Archivists
Also called: Archivist, Records Manager, Registrar, State ArchivistAppraise, edit, and direct safekeeping of permanent records and historically valuable documents. Participate in research activities based on archival materials.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 10 of its 13 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 3.4% by 2035. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 4.1% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Archivists, curators, and museum technicians”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 4.3 hires for every 10 job openings in government, which employs about 30% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.4.3 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $57,860 | $48,910 to $73,920 | 100 |
| Arizona | $47,010 | $32,560 to $62,020 | not published |
| Arkansas | $58,560 | $39,950 to $103,380 | 40 |
| California | $70,530 | $53,200 to $91,170 | 1,160 |
| Colorado | $59,210 | $46,820 to $78,210 | 70 |
| Connecticut | $79,790 | $45,790 to $119,190 | 160 |
| Delaware | $53,890 | $43,140 to $63,680 | 50 |
| District of Columbia | $93,040 | $76,320 to $108,160 | 200 |
| Florida | $52,100 | $44,610 to $75,860 | 100 |
| Georgia | $59,010 | $47,850 to $75,460 | 150 |
| Idaho | $58,370 | $53,770 to $72,630 | 30 |
| Illinois | $59,340 | $54,950 to $76,790 | 200 |
| Indiana | $54,220 | $45,840 to $65,760 | 70 |
| Iowa | $59,010 | $47,930 to $62,460 | 40 |
| Kansas | $49,200 | $36,040 to $64,960 | 30 |
| Kentucky | $48,810 | $43,500 to $60,020 | 40 |
| Louisiana | $59,070 | $46,480 to $71,230 | 50 |
| Maine | $56,260 | $48,550 to $64,580 | 60 |
| Maryland | $76,440 | $58,910 to $118,290 | 660 |
| Massachusetts | $78,180 | $64,290 to $100,360 | 270 |
| Michigan | $63,890 | $48,860 to $79,880 | 160 |
| Minnesota | $65,740 | $46,450 to $68,440 | 90 |
| Missouri | $60,020 | $49,960 to $76,980 | 150 |
| New Hampshire | $61,410 | $46,650 to $75,530 | 50 |
| New Jersey | $67,900 | $52,450 to $82,960 | 70 |
| New York | $73,860 | $60,510 to $94,890 | 960 |
| North Carolina | $55,370 | $47,460 to $65,920 | 130 |
| Ohio | $58,790 | $48,660 to $66,920 | 150 |
| Oklahoma | $51,940 | $43,740 to $65,370 | 80 |
| Oregon | $61,880 | $50,080 to $72,770 | 70 |
| Pennsylvania | $60,690 | $47,110 to $74,090 | 360 |
| Puerto Rico | $40,900 | $33,840 to $42,670 | 30 |
| Rhode Island | $76,990 | $69,600 to $94,460 | 40 |
| South Carolina | $52,810 | $43,850 to $65,810 | 60 |
| Tennessee | $53,210 | $45,660 to $63,820 | 110 |
| Texas | $50,160 | $38,590 to $64,210 | 490 |
| Utah | $56,660 | $50,630 to $60,340 | 80 |
| Washington | $76,490 | $63,500 to $92,770 | 640 |
| Wisconsin | $59,400 | $42,730 to $71,070 | 220 |
Nationally: $64,550. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 10 of its 13 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | Organize archival records and develop classification systems to facilitate access to archival materials. | Not published |
| AI alone | Provide reference services and assistance for users needing archival materials. | Not published |
| AI alone | Prepare archival records, such as document descriptions, to allow easy access to information. | Not published |
| AI + software | Create and maintain accessible, retrievable computer archives and databases, incorporating current advances in electronic information storage technology. | Not published |
| AI + software | Establish and administer policy guidelines concerning public access and use of materials. | Not published |
| Not much | Direct activities of workers who assist in arranging, cataloguing, exhibiting, and maintaining collections of valuable materials. | Not published |
See all 13 tasks
| Not much | Preserve records, documents, and objects, copying records to film, videotape, audiotape, disk, or computer formats as necessary. | Not published |
| AI + software | Research and record the origins and historical significance of archival materials. | Not published |
| Not much | Locate new materials and direct their acquisition and display. | Not published |
| AI + software | Coordinate educational and public outreach programs, such as tours, workshops, lectures, and classes. | Not published |
| AI + software | Specialize in an area of history or technology, researching topics or items relevant to collections to determine what should be retained or acquired. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Authenticate and appraise historical documents and archival materials. | Not published |
| AI alone | Select and edit documents for publication and display, applying knowledge of subject, literary expression, and presentation techniques. | 0.09% |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 2 of the 13 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 13 tasks fall under 12 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #1 Gather information from physical or electronic sources
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- #9 Edit written materials or documents
- and 3 more, in the table below
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare informational or instructional materials | |||
| Develop operational or technical procedures or standards | |||
| Inspect characteristics or conditions of materials or products | |||
| Gather information from physical or electronic sources | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Edit written materials or documents | |||
| Provide general assistance to others, such as customers, patrons, or motorists | |||
| Purchase goods or services |
Show all 12 activities
| Arrange displays or decorations | |||
| Plan events or programs | |||
| Design databases | |||
| Supervise personnel activities |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A document or report49%
- A resume or job application13%
- A presentation or slides10%
- A script or snippet3%
- Code fixes or debugging3%
How they worked with Claude
58% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for archivists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 2,600 moves out
- 1 Writers and Authors Very high -0.3% 7%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 3 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 5%
- 4 Operations Research Analysts Very high +11.9% 4%
- 5 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 2,461 moves in
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 2 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 5%
- 3 Office Clerks, General Very high -6.0% 5%
- 4 Writers and Authors Very high -0.3% 5%
- 5 Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Very high +2.6% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 6% bachelor's
- 3% post-bachelor's certificate
- 84% master's
- 6% post-master's certificate
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 31 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 1% less than high school
- 5% high school
- 11% some college
- 3% associate's
- 37% bachelor's
- 36% master's
- 1% professional degree
- 5% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Archivists, curators, and museum technicians” · 1,097 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Archivists, curators, and museum technicians”
10 programs, such as Archives/Archival Administration, Historic Preservation and Conservation, General and Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis.
See all
- Archives/Archival Administration
- Historic Preservation and Conservation, General
- Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis
- Historic Preservation and Conservation, Other
- Museology/Museum Studies
- Digital Humanities and Textual Studies, General
- Digital Humanities
- Textual Studies
- Art History, Criticism and Conservation
- Public/Applied History
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
14.5% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | <0.5% | 19.1% |
| a certification | <0.5% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (Digital Archivist). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Archivists” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/25-4011.00