Executive Summary
In the two years since MMF’s first report, the US art museum field has experienced a new dimension of pressure and strain amid broader political and cultural turmoil. The data for the 2025 Report was collected between November 2024 and February 2025, coinciding with the political shift from an incoming presidential administration. Much has happened since February, including the federal government’s gutting of arts funding and calls for drastic shifts in what constitutes cultural heritage.6
In many ways, this study reflects a period of ongoing and profound transition within the cultural sector. Indeed, changes to museums’ internal operations and their commitments to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) were already underway.7 What the data in this report reveals is a field that is no longer navigating the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic but is still grappling with the issues and inequities brought to light in the new culture wars.8
Throughout this report, we find tensions between the sense of purpose and satisfaction workers find in their jobs and the persistent inequities they experience, especially when looking at race, position level, and gender. Most art museum workers are buoyed by the interpersonal relationships they form and the meaning they derive from their work, even as they report that institutions still fall short of fostering a diverse and thriving workforce. Below are key findings in the 2025 Report:
Art museum workers are more satisfied with their careers than they were in 2023 on nearly every metric except for satisfaction with opportunities for promotion (down to 24% from 28%).
More than three-quarters (78%) of art museum workers have never received a full promotion at their current workplace, despite an average tenure of six years.
Small museums (with annual operating budgets of up to $5 million) are outperforming larger museums on staff satisfaction and workplace culture, even though they offer lower average salaries.
Executive-level staff are still more satisfied with their careers than staff at any other position level on the majority of metrics, and 77% of executives are “thriving” in their current career outlook (versus just 31% of entry-level workers).
Nearly half (49%) of art museum workers have actively looked for another job in the last year.
More than half (54%) of art museum workers have considered leaving the museum field altogether, a significant portion of the workforce but representing a substantial improvement from the 68% reported in 2023.
The top three reasons workers want to leave the field remain unchanged from 2023: low pay, burnout, and lack of growth opportunities.
More than a quarter (28%) of full-time art museum workers do not make a living wage. At the entry level, more than two-thirds (69%) of full-time workers do not make a living wage.
The art museum workforce is undergoing a generational shift, with 63% of workers now Millennial or Gen Z (compared to 54% in 2023).
White workers are still having the most favorable careers in art museums. They have the highest household incomes, are most likely to have received a full promotion, and are least likely to have experienced discrimination in their current workplaces.
While union members are more dissatisfied on nearly every metric than the average museum worker, they consistently report positive impacts of their union on their work lives, highlighting the motivations behind the recent unionization wave in art museums. Pay is one notable bright spot for union members: nonunionized art museum workers earn 78% of what unionized workers make.
These findings reveal a complex and evolving picture of art museum workplaces. As in 2023, workers are passionate about their museums’ missions and the collegial relationships they develop—while also yearning for more financial security, accountability from leadership, and a voice in the decisions that affect them. With nearly two-thirds (63%) of the art museum workforce now made up of Millennial or Gen Z workers, art museum workplaces will inevitably be reshaped in the coming years. Together, as a field, we must act bravely and swiftly to ensure that the art museums of tomorrow reflect the needs and values of its dedicated workforce.