1. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
What is a Museum Director?
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a museum director. For example, did you know that they make an average of $35.36 an hour? That's $73,554 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 3,300 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Museum Director Do
There are certain skills that many museum directors 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, computer skills and customer-service skills.
How To Become a Museum Director
If you're interested in becoming a museum director, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 68.2% of museum directors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 17.3% of museum directors have master's degrees. Even though most museum directors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Museum Director Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of executive director you might progress to a role such as chief executive officer eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title chief executive officer.
Average Salary for a Museum Director
Museum Directors in America make an average salary of $73,554 per year or $35 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $134,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $40,000 per year.
Average Museum Director Salary
$73,554 Yearly$35.36 hourly
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Museum Director
There are several types of museum director, including:
Membership Director
Role:
A membership director oversees the membership processes and activities of an organization, group, or team. This includes the registration of new members as well as the development of strategies and policies that are aimed at increasing membership or converting patrons to long-term members.
In addition to managing the process of recruiting prospective members, the membership director also manages activities regarding existing members. This may include membership data updates, management of the member's database, and collection of membership payments. Plus, he/she manages the circulation of information and regular updates regarding their membership and activities of the organization.
A bachelor's degree in a management field is a common requirement for this role. Some key skills needed for this position include excellent leadership and coordination skills. Strategic decision-making skills and basic knowledge of database system management may also be necessary for this role. The average income of a membership director is typically around $103,740 per year.
- Average Salary: $52,493
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
States With The Most Museum Director Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active museum director jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where museum directors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Average Salary: Job Openings:
Number Of Museum Director Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina | 678 | $60,934 |
| 2 | Alabama | 508 | $66,034 |
| 3 | Louisiana | 497 | $63,814 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 408 | $76,115 |
| 5 | California | 278 | $120,023 |
| 6 | West Virginia | 257 | $83,513 |
| 7 | South Dakota | 172 | $65,038 |
| 8 | New York | 138 | $81,147 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 100 | $80,251 |
| 10 | Florida | 96 | $63,003 |
| 11 | Illinois | 88 | $68,544 |
| 12 | Georgia | 76 | $73,427 |
| 13 | Texas | 73 | $80,283 |
| 14 | New Jersey | 73 | $73,427 |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | 72 | $77,417 |
| 16 | Washington | 51 | $84,194 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 45 | $61,497 |
| 18 | Virginia | 42 | $89,789 |
| 19 | Maryland | 39 | $75,796 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 37 | $80,581 |
| 21 | Minnesota | 31 | $82,474 |
| 22 | Indiana | 31 | $77,089 |
| 23 | Missouri | 31 | $64,857 |
| 24 | Tennessee | 26 | $75,415 |
| 25 | Arizona | 23 | $87,134 |
| 26 | Ohio | 23 | $81,120 |
| 27 | Colorado | 23 | $75,674 |
| 28 | Connecticut | 22 | $97,696 |
| 29 | Michigan | 21 | $65,346 |
| 30 | Kentucky | 20 | $77,000 |
| 31 | Oregon | 19 | $95,068 |
| 32 | Delaware | 18 | $95,481 |
| 33 | Idaho | 17 | $78,222 |
| 34 | Kansas | 17 | $72,103 |
| 35 | Nebraska | 15 | $75,540 |
| 36 | Utah | 14 | $79,257 |
| 37 | Montana | 10 | $66,536 |
| 38 | Arkansas | 10 | $64,233 |
| 39 | Nevada | 9 | $92,815 |
| 40 | Wyoming | 8 | $57,740 |
| 41 | Vermont | 7 | $82,052 |
| 42 | Iowa | 7 | $65,650 |
| 43 | Alaska | 6 | $103,635 |
| 44 | Rhode Island | 6 | $98,500 |
| 45 | Maine | 5 | $89,489 |
| 46 | North Dakota | 5 | $83,803 |
| 47 | New Hampshire | 4 | $96,995 |
| 48 | Mississippi | 4 | $73,198 |
| 49 | New Mexico | 4 | $74,301 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 3 | $61,113 |
Top Colleges for Museum Directors
2. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089
3. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-State Tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
4. Brown University
Providence, RI • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,466
Enrollment
6,752
5. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
6. Tufts University
Medford, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,382
Enrollment
5,597
7. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
8. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-State Tuition
$6,381
Enrollment
34,564
9. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
10. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
Top Skills For a Museum Director
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, 22.4% of museum directors listed museum operations on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and computer skills are important as well.
Museum Director diversity
Museum Director Gender Distribution
Female
59%
Male
41%
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among museum directors, 59.2% of them are women, while 40.8% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among museum directors is White, which makes up 77.0% of all museum directors.
- The most common foreign language among museum directors is Spanish at 57.1%.
Online Courses For Museum Director That You May Like
Advertising Disclosure
1. Budgeting essentials and development
The Budgeting Essentials and Development course focus on an integrative and practical view of concepts, methods, and techniques to develop a budget. After finishing this course, learners will be able to: - Develop the budget with a broad view of the corporate functions; - Integrate the strategic guidelines into the discussions of budgeting process; - Structure the budget planning and development in a logical sequence - Coordinate the project of budget planning with the different areas of the...
2. Art & Inquiry: Museum Teaching Strategies For Your Classroom
Explore how to integrate works of art into your classroom with inquiry-based teaching methods originally developed for in-gallery museum education...
3. Financial Planning & Analysis: Building a Company's Budget
Learn the Fundamentals of Financial Planning and Position Your Career for Success!...
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary
Best States For a Museum Director
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a museum director. The best states for people in this position are California, Alaska, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Museum directors make the most in California with an average salary of $120,023. Whereas in Alaska and Rhode Island, they would average $103,635 and $98,500, respectively. While museum directors would only make an average of $97,696 in Connecticut, 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. California
Total Museum Director Jobs: 278
Highest 10% Earn:
$189,000
Location Quotient:
0.65
$120,023
Avg. Salary
2. Delaware
Total Museum Director Jobs: 18
Highest 10% Earn:
$152,000
Location Quotient:
0.98
$95,481
Avg. Salary
3. Alaska
Total Museum Director Jobs: 6
Highest 10% Earn:
$145,000
Location Quotient:
0.49
$103,635
Avg. Salary
How Do Museum Directors Rate Their Jobs?
Top Museum Director Employers
Most Common Employers For Museum Director
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | $165,493 | $79.56 | 1 |
| 2 | Smithsonian Institution | $86,087 | $41.39 | 1 |
| 3 | Lincoln Memorial University | $84,959 | $40.85 | 1 |
| 4 | University of Southern California | $84,584 | $40.67 | 2 |
| 5 | Michigan State University | $81,766 | $39.31 | 3 |
| 6 | New York State Technology Enterprise | $76,833 | $36.94 | 1 |
| 7 | Fremont County | $72,236 | $34.73 | 1 |
| 8 | City of Hamlet | $72,175 | $34.70 | 1 |
| 9 | Asia Society | $71,472 | $34.36 | 1 |
| 10 | Collier County Library | $64,204 | $30.87 | 1 |