Historian Salary
Average Historian Salary
$57,376yearly
How much does a Historian make?
Historians make $57,376 per year on average, or $27.58 per hour, in the United States. Historians on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $26,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $125,000.
Location impacts how much a historian can expect to make. Historians make the most in Alaska, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
Highest Paying States For Historians
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Historian average salary by State
| Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $82,429 | $39.63 | 2 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | $78,231 | $37.61 | |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $78,307 | $37.65 | 2 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $75,620 | $36.36 | 2 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $77,607 | $37.31 | |
| 6 | Oregon | $71,934 | $34.58 | 2 |
| 7 | Vermont | $75,606 | $36.35 | |
| 8 | Maine | $75,128 | $36.12 | |
| 9 | New York | $73,474 | $35.32 | 6 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $69,461 | $33.39 | |
| 11 | Washington | $68,137 | $32.76 | 3 |
| 12 | New Jersey | $72,444 | $34.83 | |
| 13 | Nevada | $67,187 | $32.30 | |
| 14 | Michigan | $65,353 | $31.42 | |
| 15 | California | $67,411 | $32.41 | 21 |
| 16 | Delaware | $67,930 | $32.66 | |
| 17 | Idaho | $61,676 | $29.65 | 1 |
| 18 | Maryland | $64,632 | $31.07 | 3 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | $62,248 | $29.93 | |
| 20 | North Dakota | $61,764 | $29.69 | |
| 21 | Arizona | $61,435 | $29.54 | 2 |
| 22 | Ohio | $59,805 | $28.75 | |
| 23 | Minnesota | $61,742 | $29.68 | |
| 24 | Utah | $59,133 | $28.43 | |
| 25 | West Virginia | $57,561 | $27.67 | |
| 26 | New Mexico | $58,042 | $27.90 | |
| 27 | District of Columbia | $63,151 | $30.36 | |
| 28 | Virginia | $58,497 | $28.12 | 2 |
| 29 | Hawaii | $57,691 | $27.74 | 1 |
| 30 | Indiana | $54,923 | $26.41 | |
| 31 | Illinois | $57,189 | $27.49 | |
| 32 | Montana | $55,149 | $26.51 | |
| 33 | Wyoming | $52,985 | $25.47 | |
| 34 | Kentucky | $51,191 | $24.61 | 1 |
| 35 | Louisiana | $51,452 | $24.74 | 2 |
| 36 | Texas | $53,084 | $25.52 | 2 |
| 37 | Iowa | $52,057 | $25.03 | |
| 38 | South Dakota | $51,669 | $24.84 | |
| 39 | Colorado | $52,930 | $25.45 | 1 |
| 40 | North Carolina | $51,135 | $24.58 | 1 |
| 41 | Mississippi | $49,992 | $24.03 | |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $50,009 | $24.04 | |
| 43 | Tennessee | $48,927 | $23.52 | |
| 44 | Arkansas | $48,996 | $23.56 | |
| 45 | Kansas | $48,832 | $23.48 | |
| 46 | Nebraska | $48,869 | $23.49 | |
| 47 | Missouri | $48,656 | $23.39 | |
| 48 | Alabama | $48,802 | $23.46 | |
| 49 | Florida | $48,104 | $23.13 | 2 |
| 50 | South Carolina | $48,526 | $23.33 | |
| 51 | Georgia | $48,193 | $23.17 | 2 |
Highest Paying Cities For Historians
| Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lowell, MA | $79,133 | $38.04 | |
| 2 | Portland, ME | $76,982 | $37.01 | |
| 3 | New Haven, CT | $75,797 | $36.44 | |
| 4 | Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ | $73,267 | $35.22 | 4 |
| 5 | New York, NY | $73,258 | $35.22 | |
| 6 | San Francisco, CA | $73,140 | $35.16 | |
| 7 | Reno, NV | $72,337 | $34.78 | |
| 8 | Salem, OR | $72,154 | $34.69 | |
| 9 | Philadelphia, PA | $70,097 | $33.70 | |
| 10 | Detroit, MI | $65,320 | $31.40 | |
| 11 | Olney, MD | $63,899 | $30.72 | |
| 12 | Washington, DC | $63,007 | $30.29 | 2 |
| 13 | McLean, VA | $62,904 | $30.24 | |
| 14 | Milwaukee, WI | $61,938 | $29.78 | 1 |
| 15 | Chicago, IL | $57,770 | $27.77 |
Historians Salary Details
What is a Historian's Salary?
| Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $125,000 | $10,417 | $60 |
| 75th Percentile | $86,000 | $7,167 | $41 |
| Average | $57,376 | $4,781 | $28 |
| 25th Percentile | $37,000 | $3,083 | $18 |
| 10th Percentile | $26,000 | $2,167 | $13 |
Here are the five companies hiring the most now:
Which Companies Pay Historians The Most?
