Historians — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$76,750
United States, 2025
Employment
3,450
United States, 2025
Typical education
Master's Degree
Job Zone 5
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Research, analyze, record, and interpret the past as recorded in sources, such as government and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such as personal diaries and letters.
- O*NET code
- 19-3093.00
- Job zone
- 5
- Experience required
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
Typical tasks
- Prepare publications and exhibits, or review those prepared by others, to ensure their historical accuracy.
- Gather historical data from sources such as archives, court records, diaries, news files, and photographs, as well as from books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
- Organize data, and analyze and interpret its authenticity and relative significance.
- Organize information for publication and for other means of dissemination, such as via storage media or the Internet.
- Conduct historical research as a basis for the identification, conservation, and reconstruction of historic places and materials.
- Conserve and preserve manuscripts, records, and other artifacts.
- Present historical accounts in terms of individuals or social, ethnic, political, economic, or geographic groupings.
- Research the history of a particular country or region, or of a specific time period.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$42,730
25th percentile
$57,290
75th percentile
$99,990
90th percentile
$131,810
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension4.8
- Writing4.1
- Critical Thinking4.1
- Speaking4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Active Learning4.0
- Complex Problem Solving3.4
- Learning Strategies3.3
- Instructing3.1
- Social Perceptiveness3.1
- Judgment and Decision Making3.1
- Monitoring3.0
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 13 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
13
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.8 | 4.9 | Not selected | 4.9 |
| Writing | 4.1 | 4.9 | Not selected | 4.9 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.1 | 4.4 | Not selected | 4.4 |
| Speaking | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Active Listening | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Active Learning | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.3 | 3.6 | Not selected | 3.6 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.4 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Instructing | 3.1 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.1 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Coordination | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
Supplemental
National median $85,020
Compare with HistoriansSupplemental
National median $78,760
Compare with HistoriansHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| MA | $121,710 | — | 2025 |
| Boston, MA | $121,710 | — | 2025 |
| MD | $120,580 | 50 | 2025 |
| DC | $118,290 | 250 | 2025 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $116,520 | 40 | 2025 |
| Washington, DC | $115,690 | 410 | 2025 |
| MN | $103,040 | 50 | 2025 |
| VA | $101,920 | 180 | 2025 |
| San Antonio, TX | $101,900 | 40 | 2025 |
| WA | $99,720 | 30 | 2025 |
| OR | $99,560 | 40 | 2025 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $98,210 | 50 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $97,420 | 40 | 2025 |
| CA | $97,420 | 210 | 2025 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | $95,470 | 70 | 2025 |
| HI | $92,520 | 70 | 2025 |
| IL | $89,670 | — | 2025 |
| Chicago, IL | $89,670 | — | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $88,790 | 50 | 2025 |
| New Orleans, LA | $82,400 | 40 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Historians to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.