2027 Library Science Degree Hiring Strength by State: Where Employers Need Graduates Most
Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist
Choosing where to start a library science career is not just about finding a state with openings; it is about matching demand, salary, cost of living, certification rules, and career specialty. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a $64,320 median annual wage for librarians and media collections specialists in May 2024, but pay and opportunity vary widely by location.
This guide helps MLIS students, recent graduates, career changers, and working library staff compare states more strategically before applying, relocating, or choosing a specialization.
Key Things You Should Know
- States with the strongest library science hiring strength are usually large employment markets such as California, New York, Texas, Illinois, and Florida, plus specialized hubs such as Washington, D.C., Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington.
- The national median annual wage for librarians and media collections specialists was $64,320 in May 2024, but high-salary states can lose value if housing and commuting costs are also high.
- State demand should be judged by a mix of current employment, annual openings, projected growth, industry mix, certification rules, and cost of living rather than salary or job postings alone.
- Which States Have the Strongest Demand for Library Science Graduates?
- Which States Offer the Highest Salaries for Library Science Professionals?
Which States Have the Strongest Demand for Library Science Graduates?
Library science hiring strength measures how favorable a state is for graduates seeking library, information, archives, media, metadata, and research-support roles. Because no single federal dataset directly measures "MLIS graduate demand," the best comparison combines current employment levels, employer concentration, projected openings, and the kinds of institutions hiring in each state.
The table below highlights states and markets that tend to offer stronger opportunity for library science graduates. Use it as a decision framework, not as a guarantee that every city in the state has the same level of demand.
| State or market | Why demand tends to be strong | Best fit for graduates | Main trade-off |
| California | Large public library systems, universities, community colleges, archives, technology companies, and entertainment/media organizations | Digital services, academic libraries, archives, metadata, youth services, and public library leadership | High housing costs can reduce the value of higher pay |
| New York | Major public systems, universities, museums, legal libraries, publishing, finance, and cultural institutions | Special collections, research services, law libraries, archives, and urban public librarianship | Competition can be intense in New York City and other popular metro areas |
| Texas | Population growth, large school districts, expanding universities, public systems, and corporate information roles | School libraries, public services, academic libraries, and records management | Demand varies sharply between major metros and rural areas |
| Illinois | Chicago-area universities, public systems, museums, legal employers, and regional library networks | Academic libraries, law libraries, community archives, and public services | Some jobs are concentrated in the Chicago metro area |
| Florida | Large population, statewide public library systems, universities, community colleges, and school districts | Public libraries, youth services, school media, and community outreach | Salary may lag higher-cost coastal areas in some regions |
| Massachusetts | Dense higher education market, research institutions, hospitals, archives, and historic collections | Academic libraries, medical libraries, special collections, and scholarly communication | High cost of living and strong applicant pools |
| Washington, D.C. and Maryland | Federal agencies, contractors, law firms, universities, associations, and archives | Government information, records management, legal research, archives, and policy research | Credential expectations can be higher for specialized roles |
| Washington | Universities, public systems, technology employers, and digital information organizations | Metadata, digital collections, user experience, archives, and research support | Seattle-area costs can offset salary advantages |
| North Carolina | Research universities, medical centers, public systems, and a growing research economy | Academic libraries, health sciences information, public libraries, and digital scholarship | Opportunities may cluster around the Research Triangle and university towns |
| Pennsylvania | Universities, historic collections, public systems, legal employers, and health systems | Archives, academic libraries, public services, and special libraries | Growth may be steadier than explosive |
A large state is not automatically the best state for every graduate. California, New York, and Texas may have more openings overall, but a smaller market with less competition, a strong university system, or a lower cost of living may be a better first move for an entry-level applicant.
Which States Offer the Highest Salaries for Library Science Professionals?
Salary matters, but it should be interpreted carefully. The BLS May 2024 median annual wage for librarians and media collections specialists was $64,320, which gives graduates a national benchmark for comparing job offers across states.
