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Size of the US Libraries and Archives industry

NAICS 51921, Libraries and Archives. Every figure on this page was published by a federal statistical agency and carries its source and period. Palanor does not estimate: a period the agency didn’t publish shows as missing, and a figure it withheld shows as withheld.

Key figures

Receipts (sales, shipments or revenue)
$2.7 billion
2022 · Economic Census
All establishments, current dollars
Employment
27,645
2026-Q1 · Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Private-sector jobs in the third month of each quarter
Establishments
2,485
2026-Q1 · Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Private ownership
Firms
2,030
2022 · Economic Census

Over time

Employment · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest 27,645 · 2026-Q1
2022-Q1: 27,2832022-Q2: 26,9892022-Q3: 26,8852022-Q4: 27,4552023-Q1: 27,1652023-Q2: 27,6992023-Q3: 26,8032023-Q4: 27,7452024-Q1: 28,1492024-Q2: 28,3712024-Q3: 27,9262024-Q4: 28,2512025-Q1: 27,7352025-Q2: 28,0682025-Q3: 27,0692025-Q4: 27,9182026-Q1: 27,645
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2026-Q127,645
2025-Q427,918
2025-Q327,069
2025-Q228,068
2025-Q127,735
2024-Q428,251
2024-Q327,926
2024-Q228,371
2024-Q128,149
2023-Q427,745
2023-Q326,803
2023-Q227,699
2023-Q127,165
2022-Q427,455
2022-Q326,885
2022-Q226,989
2022-Q127,283

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private-sector jobs in the third month of each quarter

Establishments · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest 2,485 · 2026-Q1
2022-Q1: 2,2792022-Q2: 2,3012022-Q3: 2,3032022-Q4: 2,3022023-Q1: 2,3082023-Q2: 2,3102023-Q3: 2,3212023-Q4: 2,3362024-Q1: 2,3642024-Q2: 2,3722024-Q3: 2,3942024-Q4: 2,3902025-Q1: 2,3922025-Q2: 2,4052025-Q3: 2,4092025-Q4: 2,4822026-Q1: 2,485
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2026-Q12,485
2025-Q42,482
2025-Q32,409
2025-Q22,405
2025-Q12,392
2024-Q42,390
2024-Q32,394
2024-Q22,372
2024-Q12,364
2023-Q42,336
2023-Q32,321
2023-Q22,310
2023-Q12,308
2022-Q42,302
2022-Q32,303
2022-Q22,301
2022-Q12,279

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private ownership

Total wages in the quarter · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest $363.9 million · 2026-Q1
2022-Q1: $320.1 million2022-Q2: $319.0 million2022-Q3: $343.3 million2022-Q4: $349.2 million2023-Q1: $336.0 million2023-Q2: $360.6 million2023-Q3: $337.4 million2023-Q4: $359.9 million2024-Q1: $365.3 million2024-Q2: $367.1 million2024-Q3: $360.2 million2024-Q4: $380.2 million2025-Q1: $356.6 million2025-Q2: $374.7 million2025-Q3: $359.3 million2025-Q4: $387.0 million2026-Q1: $363.9 million
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2026-Q1$363.9 million
2025-Q4$387.0 million
2025-Q3$359.3 million
2025-Q2$374.7 million
2025-Q1$356.6 million
2024-Q4$380.2 million
2024-Q3$360.2 million
2024-Q2$367.1 million
2024-Q1$365.3 million
2023-Q4$359.9 million
2023-Q3$337.4 million
2023-Q2$360.6 million
2023-Q1$336.0 million
2022-Q4$349.2 million
2022-Q3$343.3 million
2022-Q2$319.0 million
2022-Q1$320.1 million

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private ownership

The ledger

Every published measure

MeasureSourceLatestPeriodHistory
EmploymentPrivate-sector jobs in the third month of each quarterQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages27,6452026-Q12022-Q1–2026-Q1 · 17 published
EstablishmentsPrivate ownershipQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages2,4852026-Q12022-Q1–2026-Q1 · 17 published
Total wages in the quarterPrivate ownershipQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages$363.9 million2026-Q12022-Q1–2026-Q1 · 17 published
Annual payrollEconomic Census$1.0 billion20222022–2022 · 1 published
EmploymentPaid employees in the pay period including March 12Economic Census28,30120222022–2022 · 1 published
EstablishmentsEconomic Census2,37920222022–2022 · 1 published
FirmsEconomic Census2,03020222022–2022 · 1 published
Receipts (sales, shipments or revenue)All establishments, current dollarsEconomic Census$2.7 billion20222022–2022 · 1 published

Breakdown

Industries within Libraries and Archives

NAICSIndustrySizeEmployment
519210Libraries and Archives$2.7 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census27,6452026-Q1 · QCEW

Sources

Where every number comes from

Figures are in current dollars and are the agencies’ own, revised when they revise. Each program defines its universe differently (employer firms, private ownership, all establishments), so figures from different sources are not meant to add up. This page is not endorsed by the Census Bureau, BEA or BLS. The same data is in the Palanor API (/v1/industries) and the MCP (palanor_get_industry). All industries.