Compared with the local labor market
Archivist pay vs. the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area
Across all employers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area, the median wage for Archivists — about 230 people — is $78,220. Boston Public Library pays a median base salary of $96,024 for this role, 23% above that figure — about the 70th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Boston Public Library sits in the local pay range
$53,330
$64,680
$78,220
$100,440
$123,590
Boston Public Library median · $96,024
The bar is the range of annual wages for Archivists across every employer in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Boston Public Library’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Archivists — about 7,970 people — is $64,550. Boston Public Library’s median base salary is 49% above that national figure, about the 82nd percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$39,970
$50,680
$64,550
$83,020
$110,550
Boston Public Library median · $96,024
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Boston Public Library is $96,225, 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 departments
This role across City of Boston
Archivist is held in 2 City of Boston departments. In Boston Public Library, the median of $96,225 ranks #2 of 2.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Archivist role in other City of Bostondepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.