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The national median salary for Historians is $74,048 per year ($35.60/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024. The middle 50% of earners make between $55,203 and $96,325 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $128,502 per year. There are approximately 3,140 historians employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Research, analyze, record, and interpret the past as recorded in sources, such as government and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such as personal diaries and letters.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+2.2%
About as fast as average
Annual openings
300
per year, on avg
Workforce today
3K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
3% from new growth97% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Master's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999100
750
$114,650
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
710
$52,480
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999200
450
$59,710
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services
NAICS 541600
270
$75,640
Scientific Research and Development Services
NAICS 541700
230
$65,300
Wage range across top 5 industries: $52,480 to $114,650 (118% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$18.57
$38,626
P25
$26.54
$55,203
P50MEDIAN
$35.60
$74,048
P75
$46.31
$96,325
P90
$61.78
$128,502
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · professional sector
Cooling
Openings Rate
4.2%
Quits Rate
2.0%
Professional & Business Services openings tumbled 318K in March -- the largest single-sector drop in this release. Openings rate fell from 5.5% to 4.2%. Layoffs jumped to 527K (+99K). White-collar demand has cooled abruptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average historians salary?
The national median salary for Historians is $74,048 per year ($35.60/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2024 data. The middle 50% earn between $55,203 and $96,325 annually.
How much do top-earning historians make?
The 90th percentile salary for Historians is $128,502 per year ($61.78/hr). The 75th percentile is $96,325 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for historians?
Entry-level Historians (10th percentile) earn approximately $38,626 per year ($18.57/hr). The 25th percentile is $55,203 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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