Arts Administrator Overview
Working as an Arts Administrator
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an arts administrator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.08 an hour? That's $54,252 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 18,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Arts Administrator Do
There are certain skills that many arts administrators have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, critical-thinking skills and communication skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an arts administrator, we found that a lot of resumes listed 14.3% of arts administrators included press releases, while 14.3% of resumes included database, and 8.6% of resumes included annual budget. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the arts administrator job title. But what industry to start with? Most arts administrators actually find jobs in the education and media industries.
How To Become an Arts Administrator
If you're interested in becoming an arts administrator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 52.2% of arts administrators have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 23.9% of arts administrators have master's degrees. Even though most arts administrators have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an arts administrator. When we researched the most common majors for an arts administrator, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on arts administrator resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an arts administrator. In fact, many arts administrator jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many arts administrators also have previous career experience in roles such as sales associate or administrative assistant.
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Arts Administrator Jobs
Average Salary for an Arts Administrator
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Iowa Department of Administrative Services Arts Administrator Arts Administrator | Iowa Department of Administrative Services Iowa Department of Administrative Services | 11/19/2019 11/19/2019 | $59,07211/19/2019 $59,072 |
City of Cambridge Arts Administrator Arts Administrator | City of Cambridge City of Cambridge | 07/17/2019 07/17/2019 | $50,15107/17/2019 $50,151 |
City of Longmont Arts Administrator Arts Administrator | City of Longmont City of Longmont | 06/09/2019 06/09/2019 | $53,46006/09/2019 $53,460 |
Taiwan Center Inc. Art Administrator Art Administrator | Taiwan Center Inc. Taiwan Center Inc. | 03/12/2019 03/12/2019 | $47,79203/12/2019 $47,792 |
Rattlestick Productions, Inc. Arts Administrator Arts Administrator | Rattlestick Productions, Inc. Rattlestick Productions, Inc. | 03/08/2019 03/08/2019 | $51,70003/08/2019 $51,700 |
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Top Colleges for Arts Administrators
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
5. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
6. Duke University
Durham, NC
7. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA
8. Boston University
Boston, MA
9. New York University
New York, NY
10. Yale University
New Haven, CT
Entry Level Jobs For Becoming An Arts Administrator
Top Skills For an Arts Administrator
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 14.3% of arts administrators listed press releases on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and critical-thinking skills are important as well.
- Press Releases, 20.7%
- Database, 17.3%
- Graphic Design, 10.2%
- Special Events, 9.5%
- Board Meetings, 9.4%
- Other Skills, 32.9% See All Arts Administrator Skills
Best States For an Arts Administrator
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an arts administrator. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, Minnesota, Maryland, and New Jersey. Arts administrators make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $70,089. Whereas in Minnesota and Maryland, they would average $64,130 and $61,487, respectively. While arts administrators would only make an average of $60,170 in New Jersey, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. District of Columbia
$70,215
Avg. Salary
2. Minnesota
$64,131
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
$60,171
Avg. Salary