Museum Technicians and Conservators Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 25-4013 · National · May 2024 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$47,466
$22.82/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated Apr 3, 2025
Source: BLS OEWS · Published Apr 2, 2025
Next refresh: May 15, 2026
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The national median salary for Museum Technicians and Conservators is $47,466 per year ($22.82/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024. The middle 50% of earners make between $37,461 and $63,003 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $82,784 per year. There are approximately 13,070 museum technicians and conservators employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
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. May identify and record objects or install and arrange them in exhibits. Includes book or document conservators.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+5.4%
Faster than average
Annual openings
2K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
16K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
4% from new growth96% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions
NAICS 712100
7K
$45,890
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999100
2K
$59,300
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
NAICS 611300
1K
$54,170
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
1K
$44,020
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999200
560
$50,600
Wage range across top 5 industries: $44,020 to $59,300 (35% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$14.77
$30,722
P25
$18.01
$37,461
P50MEDIAN
$22.82
$47,466
P75
$30.29
$63,003
P90
$39.80
$82,784
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · professional sector
Cooling
Openings Rate
4.2%
Quits Rate
2.0%
Professional & Business Services openings tumbled 318K in March -- the largest single-sector drop in this release. Openings rate fell from 5.5% to 4.2%. Layoffs jumped to 527K (+99K). White-collar demand has cooled abruptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average museum technicians and conservators salary?
The national median salary for Museum Technicians and Conservators is $47,466 per year ($22.82/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2024 data. The middle 50% earn between $37,461 and $63,003 annually.
How much do top-earning museum technicians and conservators make?
The 90th percentile salary for Museum Technicians and Conservators is $82,784 per year ($39.80/hr). The 75th percentile is $63,003 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for museum technicians and conservators?
Entry-level Museum Technicians and Conservators (10th percentile) earn approximately $30,722 per year ($14.77/hr). The 25th percentile is $37,461 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
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