Senior Librarian

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

23 people hold the Senior Librarian role across 8 departments in California, with a median total compensation of $91,407. Among 2 jurisdictions where this role is reported, California ranks #2 by median pay.

Employees: 23
Median pay: $91,407
Departments: 8
Cross-jurisdiction: #2 of 2

Compared with the local labor market

Senior 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 pays a median base salary of $91,107 for this role, 1% above that figure — about the 52nd percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where California sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$50,750

$66,540

$89,790

$108,800

$132,870

California median · $91,107

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’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’s median base salary is 33% above that national figure, about the 80th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$43,660

$56,310

$68,270

$84,480

$103,990

California median · $91,107

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 is $91,407, 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

Senior Librarian pay in other jurisdictions

Where Senior Librarians are paid most

City of Los Angeles

$150,829 · 94

Median total compensation for comparable Senior Librarianroles 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 California