The highest-paying states and districts often include markets with major research universities, federal agencies, law firms, technology employers, health systems, and high-cost metro areas. The table below summarizes how to think about salary strength without assuming that every role in a state pays at the top of the range.
| High-salary market | Common salary drivers | Roles most likely to benefit | Decision note |
| Washington, D.C. | Federal agencies, policy organizations, law firms, contractors, and archives | Government information specialists, law librarians, records managers, and archivists | Strong for specialized credentials, but housing costs are high |
| California | Large public systems, technology employers, universities, and digital media organizations | Digital services librarians, metadata specialists, academic librarians, and public library managers | Higher pay can be offset by rent and commuting costs |
| Washington | Technology sector, universities, public systems, and digital information employers | Metadata, UX, digital collections, and research support roles | Best value may be outside the most expensive Seattle neighborhoods |
| Maryland | Federal-adjacent employers, research institutions, universities, and health systems | Medical librarians, government information specialists, and academic librarians | Good for graduates interested in specialized research environments |
| Massachusetts | Higher education density, hospitals, archives, and research organizations | Academic librarians, special collections staff, scholarly communication specialists, and medical librarians | Strong professional networks, but competitive hiring |
| New York | Publishing, finance, law, museums, universities, and public library systems | Law librarians, archives specialists, research librarians, and special librarians | Salary should be compared by metro area, not state average alone |
A common mistake is choosing the highest salary state without comparing net value. A $70,000 offer in a moderate-cost university town may support a better lifestyle than a higher nominal offer in a high-rent metro. Graduates should compare salary with rent, commuting time, union benefits, public pension eligibility, health insurance, and promotion pathways.
Job growth for library science careers is usually steadier than rapid. The BLS projects about 12,300 openings each year for librarians and library media specialists over the 2024 to 2034 period, with many openings expected to come from retirements, transfers, and replacement needs rather than brand-new positions.
That matters because the fastest-growing state is not always the state with the most immediate openings. New graduates should distinguish between growth markets, replacement markets, and specialization markets.
| State pattern | What it usually means | Examples of states to research | Best applicant strategy |
| Population-growth states | More residents can increase demand for public libraries, school media specialists, community college services, and outreach programs | Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Colorado | Target public systems, school districts, and community colleges in growing metro areas |
| Higher-education clusters | Universities and research institutions create demand for academic librarians, data services, scholarly communication, archives, and instruction | Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois | Build teaching, research support, and digital scholarship experience before graduation |
| Government and records hubs | Public agencies, contractors, archives, and compliance-heavy employers need information governance skills | Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, New York, California | Add records management, privacy, policy, and government information coursework |
| Digital economy states | Technology, media, and data-heavy employers may hire MLIS graduates into metadata, taxonomy, knowledge management, and UX roles | Washington, California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts | Pair MLIS training with data, metadata, content strategy, or product documentation skills |
The key red flag is assuming that growth equals easy hiring. A state can be growing but still have limited entry-level library openings if budgets are tight, hiring is centralized, or employers prefer candidates with teaching certification, archives experience, or subject expertise.
Cost of living can change the answer to "best state" quickly. A high salary in a high-cost state may produce less disposable income than a moderate salary in a lower-cost state, especially for new graduates paying rent, commuting, relocation costs, and student loans.
Cost comparisons are most useful when they are tied to the actual job market you are entering. The table below shows how to interpret common salary-and-cost combinations.
| State profile | Career value for library science graduates | Examples to compare carefully | Best-fit applicant |
| High salary, high cost | Can be worthwhile if the role offers advancement, union benefits, specialized experience, or access to prestigious employers | California, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., Washington | Graduates targeting academic, law, medical, federal, technology, or management-track roles |
| Moderate salary, moderate cost | Often provides a balanced early-career value if jobs include benefits and professional development | Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Minnesota | New graduates seeking stable public, academic, or school library roles |
| Lower salary, lower cost | May support a reasonable lifestyle if housing is affordable and competition is lower | Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi | Applicants who prefer smaller communities, regional systems, or lower living expenses |
| High demand, uneven cost | Value depends on the specific metro area, commute, and employer benefits | Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Colorado | Applicants willing to compare city-level offers rather than state averages |
Before relocating, compare monthly rent, transportation, health insurance deductions, pension or retirement contributions, union status, and professional development support. A role that funds conference travel, certification fees, or continuing education can have more long-term value than a slightly higher starting salary with limited advancement.
Employers in high-demand states often receive many applications, so a degree alone may not be enough. The most competitive graduates can show both service skills and technical fluency: they can help people, manage collections, teach information literacy, and work with digital systems.
These skills are especially useful when applying in large, competitive, or specialized state markets:
- Metadata and cataloging: Learn MARC, Dublin Core, linked data concepts, controlled vocabularies, authority control, and discovery-system workflows.
- Digital collections and preservation: Build experience with digitization, rights metadata, repository platforms, file formats, preservation planning, and accessibility.
- Teaching and instruction: Practice lesson planning, information literacy instruction, assessment, classroom technology, and student-centered learning.
