Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, aged to 2026 using compounded market movement. State selections show BLS state-level figures where published. Actual pay varies with experience, industry, and organization size.
Anthropologists and Archeologists is a professional role in the Life, Physical, and Social Science job family, focused on Anthropologists and Archeologists work. Pay for this title reflects both its level and its scope; see our Title Level and Organization Responsibility guides for how WePayFairly defines them.
What Anthropologists and Archeologistss do
Typical education: Doctoral Degree
Collect information and make judgments through observation, interviews, and review of documents.
Teach or mentor undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology or archeology.
Write about and present research findings for a variety of specialized and general audiences.
Plan and direct research to characterize and compare the economic, demographic, health care, social, political, linguistic, and religious institutions of distinct cultural groups, communities, and organizations.
Create data records for use in describing and analyzing social patterns and processes, using photography, videography, and audio recordings.
Top skills:WritingSpeakingReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingActive ListeningActive Learning
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Anthropologists and Archeologists salary by industry
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
5,980 workers
$74,000
Federal, State, and Local Government, excl. State & Local Schools & Hospitals & USPS
2,290 workers
$93,500
Federal Government, including the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation)
1,770 workers
$97,500
State Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
690 workers
$70,000
Educational Services
430 workers
$65,000
Local Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
180 workers
$86,000
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
150 workers
$58,000
Other Services (except Public Administration)
30 workers
$56,000
National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.
How this role compares
Anthropologists and Archeologists pays 22% below the average across 48 roles in the Life, Physical, and Social Science job family (family average $100,000).
Similar-paying roles in Life, Physical, and Social Science
