Historians salary
The median pay for historians in the United States is $76,750 a year. About 3,450 people hold this job.
- 10th percentile
- $42,730
- 25th percentile
- $57,290
- Median percentile
- $76,750
- 75th percentile
- $99,990
- 90th percentile
- $131,810
Percentiles show the spread of pay, not experience. BLS does not report experience, so reading the 25th percentile as "entry level" is only a rough guide. Data period: BLS OEWS May 2025.
How to become: education, skills and job outlook
Highest-paying states · Highest-paying cities
By state
- Maryland $120,580
- District of Columbia $118,290
- Minnesota $103,040
- Virginia $101,920
- Washington $99,720
- Oregon $99,560
- California $97,420
- Hawaii $92,520
- Louisiana $80,620
- Texas $78,240
- New Jersey $77,080
- Florida $74,740
- North Carolina $73,440
- Kansas $72,600
- Alabama $72,490
- Pennsylvania $71,970
- Tennessee $71,080
- Nebraska $70,050
- New Mexico $66,790
- Connecticut $66,770
- Missouri $64,230
- Georgia $63,840
- Indiana $63,770
- Kentucky $63,530
- New York $62,960
- Michigan $62,920
- South Carolina $52,120
- Oklahoma $50,980
- Mississippi $46,010
- Wisconsin $45,810
- Utah $33,840
By metro area
- Minneapolis, MN $116,520
- Washington, DC $115,690
- San Antonio, TX $101,900
- Los Angeles, CA $98,210
- Sacramento, CA $97,420
- Urban Honolulu, HI $95,470
- San Francisco, CA $88,790
- New Orleans, LA $82,400
- Philadelphia, PA $81,470
- New York, NY $80,400
- Montgomery, AL $76,400
- Buffalo, NY $68,010
- Atlanta, GA $61,640
- Dayton, OH $58,640
- Albany, NY $48,610
- Rochester, NY $46,630
- Charlotte, NC $45,530
- Salt Lake City, UT $33,840