Educational Instruction and Library Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 25-4012

Curators

The published band from $40,470 to $107,140 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Economics Teachers, Postsecondary.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Curators: Economics Teachers, Postsecondary ($124K) , Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary ($93K) , Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary ($98K) , Geography Teachers, Postsecondary ($98K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Curators publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 25-4012 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Plan and organize the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections and related materials, including the selection of exhibition th…
  2. 2. Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases
  3. 3. Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise
  4. 4. Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public
  5. 5. Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections
  6. 6. Study, examine, and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin, composition, history, and to assess their current value
  7. 7. Inspect premises to assess the need for repairs and to ensure that climate and pest control issues are addressed
  8. 8. Write and review grant proposals, journal articles, institutional reports, and publicity materials
  9. 9. Design, organize, or conduct tours, workshops, and instructional or educational sessions to acquaint individuals with an institution's fa…
  10. 10. Attend meetings, conventions, and civic events to promote use of institution's services, to seek financing, and to maintain community all…
  11. 11. Train and supervise curatorial, fiscal, technical, research, and clerical staff, as well as volunteers or interns
  12. 12. Confer with the board of directors to formulate and interpret policies, to determine budget requirements, and to plan overall operations

Curators: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 25-4012 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.0 ; lead knowledge English Language. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  2. 2. Speaking 4.0
  3. 3. Active Listening 3.9
  4. 4. Writing 3.9
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.8
  6. 6. Complex Problem Solving 3.6
  7. 7. Active Learning 3.5
  8. 8. Judgment and Decision Making 3.5

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. English Language 4.6
  2. 2. History and Archeology 4.5
  3. 3. Fine Arts 3.8
  4. 4. Administration and Management 3.3
  5. 5. Sociology and Anthropology 3.3
  6. 6. Communications and Media 3.2
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$40,470 to $107,140
median $63,420 · ~2.6× spread
$63K
National median
↑ +7%
Growth 2024-2034
1,800
Annual openings
12,150
Estimated US jobs
Economics Teachers, Postsecondary
Highest-pay peer · $124K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Curators

1. New York $79,120
2. California $78,740
3. Rhode Island $77,930
4. South Dakota $74,990
5. Washington $74,030
6. Connecticut $76,510
7. Massachusetts $77,790
8. District of Columbia $93,310
9. New Hampshire $82,490
10. New Jersey $77,800

Other Educational Instruction and Library Occupations titles

  1. 1. Economics Teachers, Postsecondary $123,920
  2. 2. Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary $98,070
  3. 3. Geography Teachers, Postsecondary $97,590
  4. 4. Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $98,700
  5. 5. Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary $93,250
  6. 6. Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary $94,980

The OEWS band for Curators runs from $40,470 (10th) to $107,140 (90th), about 2.6× wide, with median $63,420. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +7% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 1,800 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Master's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New York at $79,120. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Economics Teachers, Postsecondary at $123,920. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Curators pay-rank #52 in Educational Instruction and Library Occupations

On the Educational Instruction and Library Occupations median table (64 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Curators lands at #52, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Curators is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Curators salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 25-4012

New York · top state for Curators

$79K published median

California · #2 state pay

$79K · behind New York

Economics Teachers, Postsecondary

Highest-pay peer vs Curators · $124K

Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary

Lower-pay peer beside Curators · $93K

Compare Curators

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Curators with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Curators land on the Educational Instruction and Library Occupations median table? ▼
Curators is pay-rank #52 of 64 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary ($64K), Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education ($64K), Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education ($63K), Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education ($64K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do curators do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Curators. Leading ones include: Plan and organize the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections and related materials, including the selection of exhibition th…; Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases; Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise; Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for curators? ▼
For SOC 25-4012, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Active Listening (3.9), Writing (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize English Language, History and Archeology, Fine Arts. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Curators? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $40,470 and the 90th at $107,140 for Curators (2.6× spread). The national median is $63,420. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Curators? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Curators is +7%. Projected annual openings: about 1,800. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Curators? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Curators. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Curators? ▼
New York ($79,120), California ($78,740), Rhode Island ($77,930) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Curators card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 25-4012. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Curators. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics