Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 19-3093

Historians

The published band from $42,730 to $131,810 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Industrial-Organizational Psychologists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Historians: Industrial-Organizational Psychologists ($194K) , Clinical and Counseling Psychologists ($101K) , Sociologists ($106K) , Geographers ($102K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Historians publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 19-3093 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphle…
  2. 2. Organize data, and analyze and interpret its authenticity and relative significance
  3. 3. Prepare publications and exhibits, or review those prepared by others, to ensure their historical accuracy
  4. 4. Organize information for publication and for other means of dissemination, such as via storage media or the Internet
  5. 5. Conduct historical research as a basis for the identification, conservation, and reconstruction of historic places and materials
  6. 6. Conserve and preserve manuscripts, records, and other artifacts
  7. 7. Present historical accounts in terms of individuals or social, ethnic, political, economic, or geographic groupings
  8. 8. Research the history of a particular country or region, or of a specific time period
  9. 9. Conduct historical research, and publish or present findings and theories
  10. 10. Determine which topics to research, or pursue research topics specified by clients or employers
  11. 11. Recommend actions related to historical art, such as which items to add to a collection or which items to display in an exhibit
  12. 12. Coordinate activities of workers engaged in cataloging and filing materials

Historians: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 19-3093 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.8 ; lead knowledge History and Archeology. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.8
  2. 2. Writing 4.1
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 4.1
  4. 4. Active Listening 4.0
  5. 5. Speaking 4.0
  6. 6. Active Learning 4.0
  7. 7. Complex Problem Solving 3.4
  8. 8. Learning Strategies 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. History and Archeology 4.6
  2. 2. English Language 4.1
  3. 3. Sociology and Anthropology 3.6
  4. 4. Geography 3.5
  5. 5. Administrative 3.5
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.3
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$42,730 to $131,810
median $76,750 · ~3.1× spread
$77K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
300
Annual openings
3,450
Estimated US jobs
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
Highest-pay peer · $194K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Historians

1. Oregon $99,560
2. Massachusetts $121,710
3. California $97,420
4. Virginia $101,920
5. Hawaii $92,520
6. Washington $99,720
7. District of Columbia $118,290
8. Maryland $120,580
9. Minnesota $103,040
10. Illinois $89,670

Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations titles

  1. 1. Clinical and Counseling Psychologists $100,580
  2. 2. Sociologists $106,030
  3. 3. Geographers $102,040
  4. 4. Materials Scientists $117,790
  5. 5. Industrial-Organizational Psychologists $193,950
  6. 6. Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers $101,920

The OEWS band for Historians runs from $42,730 (10th) to $131,810 (90th), about 3.1× wide, with median $76,750. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 300 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: Oregon at $99,560. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Industrial-Organizational Psychologists at $193,950. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Historians pay-rank #31 in Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

Historians sits at pay-rank #31 of 48 detailed Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table 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 Historians is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Historians salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 19-3093

Oregon · top state for Historians

$100K published median

Massachusetts · #2 state pay

$122K · behind Oregon

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

Highest-pay peer vs Historians · $194K

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

Lower-pay peer beside Historians · $101K

Compare Historians

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Historians 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

Is Historians mid-table among Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #31 of 48 detailed Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists ($77K), Foresters ($76K), Soil and Plant Scientists ($79K), Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health ($82K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do historians do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Historians. Leading ones include: Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphle…; Organize data, and analyze and interpret its authenticity and relative significance; Prepare publications and exhibits, or review those prepared by others, to ensure their historical accuracy; Organize information for publication and for other means of dissemination, such as via storage media or the Internet. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for historians? ▼
For SOC 19-3093, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.8), Writing (4.1), Critical Thinking (4.1), Active Listening (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize History and Archeology, English Language, Sociology and Anthropology. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Historians? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $42,730 and the 90th at $131,810 for Historians (3.1× spread). The national median is $76,750. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Historians? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Historians is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Historians? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Historians. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Historians? ▼
Oregon ($99,560), Massachusetts ($121,710), California ($97,420) 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 Historians card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 19-3093. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Historians. 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