Museum Technicians and Conservators Salary
Educational Instruction and Library Occupations · 12K employed in the U.S.
Median annual
$51,440
Median hourly
$25
Average annual
$57,410
Typical range
$33,780–$87,530
Pay distribution
10th to 90th percentile, with the median marked.
What this role pays
The median annual salary for Museum Technicians and Conservators is $51,440 as of May 2025, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. That works out to about $25 an hour at a full-time schedule.
Restore, maintain, or prepare objects in museum collections for storage, research, or exhibit. May work with specimens such as fossils, skeletal parts, or botanicals; or artifacts, textiles, or art.
Most earn between $33,780 and $87,530 a year. There are roughly 12K people employed as museum technicians and conservators in the United States. Use the state and metro pages below to see how pay changes by location, and the calculator to convert any hourly or annual figure.
Salary calculator
Convert your pay and see where it lands for Museum Technicians and Conservators.
- Hourly
- $24.73
- Daily
- $198
- Weekly
- $989
- Bi-weekly
- $1,978
- Monthly
- $4,287
- Annual
- $51,440
$51,440 a year is around the 50th percentile for Museum Technicians and Conservatorss. The median is $51,440.
Highest-paying states
Median annual wage by state.
- 1Maryland$76,900
- 2District of Columbia$76,110
- 3New York$74,550
- 4Connecticut$62,030
- 5California$61,550
- 6Alaska$60,840
- 7Washington$59,610
- 8Massachusetts$58,530
- 9Illinois$56,720
- 10New Mexico$56,670
- 11Nevada$56,470
- 12Wyoming$56,420
Top-paying metro areas
Median annual wage by metro area.
- 1Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$79,230
- 2New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$77,030
- 3Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$75,100
- 4San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$75,020
- 5Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA$68,960
- 6Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY$66,620
- 7Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY$65,310
- 8San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$62,290
- 9Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$61,370
- 10Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA$61,040
- 11Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$60,540
- 12Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$60,510
Related job titles
Employers advertise Museum Technicians and Conservators roles under these titles.
Related occupations
What a Museum Technicians and Conservators does
- Install, arrange, assemble, and prepare artifacts for exhibition, ensuring the artifacts' safety, reporting their status and condition, and identifying and correcting any problems with the set up.
- Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration.
- Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes.
- Photograph objects for documentation.
- Determine whether objects need repair and choose the safest and most effective method of repair.
- Prepare artifacts for storage and shipping.
- Enter information about museum collections into computer databases.
- Recommend preservation procedures, such as control of temperature and humidity, to curatorial and building staff.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Museum Technicians and Conservators make?
- The median annual wage for Museum Technicians and Conservators is $51,440 ($25 per hour). Pay ranges from about $33,780 at the 10th percentile to $87,530 at the 90th percentile.
- What is the average salary for a Museum Technicians and Conservators?
- The average (mean) annual salary is $57,410, which is higher than the median because a small number of high earners pull the average up.
- Which state pays Museum Technicians and Conservatorss the most?
- Maryland has the highest median annual wage for this occupation at $76,900.
- Is Museum Technicians and Conservators a growing occupation?
- BLS employment data for May 2025 counts about 12K people in this occupation. Projected growth is published separately in the BLS Employment Projections program.
- What does a Museum Technicians and Conservators do?
- Install, arrange, assemble, and prepare artifacts for exhibition, ensuring the artifacts' safety, reporting their status and condition, and identifying and correcting any problems with the set up.; Repair, restore, and reassemble artifacts, designing and fabricating missing or broken parts, to restore them to their original appearance and prevent deterioration.; Clean objects, such as paper, textiles, wood, metal, glass, rock, pottery, and furniture, using cleansers, solvents, soap solutions, and polishes..