Librarians

Detailed Occupation

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2017 Workforce

175k

Average Age

47.5

Average Salary

$43,956

Average Male Salary

$48,736

Average Female Salary

$42,940

About

Librarians are most often employed by the Libraries & archives industry. The average yearly wage for Librarians was $43,956 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Librarians by wage are Sheet metal workers, Transportation security screeners, and Dredge, excavating, & loading machine operators.

Librarians are part of the Education, Training, & Library Occupations, along with Postsecondary teachers, Preschool & kindergarten teachers, Elementary & middle school teachers, Secondary school teachers, Special education teachers, and 7 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Librarians are Champaign & Urbana Cities PUMA, IL, Takoma Park City & Silver Spring PUMA, MD, and Salt Lake City (East) PUMA, UT. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Librarians are Takoma Park City & Silver Spring PUMA, MD, Salt Lake City (East) PUMA, UT, and Champaign & Urbana Cities PUMA, IL.

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Librarians and on wages and locations for those in the field. Libraries & archives is the industry that employs the most Librarians, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Librarians, by average wage, is Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing. Librarians are paid most in Clayton County (South) PUMA, GA but are relatively concentrated in Takoma Park City & Silver Spring PUMA, MD.

Yearly Wage

$43,956

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,758

In 2017, Librarians earned an average of $43,956, $11,998 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Transportation security screeners make somewhat more than Librarians while Sheet metal workers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Librarians as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.345

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Librarians had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.345, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Librarians (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Librarians.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Librarians

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Librarians.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Librarians, by number of employees, are Libraries & archives, Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Legal services, Hospitals, Justice, public order, & safety activities , Museums, art galleries, historical sites, & similar institutions, Scientific research & development services, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Religious organizations, and National security & international affairs.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Librarians, by average wage, are Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Scientific research & development services, and Banking & related activities.

Industries by Share

175k

2017 Workforce

± 10,277

−0.0342%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 8.29%

The number of people employed as Librarians has been declining at a rate of −0.0342%, from 175,495 people in 2016 to 175,435 people in 2017.

This graphic shows the share of Librarians employed by various industries. Libraries & archives employs the largest share of Librarians at 41.2%, followed by Elementary & secondary schools with 27.9% and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 22.9%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Librarians in the US. The average age of male Librarians in the workforce is 44.8 and of female Librarians is 48.1, and the most common race/ethnicity for Librarians is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

30.8k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 4,305

145k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 9,334

82.5% of Librarians are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Librarians.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Librarians

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

81.4% of Librarians are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 6.43% of Librarians, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Librarians.

Age by Sex

44.8

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 2.06

48.1

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.89

The median age of Librarians is 47.5, and Male employees are generally 3.26 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Librarians from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Librarians is Education but a relatively high number of Librarians hold a major in Library Science.