | 0.85% | - |
| 2013 | $55,690 | 0.57% | - |
| 2012 | $55,370 | - | - |
The average salaries of librarians in 14 major industry sectors are shown in Table 2. We note that the salaries vary considerably within different industry sectors. The highest paying industry sector for librarians occupations is the professional, scientific, and technical services sector with an annual salary $72,710. The lowest paying sector is the wholesale trade sector (annual salary $49,650).
From the above tables we note that not only librarians salaries vary considerably based on one's education and experience, and the industry sectors, they also change considerably from state to state. In the following table we compare the median salary of librarians in all 50 states of the United States. We note that the median annual salaries range from $36,870 to $81,770. The highest paying state for librarians is District of Columbia with a median annual salary of $81,770. The lowest paying state is Puerto Rico with a median annual salary of $36,870. For more salary information of librarians profession in a specific state, use the links in the table.