Librarian Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Librarians and Media Collections Specialists earn a median of $68,270 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 34% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $32.82/hr. The middle half earn between $56,310 and $84,480. The top 10% earn $103,990 or more.

The median hourly wage for librarians and media collections specialists is $32.82 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $68,270 annual median works out to about $5,690 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of librarians and media collections specialists earn less than $43,660 a year and the bottom quarter less than $56,310 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

A minority do. $100,000 sits between the 75th percentile ($84,480) and the 90th ($103,990), so roughly 10% to 25% of librarians and media collections specialists earn more than that (BLS OEWS, May 2025). One state has a median above $100,000: Washington ($100,030).

The highest state medians for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists are Washington ($100,030), District of Columbia ($96,550), California ($89,790) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split librarians and media collections specialists' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $103,990, against a median of $68,270 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Washington ($100,030), District of Columbia ($96,550), California ($89,790). BLS also counts 3 specialty careers inside this occupation (law librarian, orchestra librarian, special collections librarian), which share its federal pay figures.

Yes. BLS reports a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as extensive preparation.

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 2.6% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 12,600 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Librarians and library media specialists help people find information and conduct research for personal and professional use. A core O*NET task: search standard reference materials, including online sources and the Internet, to answer patrons' reference questions. Employers most often ask for Computer aided design CAD software, Data base user interface and query software, Desktop publishing software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 7% of librarians and media collections specialists usually work more than 40 hours a week, 85% work exactly 40 and 7% work fewer. 93% say their schedule is regular and 7% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Librarians and Media Collections Specialists highest on the Conventional, Social and Investigative interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with teaching, helping and working directly with other people. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISFJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

MLS programs usually take 1 to 2 years to complete. 1 to 2 years. A bachelor's degree in any major is enough to enter an MLS or equivalent program; some programs use other names such as Master of Information Studies or Master of Library and Information Studies.

Not a state license. There is no general state license for librarians in public or academic libraries; the master's degree and the employer's own requirements are what gate entry. Two exceptions exist. Public school librarians and library media specialists typically need a teacher's certification from the state, and some states require them to pass a standardized test such as the Praxis School Librarian test. And some states also require separate certification for librarians in public libraries. Contact the state department of education for school library requirements and the state's licensing board for public library certification.

The Praxis 5312 (Praxis School Librarian). A 120-minute standardized test used by some states as part of school librarian certification. It is only relevant where the certifying state accepts it; check the state's requirements before registering. There is no national examination for public or academic librarians.

Women make up 84.9% of librarians and media collections specialists, against 47.1% of all employed people: a female-dominated occupation. 28.2% are 55 or older (23.2% across all jobs), so a larger-than-usual share of the workforce reaches retirement age over the next decade. Those exits are counted in the BLS openings figure. The median worker is 45.6 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.