Librarians and Media Collections Specialists in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,595
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$18,105
23.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,043
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$77,700
Kept after tax
$59,595
Worth in national money
$60,043
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Delaware is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $77,700, which ranks 12 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 13.81% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 445 occupations Delaware reports figures for, this is number 141.
- No great distortion either way. Delaware costs about what the country costs, so from $77,700, take-home of $59,595 is worth roughly $60,043 in national money. The average comes to $80,970, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Delaware ranks 12 of 51 states publishing a median for librarians and media collections specialists, at $77,700 — about 13.81% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In Delaware's occupational distribution, librarians and media collections specialists sits at 141 of 445 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Price parity in Delaware is near the national base, so for librarians and media collections specialists, whose median is $77,700, the adjusted figure of $60,043 differs little from $59,595 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $80,970 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Librarians and Media Collections Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $56,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $102,160 |
| This salary | $77,700 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Delaware | $59,595 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,492 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,294 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $72,160 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,313 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of librarians and media collections specialists in Delaware earn under $77,700 and half over. The published range runs $56,940 at the tenth percentile to $102,160 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Delaware the take-home figure of $59,595, from $77,700, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 141 of 445 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $60,043 uses one figure for the whole of Delaware. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 445 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 141.
- Figures are distribution medians for librarians and media collections specialists in Delaware, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $56,940 to $102,160; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Delaware is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,595 from $77,700. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 141 of 445 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $60,043, worked from $77,700, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Delaware address, on work sitting at 141 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $80,970, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $56,940 at the bottom tenth to $102,160 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Delaware sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $60,043 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Delaware adds its own income tax on top — which is why $59,595 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Delaware is $80,970. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($56,940 to $102,160) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $60,043 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $59,595 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.