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BP America Inc | $155,000 | $74.52 | |
| 2 | Human Rights Foundation | $95,902 | $46.11 | |
| 3 | Jacobs Engineering Group | $81,489 | $39.18 | |
| 4 | Civil & Environmental Consultants | $81,380 | $39.13 | 1 |
| 5 | National Institute for the Psychotherapies | $76,585 | $36.82 | |
| 6 | ICF | $76,568 | $36.81 | 1 |
| 7 | National Park Foundation | $72,335 | $34.78 | 2 |
| 8 | State Bar of Michigan | $71,188 | $34.23 | |
| 9 | HDR | $70,252 | $33.77 | 16 |
| 10 | Michael Baker | $69,543 | $33.43 | |
| 11 | TRC Companies | $66,522 | $31.98 | |
| 12 | The State of Oregon | $66,109 | $31.78 | |
| 13 | American University | $63,351 | $30.46 | |
| 14 | Tetra Tech | $62,752 | $30.17 | 2 |
| 15 | Estée Lauder | $57,940 | $27.86 | |
| 16 | B & P Enterprises | $56,914 | $27.36 | |
| 17 | Woods Services | $56,789 | $27.30 | |
| 18 | RGA Environmental, A Terracon Company | $53,814 | $25.87 | 1 |
| 19 | SAI Communications | $51,420 | $24.72 | |
| 20 | Serco | $51,160 | $24.60 |
How Much Do Historians Make In Different Industries?
Historian salaries can vary depending on the industry. In fact, our data shows that the professional, media, and education industries tend to offer much higher salaries for historians. For example, historians make a whopping average salary of $58,094 while working in the professional industry. Meanwhile, other people in this field are making $57,839 in the media industry and $56,130 in the education industry.
Historians may want to avoid working in the non profits industry as it offers the lowest average salary of $54,553.
Highest Paying Industries For Historians
| Rank | Industry | Average Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Professional | $58,094 | $27.93 |
| 2 | Media | $57,839 | $27.81 |
| 3 | Education | $56,130 | $26.99 |
| 4 | Non Profits | $54,553 | $26.23 |
High Paying Historian Jobs
Historian Pay Trends
Average Historian Salary Over Time
Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Historian Salary By Year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $57,400 | $27.58 | -0.9% |
| 2022 | $57,900 | $27.84 | +4.0% |
| 2021 | $55,600 | $26.73 | +3.3% |
| 2020 | $53,800 | $25.84 | +6.8% |
| 2019 | $50,100 | $24.09 | -1.3% |
Recently Added Historian Salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logan Simpson | Architectural Historian | Tempe, AZ | 11/25/2022 | $45,000 |
| Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. | Architectural Historian | San Francisco, CA | 11/23/2022 | $62,000 |
| Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. | Architectural Historian | San Francisco, CA | 11/23/2022 | $62,000 |
| Department of Energy | Interdisciplinary Historian/Anthropologist/Archaeologist | Portland, OR | 11/22/2022 | $119,333 |
| TRC Companies, Inc. | Architectural Historian | Nashville, TN | 11/15/2022 | $45,000 |
| Rice University, Fondren Library | University Historian | Washington, DC | 11/14/2022 | $60,000 |
| State of Nevada | Cultural/Natural Resrce Spec 2-Architectural Historian | Carson City, NV | 11/13/2022 | $47,669 |
| Logan Simpson | Architectural Historian | Tempe, AZ | 11/11/2022 | $45,000 |
| Department of The Interior | Interdisciplinary Historian/Architect (Historic Preservation) | Washington, DC | 11/06/2022 | $74,950 |
| Idaho Division of Human Resources | Architectural Historian | Boise, ID | 11/03/2022 | $61,880 |
Historian Salaries FAQs
What State Pays Historians The Most?
Alaska pays Historians the most in the United States, with an average salary of $82,429 per year, or $39.63 per hour.
How Do I Know If I'm Being Paid Fairly As A Historian?
You know if you are being paid fairly as a Historian if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Massachusetts you should be paid close to $78,307 per year.
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