Archivist

Carry out the duties of this position in support of the agency's public mission.

564 people hold the Archivist role across 15 departments in U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense), with a median total compensation of $119,485. Among 11 jurisdictions where this role is reported, U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) ranks #1 by median pay.

Employees: 564
Median pay: $119,485
Departments: 15
Cross-jurisdiction: #1 of 11

Compared with the local labor market

Archivist pay vs. the United States

Across all employers in the United States, the median wage for Archivists — about 7,970 people — is $64,550. U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) pays a median base salary of $118,807 for this role, 84% above that figure — above the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$39,970

$50,680

$64,550

$83,020

$110,550

U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) median · $118,807

The bar is the range of annual wages for Archivists across every employer in the United States, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

Median total compensation for this role at U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) is $119,485, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare jurisdictions

Archivist pay in other jurisdictions

Where Archivists are paid most

$85,794 · 7

$81,897 · 19

$57,741 · 40

$55,109 · 14

$53,367 · 37

$52,137 · 5

$49,320 · 22

$44,588 · 10

$43,570 · 12

$14,422 · 5

Median total compensation for comparable Archivist roles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.

Within U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)