What Librarians and Media Collections Specialists earn in Somerset County, NJ
The median pay for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists in Somerset County, NJ is $81,670 per year, which works out to $39.26 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, the labor market that Somerset County, NJ belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $89,870, which is 10.0% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 10,690 people working in this occupation across the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Somerset County, NJ has roughly 349,846 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $61,380 a year ($29.51 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $131,410 or more ($63.18 an hour). That is a gap of $70,030 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $69,770 at the 25th percentile and $103,520 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.1 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $39.26 an hour or $81,670 a year at the median for Somerset County, NJ. Before any deductions, that is $6,806 a month, $3,141 every two weeks and $1,571 each week. After taxes the same job pays $30.29 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Librarians and Media Collections Specialists
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Librarians and Media Collections Specialists this way: "Administer and maintain libraries or collections of information, for public or private access through reference or borrowing. Work in a variety of settings, such as educational institutions, museums, and corporations, and with various types of informational materials, such as books, periodicals, recordings, films, and databases. Tasks may include acquiring, cataloging, and circulating library materials, and user services such as locating and organizing information, providing instruction on how to access information, and setting up and operating a library's media equipment."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Check books in and out of the library"; "Teach library patrons basic computer skills, such as searching computerized databases"; "Review and evaluate materials, using book reviews, catalogs, faculty recommendations, and current holdings to select and order print, audio-visual, and electronic resources"; "Keep up-to-date records of circulation and materials, maintain inventory, and correct cataloging errors".
Job outlook for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 142,300 jobs in 2025 to 145,900 in 2035, a change of +2.6%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 12,600 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 8.9% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: master's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $68,270 for this occupation; the Somerset County, NJ median of $81,670 is 19.6% above it.
How pay in Somerset County, NJ compares
Compared with the New Jersey average
A worker in this occupation in Somerset County, NJ earns $943 more than the New Jersey average of $80,727, a premium of 1.2%. Over a year that premium is worth $943 before tax and roughly $727 after tax. Within New Jersey, Somerset County, NJ already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists is $70,741 across the contiguous United States. At $81,670, Somerset County, NJ pays $10,929 more, which is 15.4% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Somerset County, NJ
Among the 671 occupations with published wages in Somerset County, NJ, Librarians and Media Collections Specialists ranks number 286 by median pay, ahead of about 57% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Anesthesiologists at $460,800 a year, which is $379,130 more than the median for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Librarians and Media Collections Specialists earning the Somerset County, NJ median of $81,670, they add up to $18,677. The result is $62,993 of take-home pay a year ($5,249 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $23 goes to taxes and $77 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 22.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $65,920. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $9,416, an effective 11.5% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $5,064 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,184. FICA totals $6,248, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in New Jersey
New Jersey income tax on this salary is $3,012 a year, or 3.7% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 32% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $251 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Somerset County, NJ
IRS Statistics of Income data for Somerset County, NJ show an average adjusted gross income of $153,889 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.5% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 9.9%, compared with the 11.5% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Somerset County, NJ
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Somerset County, NJ: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $62,993 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Somerset County, NJ, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,103 a month ($25,236 a year), and at $2,623 for two bedrooms. For Librarians and Media Collections Specialists, a one-bedroom absorbs 40.1% of take-home pay and 30.9% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 4.2% of gross pay for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists in Somerset County, NJ. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using New Jersey residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,044 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $518, for $2,562 in total. Gasoline in New Jersey averages $3.21 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,484.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $32,717 a year in Somerset County, NJ. Subtract that from $62,993 of take-home pay and $30,276 remains, which is $2,523 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 37.1% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Somerset County, NJ
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Somerset County, NJ: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Somerset County, NJ, set beside the New Jersey and national medians.
Property taxes in Somerset County, NJ
Homeowners in Somerset County, NJ pay a median of $10,001 a year in real estate taxes, 4% above the New Jersey median of $9,590 and 221% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $552,100, the median tax bill is 1.81% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Librarians and Media Collections Specialists median of $81,670, a tax bill of that size would equal 12.2% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Somerset County, NJ
Renters in Somerset County, NJ pay a median gross rent of $2,033 a month in the Census survey, 18% above the New Jersey median of $1,720. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,103 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $552,100, 22% above the New Jersey median of $454,400. Median household income is $140,374, 36% above the New Jersey median of $103,556, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 18.0% of that income.
Commuting in Somerset County, NJ
Workers in Somerset County, NJ who travel to a workplace spend an average of 31.4 minutes each way, 3% above the New Jersey average of 30.5. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.2 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 22.7% of workers in Somerset County, NJ work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Librarians and Media Collections Specialists afford to live in Somerset County, NJ?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $81,670 that ceiling is $2,042 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,103 is $61 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $40.44 an hour; the median for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists is $39.26, which is 3% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $30.29 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 16.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,623 a month means $1,312 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $9,498 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $39,774.
How fast you can save
At $2,523 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 4 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 8 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Librarians and Media Collections Specialists pay in Somerset County, NJ
How much do Librarians and Media Collections Specialists make per hour in Somerset County, NJ?
The median is $39.26 per hour, based on $81,670 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $29.51 at the 10th percentile to $63.18 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Librarians and Media Collections Specialists take home after taxes in Somerset County, NJ?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $81,670 becomes $62,993 a year. That is $5,249 a month, $2,423 every two weeks or $1,211 a week.
How much tax do Librarians and Media Collections Specialists pay in Somerset County, NJ?
Total taxes are $18,677 a year, an effective rate of 22.9%: $9,416 federal income tax, $6,248 FICA and $3,012 New Jersey income tax.
Do Librarians and Media Collections Specialists earn more in Somerset County, NJ than elsewhere in New Jersey?
Yes. The local median of $81,670 is +1.2% versus the New Jersey average of $80,727, a difference of $943 a year.
Can Librarians and Media Collections Specialists afford a one-bedroom apartment in Somerset County, NJ?
A one-bedroom costs $2,103 a month against take-home pay of $5,249, which is 40.1% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,042 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists in Somerset County, NJ?
About $2,523 a month ($30,276 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $32,717 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Somerset County, NJ at the 30% guideline?
$40.44 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $25,236 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Librarians and Media Collections Specialists is $39.26.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the New Jersey rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.