- Data and research support: Develop skills in database searching, citation management, evidence synthesis, research impact metrics, data management plans, and open scholarship.
- Community engagement: Show experience with programming, outreach, grant writing, bilingual services, inclusive collections, and partnerships with schools or local organizations.
- Information technology: Gain comfort with integrated library systems, discovery layers, content management systems, usability testing, analytics dashboards, and basic scripting concepts.
- Leadership and project management: Document experience managing timelines, volunteers, budgets, vendors, policy updates, or cross-functional teams.
Graduates interested in data-heavy library roles should also understand adjacent career paths. Exploring careers with a bioinformatics degree can be useful for students considering biomedical data curation, research data services, or health sciences information work.
Licensing and certification rules can affect employability more than many students expect. In most academic, public, corporate, and special library roles, the common credential is a master's in library and information science, often from an ALA-accredited program. However, school library roles frequently require state educator certification or a school library media endorsement.
Use the following steps before applying across state lines, especially if you want to work in K-12 schools or public library systems with certification rules:
- Identify your target role first: public librarian, school librarian, academic librarian, archivist, law librarian, medical librarian, or corporate information specialist.
- Check whether the state requires teacher certification, a school library endorsement, public librarian certification, or continuing education renewal.
- Confirm whether an ALA-accredited MLIS is required, preferred, or optional for the specific job category.
- Review reciprocity rules if you already hold educator certification or a library credential from another state.
- Ask employers whether they hire candidates who are certification-eligible or only candidates who already hold the credential.
- Build time and cost for exams, supervised teaching, background checks, transcript reviews, or renewal courses into your relocation plan.
The biggest mistake is relocating for a school library job without checking certification requirements. A strong resume may not overcome a missing state credential if the district must comply with educator licensing rules.
Remote and hybrid work can expand opportunities for library science graduates, but it does not affect every specialty equally. Public library, school library, circulation, youth services, and many archives roles still require substantial in-person work because they involve patrons, classrooms, physical collections, or local programming.
Remote-friendly opportunities are more common in digital and knowledge-work roles. These include metadata, taxonomy, content strategy, electronic resources, digital preservation, scholarly communication, research data services, vendor support, records management, and knowledge management.
In these roles, the "best state" may be the state where the employer is headquartered, the state where you are legally allowed to work, or the state with the best remote-work salary-to-cost ratio.
When evaluating remote or hybrid postings, look for practical details before assuming the job is location-flexible:
- Check whether the employer restricts applicants to specific states for payroll, tax, or labor-law reasons.
- Confirm whether hybrid work requires weekly, monthly, or occasional travel to a campus, branch, archive, or office.
- Ask whether salary is location-adjusted, especially for roles based in high-cost states.
- Review whether remote employees receive equipment, professional development funds, travel reimbursement, and clear promotion criteria.
- Assess whether the role builds portable skills, such as metadata, analytics, vendor management, digital preservation, or information architecture.
Remote work can reduce the need to move, but it can also increase competition because employers may receive applicants from multiple states. Graduates should treat remote roles as national searches and strengthen their portfolios accordingly.
The smartest state choice depends on your career goal, not a single ranking. A new graduate seeking a first professional public library role may prioritize openings and mentoring, while an experienced librarian may prioritize salary, leadership opportunities, and specialization.
Use this comparison process to narrow your state list before applying or relocating:
- Choose your target role and setting, such as public library youth services, academic instruction, medical librarianship, archives, school media, or corporate knowledge management.
- Shortlist states with strong employer concentration in that setting rather than choosing only the highest-paying states.
- Compare state and metro job postings for six to eight weeks to see whether roles are entry-level, mid-career, temporary, grant-funded, unionized, or management-focused.
- Check salary against rent, commuting, taxes, benefits, pension options, and professional development support.
- Review certification rules before applying to school library or public-sector roles across state lines.
- Talk with local library associations, alumni, and hiring managers to learn whether openings are frequent or rare in your specialty.
- Apply to a mix of large markets, lower-competition regional markets, and remote-friendly roles to avoid depending on one state.
Career changers should also compare library science with other workforce-oriented programs if speed, licensure, or local job availability is the main priority. For example, an LPN fast track program may lead to a very different labor market, schedule, and credentialing path than an MLIS.
The best state for your library science career is the one where your specialty, credentials, salary needs, and lifestyle fit the local market. There is no universal winner because a strong state for school librarians may not be the best state for archives, medical librarianship, or corporate taxonomy.
