Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists in St. Louis, MO-IL make a median of $64,350 a year, or about $30.94 an hour. The range runs from $39K at the entry level to $97K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $67,673 in purchasing power. Rent on a 2-bedroom averages $1,218/month, or 28.8% of estimated take-home pay.
So what does $64K get you in St. Louis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About librarians and media collections specialists
Sponsored links, AffordMap may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more
What this looks like in St. Louis
Librarians and media collections specialists pay in St. Louis tracks closely to the national median, $64K locally vs. $68K nationwide, a 6% difference. Rent runs $1,218/month for a 2-bedroom (HUD FMR), taking 28.4% of the median take-home. That's within the 30% rule, though not by much. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Pay and costs are both near average, leaving limited margin for savings at the median wage.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for librarians and media collections specialists in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | $64K | $69K |
| Springfield | $57K | $64K |
| Columbia | $61K | $68K |
| Jefferson City | $53K | $61K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level librarians and media collections specialists (10th percentile) start around $39K. Mid-career wages sit at $64K. Top earners bring in $97K or more, a $58K spread from bottom to top.
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Librarians and Media Collections Specialists salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $100K | +47% | 2,750 |
| District of Columbia | $97K | +41% | 960 |
| California | $90K | +32% | 10,180 |
| Maryland | $89K | +30% | 3,220 |
| Nevada | $85K | +24% | 610 |
| Connecticut | $79K | +16% | 2,550 |
| Alaska | $79K | +15% | 350 |
| New York | $79K | +15% | 11,870 |
| Massachusetts | $79K | +15% | 4,980 |
| New Jersey | $78K | +15% | 4,100 |
| Oregon | $78K | +14% | 1,690 |
| Delaware | $78K | +14% | 370 |
| Minnesota | $78K | +14% | 2,220 |
| Virginia | $77K | +13% | 4,590 |
| Georgia | $77K | +12% | 3,330 |
| Colorado | $76K | +12% | 1,990 |
| Rhode Island | $76K | +11% | 780 |
| Texas | $72K | +5% | 9,150 |
| Hawaii | $68K | +0% | 300 |
| Florida | $67K | -2% | 6,670 |
| Wisconsin | $67K | -2% | 2,450 |
| Kentucky | $65K | -4% | 1,980 |
| Alabama | $65K | -5% | 2,750 |
| Nebraska | $64K | -6% | 1,200 |
| Montana | $64K | -6% | 640 |
| New Hampshire | $64K | -7% | 1,150 |
| Pennsylvania | $63K | -8% | 5,050 |
| North Dakota | $63K | -8% | 570 |
| Illinois | $63K | -8% | 5,390 |
| South Carolina | $63K | -8% | 2,130 |
| New Mexico | $63K | -8% | 580 |
| Vermont | $62K | -9% | 600 |
| Tennessee | $62K | -9% | 2,540 |
| Kansas | $62K | -9% | 1,620 |
| North Carolina | $61K | -10% | 4,010 |
| Louisiana | $61K | -11% | 2,130 |
| Ohio | $61K | -11% | 4,820 |
| Arizona | $61K | -11% | 1,990 |
| Michigan | $60K | -12% | 3,940 |
| Maine | $60K | -13% | 780 |
| Missouri | $59K | -14% | 2,970 |
| Iowa | $58K | -14% | 1,770 |
| Oklahoma | $58K | -15% | 1,820 |
| Mississippi | $57K | -17% | 1,060 |
| Arkansas | $57K | -17% | 1,490 |
| Idaho | $54K | -21% | 650 |
| Utah | $54K | -21% | 1,630 |
| Indiana | $54K | -22% | 1,920 |
| South Dakota | $51K | -25% | 490 |
| Wyoming | $47K | -32% | 440 |
| West Virginia | $43K | -37% | 610 |
Showing 1–10 of 51 (all 50 states + DC)
Track librarians and media collections specialists salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when St. Louis numbers change.
Related careers in Education
Frequently asked questions
Can a librarians and media collections specialist afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
Yes — at the median salary of $64K, rent takes 28.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.
What’s the entry-level salary for librarians and media collections specialists in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new librarians and media collections specialists typically earn — is $39K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,344/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 52% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is librarians and media collections specialist a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $64K locally vs. $68K nationally, a 6% difference.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for librarians and media collections specialists?
St. Louis pays $64K median vs. the U.S. average of $68K — that’s -6%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $68K — below the national median.
How much do librarians and media collections specialists make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $64,350 a year, that works out to about $31 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $39,060, and experienced librarians and media collections specialists can clear $96,600. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $64K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,282/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 28.4% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.
How far does a librarians and media collections specialists salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median librarians and media collections specialists salary is worth about $67,673 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do librarians and media collections specialists get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.