City of Seattle / Seattle Public Library / Librarian

Job-title file

Librarian

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

91 employees hold this title in Seattle Public Library. Median total compensation for the role is $113,277, above the department median of $86,268.

Employees: 91
Total payroll: $10.1M
Role median: $113,277
Agency median: $86,268
Comparison: Above

What the records show

Role pay distribution

Pay distribution for this role

$93,434$113,277+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How total compensation varies among the 91 people in this role. Even for one job title, pay differs with seniority, step, overtime, and tenure. Each bar is a pay range; the far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Compared with the local labor market

Librarian pay vs. the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area

Across all employers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area, the median wage for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists — about 1,590 people — is $101,780. Seattle Public Library pays a median base salary of $113,277 for this role, 11% above that figure — about the 61st percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Seattle Public Library sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$80,400

$94,230

$101,780

$127,020

$131,060

Seattle Public Library median · $113,277

The bar is the range of annual wages for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists across every employer in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Seattle Public Library’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists — about 133,790 people — is $68,270. Seattle Public Library’s median base salary is 66% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$43,660

$56,310

$68,270

$84,480

$103,990

Seattle Public Library median · $113,277

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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA range relative to the national one.

Median total compensation for this role at Seattle Public Library is $113,277, 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 beyond City of Seattle

This role is reported in 32 jurisdictions. In City of Seattle, the median of $113,277 ranks #5 of 32. See Librarian across all of City of Seattle →

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

City and County of San Francisco

$156,316 · 310

Los Angeles County

$149,365 · 299

City of San Jose

$142,838 · 64

U.S. Federal Government (non-Defense)

$126,557 · 590

$112,505 · 78

$105,594 · 481

$101,664 · 384

$96,547 · 82

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

Same department

Other job titles in Seattle Public Library

Record list