Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $61K, rent takes 28.2% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,140/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new librarians and media collections specialists typically earn — is $44K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,628/month.

Local pay runs 11% below the national median — $61K here vs. $68K nationally.

Western Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area pays $61K median vs. the U.S. average of $68K — that’s -11%.

The median is $60,620 a year, that works out to about $29 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $43,800, and experienced librarians and media collections specialists can clear $82,870. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,048/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,140/month, which eats 28.2% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Western Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median librarians and media collections specialists salary is worth about $60,620 in national-average purchasing power.

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.