Compared with the local labor market
Principal Librarian pay vs. California
Across all employers in California, the median wage for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists — about 10,180 people — is $89,790. California State Library pays a median base salary of $115,969 for this role, 29% above that figure — about the 79th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where California State Library sits in the local pay range
$50,750
$66,540
$89,790
$108,800
$132,870
California State Library median · $115,969
The bar is the range of annual wages for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists across every employer in California, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows California State 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. California State Library’s median base salary is 70% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$43,660
$56,310
$68,270
$84,480
$103,990
California State Library median · $115,969
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 California range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at California State Library is $116,269, 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 California
Principal Librarian is held in 3 California departments. In California State Library, the median of $116,269 ranks #3 of 3.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Principal Librarian role in other Californiadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Principal Librarian beyond California
This role is reported in 2 jurisdictions. In California, the median of $122,836 ranks #2 of 2. See Principal Librarian across all of California →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Principal 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.