The table below turns common career goals into state-selection priorities.
| Your goal | Prioritize these state factors | States or markets to research first | When this choice makes sense |
| Get a first professional library job | Number of entry-level postings, internships, paraprofessional pipelines, mentoring, and lower competition | Texas, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina | You need practical experience and are flexible about exact specialty |
| Maximize salary potential | Specialized employers, high-wage metros, union contracts, advancement ladders, and cost-adjusted pay | Washington, D.C., California, Washington, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York | You have specialized skills or are targeting management, law, medical, government, or technology roles |
| Work in academic libraries | Higher education density, research universities, scholarly communication activity, and instruction opportunities | Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York | You enjoy teaching, faculty collaboration, research support, and campus environments |
| Become a school librarian | State certification rules, school district hiring, educator pay scales, and student population growth | Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Washington | You are willing to meet educator certification requirements |
| Enter archives or special collections | Museums, universities, government archives, historical societies, and digitization projects | Washington, D.C., New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, Maryland | You can build preservation, metadata, and collections experience |
| Move into digital information work | Technology employers, vendor ecosystems, remote policies, metadata roles, and knowledge management jobs | Washington, California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Colorado | You want roles that may extend beyond traditional libraries |
If your interests sit between libraries, education, health, and public service, compare outcomes across related degree paths before committing. Students interested in health information, wellness education, or academic support roles may also want to review an online exercise physiology degree to understand how different credentials connect to different employer markets.
A practical final rule is to rank states in three tiers: best for opportunity, best for salary, and best for personal affordability. Apply first where at least two of those three factors are strong.
Library science graduates are not hired only by public libraries. Employers also include schools, colleges, museums, hospitals, law firms, government agencies, archives, publishers, research centers, and technology vendors. The strongest state for you depends heavily on which industry matches your target role.
The table below connects common industries with the kinds of states where those opportunities are often more visible.
| Industry | States or markets where it may be especially relevant | Common job titles | What employers often value |
| Public libraries | California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania | Public services librarian, youth services librarian, branch manager, outreach librarian | Community engagement, programming, bilingual service, digital literacy, and management potential |
| K-12 education | Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, Washington | School librarian, library media specialist, instructional technology specialist | State certification, teaching skills, curriculum support, and student information literacy |
| Higher education | Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois | Instruction librarian, subject librarian, scholarly communication librarian, digital scholarship librarian | Teaching, research consultation, assessment, accessibility, and faculty collaboration |
| Government and archives | Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, California | Archivist, records analyst, government information specialist, digital preservation specialist | Records retention, metadata, preservation standards, privacy, and policy knowledge |
| Health sciences and medical libraries | Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, California, Pennsylvania | Medical librarian, clinical informationist, evidence synthesis specialist, research impact analyst | Database searching, systematic review support, biomedical terminology, and evidence appraisal |
| Corporate and technology | Washington, California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Colorado | Taxonomist, knowledge manager, content strategist, metadata analyst, UX researcher | Information architecture, controlled vocabularies, analytics, stakeholder communication, and product thinking |
Students drawn to medical libraries, drug information, or evidence-based clinical research may also compare library science with health professional pathways. For example, reviewing the best online pharmacy school resource can help clarify whether you want to support clinical information work as a librarian or pursue a direct healthcare credential.
Other Things You Should Know About Library Science Degree Hiring
Many professional librarian roles prefer or require a master's in library and information science, often from an ALA-accredited program. Requirements vary by employer and specialty, and school library roles may require state educator certification.
Large markets such as California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Illinois often offer more openings, while states such as North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia may provide a useful balance of opportunity and cost. The best choice depends on your specialty and willingness to relocate.
Relocating can make sense if the role offers specialized experience, strong benefits, advancement, or access to a desired sector. It may not be worth it if higher rent, commuting costs, or credentialing barriers erase the salary advantage.
Some library science roles are remote-friendly, especially metadata, taxonomy, electronic resources, digital preservation, vendor support, and knowledge management. Public library, school library, archives, and patron-facing roles are more likely to require in-person or hybrid work.
See What Experts Have To Say About Studying Library Science
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- Types of Library & Information Science Degree Programs https://www.librariancertification.com/types-of-library-information-science-degree-programs/
- Challenges, Opportunities | Placements and Salaries Survey 2024 https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/challenges-opportunities-placements-and-salaries-2024
- Expected Salaries for Library & Information Science Careers by State https://www.mastersinlibraryscience.org/careers/salary-by-state/
- Library Professionals: Facts, Figures, and Union Membership - Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO https://www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/library-professionals-facts-and-figures
