Librarians and Media Collections Specialists: salary, outlook & degrees
Administer and maintain libraries or collections of information, for public or private access through reference or borrowing. Work in a variety of settings, such as educational institutions, museums, and corporations, and with various types of informational materials, such as books, periodicals, recordings, films, and databases. Tasks may include acquiring, cataloging, and circulating library materials, and user services such as locating and organizing information, providing instruction on how to access information, and setting up and operating a library's media equipment.
Middle half $56,310–$84,480. 133,790 jobs.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
89% hold a bachelor's or higher. Those with one: $50,762.
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers with at least a high school diploma; EducationGuide calculation
About 12,600 openings a year, including replacements.
BLS Employment Projections 2025-35
Extensive preparation (usually a graduate degree).
BLS; O*NET 31.0 job zone
Degrees that lead to this career
What workers ages 25-34 in this job studied, among those with a bachelor's or higher. This is what people actually did, not a requirement.
| Field of bachelor's degree | Share | Degree pages |
|---|---|---|
| English Language And Literature | 19% | English |
| History | 8% | History |
| Psychology | 6% | Psychology |
| Library Science | 5% | — |
| Elementary Education | 4% | — |
| Communications | 4% | Communications · Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other |
| General Education | 2% | Education |
| Fine Arts | 2% | — |
| Music | 2% | Music |
| Composition And Rhetoric | 2% | Writing |
Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, employed, bachelor's or higher; top 10 fields); EducationGuide calculation.
Pay by state and metro
| State | Median wage |
|---|---|
| Washington | $100,030 |
| District of Columbia | $96,550 |
| California | $89,790 |
| Maryland | $88,570 |
| Nevada | $84,540 |
| Connecticut | $79,210 |
| Alaska | $78,810 |
| New York | $78,590 |
| Massachusetts | $78,540 |
| New Jersey | $78,380 |
| Oregon | $78,070 |
| Delaware | $77,700 |
| Minnesota | $77,650 |
| Virginia | $77,430 |
| Georgia | $76,750 |
| Colorado | $76,480 |
| Rhode Island | $75,860 |
| Texas | $71,860 |
| Hawaii | $68,270 |
| Florida | $67,060 |
| Wisconsin | $66,870 |
| Kentucky | $65,200 |
| Alabama | $64,650 |
| Nebraska | $64,060 |
| Montana | $63,870 |
| New Hampshire | $63,580 |
| Pennsylvania | $62,880 |
| North Dakota | $62,830 |
| Illinois | $62,700 |
| South Carolina | $62,640 |
| New Mexico | $62,530 |
| Vermont | $62,360 |
| Tennessee | $62,090 |
| Kansas | $61,900 |
| North Carolina | $61,420 |
| Louisiana | $60,650 |
| Ohio | $60,630 |
| Arizona | $60,500 |
| Michigan | $60,010 |
| Maine | $59,540 |
| Missouri | $58,700 |
| Iowa | $58,440 |
| Oklahoma | $58,180 |
| Mississippi | $56,970 |
| Arkansas | $56,800 |
| Idaho | $54,130 |
| Utah | $53,730 |
| Indiana | $53,500 |
| PR | $51,610 |
| South Dakota | $51,210 |
| Wyoming | $46,530 |
| West Virginia | $42,980 |
Florida metro areas
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach$70,090
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater$68,800
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford$67,040
- Jacksonville$67,840
- Gainesville$67,060
- Tallahassee$63,620
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville$60,460
- Lakeland-Winter Haven$58,730
Virginia metro areas
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria$95,480
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$77,520
- Richmond$77,430
- Charlottesville$84,430
- Roanoke$69,210
- Kingsport-Bristol$59,500
- Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford$58,310
- Harrisonburg$76,240
California metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim$97,510
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont$101,490
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario$57,410
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad$84,810
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara$103,240
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom$83,890
- Fresno$80,450
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura$79,290
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: median annual wage, all workers in the job. Metro areas: the largest by employment.
What the work takes
Top skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
Knowledge used
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
- Administration and Management
Work styles
- Attention to Detail
- Cooperation
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Dependability
- Social Orientation
People in this job tend to have Conventional (organizing), Social (helping), Investigative (analytical) interests.
O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0): skills and knowledge by importance; work styles; interest high points.
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists: questions
How much do librarians and Media Collections Specialists make?
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists earn a U.S. median $68,270 a year; the middle half earn $56,310 to $84,480 (BLS, May 2025). Workers ages 25-34 in this job earn a median $48,881 (Census ACS 2020-2024).
Is librarians and Media Collections Specialists a growing field?
BLS projects growth of 2.6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,600 openings a year, including replacements.
What degree do you need to be a librarians and Media Collections Specialist?
BLS lists the typical entry education as master's degree. Among workers ages 25-34 with a bachelor's, the most common field of degree is english Language And Literature (19%).
How much do librarians and Media Collections Specialists make in Florida?
The median in Florida is $67,060 a year (BLS, May 2025), compared with $68,270 nationally.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35); O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Census Bureau ACS microdata. SOC 25-4022. Method
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Cite this: “Librarians and Media Collections Specialists: salary, outlook and degrees,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/careers/librarians-and-media-collections-specialists.