Librarians and Media Collections Specialists in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,751
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$13,149
21.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,189
Kansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kansas — 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
$61,900
Kept after tax
$48,751
Worth in national money
$54,189
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Kansas is 34 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $61,900. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 187 among 488 occupations Kansas publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $61,900 you keep $48,751 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $54,189 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $61,760.
- Kansas ranks 34 of 51 for librarians and media collections specialists at $61,900. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 187 of 488 in Kansas places librarians and media collections specialists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in Kansas is $48,751 after the full tax stack, from $61,900. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $54,189 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $61,760 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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 | $34,780 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,570 |
| This salary | $61,900 |
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 Kansas | $48,751 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,917 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$763 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $57,960 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$923 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kansas earn less than $61,900. The published range is $34,780 up to $80,570, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $48,751 take-home in Kansas comes from $61,900. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 187 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $54,189, the adjusted value of that $61,900 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 187 of 488 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for librarians and media collections specialists in Kansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $34,780 to $80,570. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $48,751, from $61,900, assumes a single Kansas filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 187 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 34 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kansas, so $54,189 — the adjusted value of that $61,900 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 187 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $34,780 and the top tenth $80,570 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $54,189.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Kansas then takes its own share, leaving $48,751.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($34,780) and the ninetieth ($80,570) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kansas'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 $54,189 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 $48,751 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kansas 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.