Historians Salary: $91,141 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 3,140 historians nationally earn a mean of $91,141. Employment in the series shown rose about 29% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 3.4% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Historians: what the data shows
Common questions about historians careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a historians?
Historians is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 19-3093.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 3,140 workers.
What does a historians do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others, Thinking Creatively, Documenting/Recording Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Processing Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a historians make?
BLS national median annual wage: $74,050 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $91,141 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $56,351 |
| 25th percentile | $72,221 |
| Median (50th) | $85,626 |
| 75th percentile | $110,514 |
| 90th percentile | $128,931 |
What education do you need?
For Historians, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Writing, Active Listening, Speaking, Active Learning, and knowledge areas including History and Archeology, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Administrative. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is historians in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 3.4% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -15.8%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -29.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 3,140.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do historianss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 3,140 | 18.8% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 1,970 | 11.8% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 1,910 | 11.4% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 1,910 | 11.4% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 1,170 | 7.0% |
| Federal Government, including the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 750 | 4.5% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Historians in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Historians workforce.
Employment Over Time
3,140 Workforce in 2023
The Historians workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Historians.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$91,141 Average Wage
In 2023, Historians earned an average of $91,141.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Historians.
Salary distribution for Historians.
Employment Growth Projections
-3.4% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
505 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -15.8%
425 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -29.1%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Historians.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Historians and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Historians employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Historians.
Wage Trends by Industry
-0.4% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: -7.8% growth (Current: $98,117)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Historians.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Historians.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- NY: 420 employees, $60,860 avg wage
- DC: 260 employees, $112,220 avg wage
- VA: 180 employees, $103,230 avg wage
- CA: 180 employees, $88,730 avg wage
- MS: 90 employees, $47,980 avg wage
- UT: 90 employees, $40,750 avg wage
- NJ: 90 employees, $81,880 avg wage
- FL: 80 employees, $82,890 avg wage
- MI: 70 employees, $64,690 avg wage
- GA: 70 employees, $74,790 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Historians.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 420 employees, $112,370 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 140 employees, $84,350 avg wage
- Salt Lake City-Murray, UT: 80 employees, $37,050 avg wage
- Urban Honolulu, HI: 60 employees, $94,200 avg wage
- Rochester, NY: 50 employees, $61,410 avg wage
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY: 40 employees, $62,040 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 40 employees, $67,250 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 40 employees, $92,710 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA: 40 employees, $92,760 avg wage
- Montgomery, AL: 30 employees, $74,760 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Historians.
Diversity
Demographic information on Historians in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Historians in 2023 was 3,140 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Historians.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Historians.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Historians.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Historians in 2023 were Business, Social Sciences, General Studies.
Common majors for Historians.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Historians workers.
Education level distribution for Historians.
Skills
Historians need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Writing, Active Listening, Speaking.
Required skills for Historians.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Historians.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Historians include History and Archeology, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Administrative, Geography.
Knowledge areas required for Historians.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Historians include Written Comprehension, Written Expression, Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Inductive Reasoning.
Required abilities for Historians.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Historians.
Daily Activities
Historians spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others, Thinking Creatively, Documenting/Recording Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events.
Most important work activities for Historians.
About
Historians
The average yearly wage for Historians was $91,141 in 2023.
SOC Code
19-3093 - Historians
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Historians reports an average salary of $91,141.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 3,140 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -3.4%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.