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U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) / Librarian

Role across U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)

Librarian

Manage collections and information services and help patrons with research and access.

590 people hold the Librarian role across 37 departments in U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense), with a median total compensation of $126,557. Among 32 jurisdictions where this role is reported, U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) ranks #4 by median pay.

Employees
590
Median pay
$126,557
Departments
37
Cross-jurisdiction
#4 of 32

Compared with the local labor market

Librarian pay vs. the United States

Across all employers in the United States, the median wage for Librarians and Media Collections Specialistsabout 133,790 people is $68,270. U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) pays a median base salary of $125,997 for this role, 85% above that figureabove 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
$43,660
$56,310
$68,270
$84,480
$103,990
U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) median · $125,997

The bar is the range of annual wages for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists 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.

Computed over the 589 of 590 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.

Median total compensation for this role at U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) is $126,557, 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

Librarian pay in other jurisdictions

Where Librarians are paid most

Los Angeles County
$149,365 · 299
City of San Jose
$142,838 · 64
City of Seattle
$113,277 · 91
City of Boston
$112,505 · 78
City of Los Angeles
$105,594 · 481
City of Chicago
$101,664 · 384
South Carolina
$89,609 · 80
Maine
$85,506 · 5
Miami-Dade County
$83,256 · 129
Massachusetts
$81,029 · 44
California
$72,819 · 41
City of Milwaukee
$72,774 · 181
Illinois
$67,250 · 36
City of Greensboro
$61,294 · 24
Metro Nashville
$60,565 · 707

Median total compensation for comparable Librarian 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)

Departments with this role

Largest U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) departments for this role

Departments in U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense) employing the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.