Standards & Practices

The 2015 Salary Survey is the thirtieth in a series of annual survey of art museum salaries issued by the Association of Art Museum Directors. The results of this survey represent responses from 233 of 278 museums surveyed—a response rate of 84%.

Among the museums surveyed were both current and former AAMD members, as well as select other art museums in North America. (If you are a North American art museum who is interested in contributing your data to the Salary Survey please contact AAMD.) While the response rate of 84% enables this report to be statistically representative of institutions eligible for AAMD membership, one should not assume relevance to museums in other disciplines.

The Salary information derives from positions considered (a) professional and (b) likely to be filled from the national marketplace rather than locally. Comparative statistics on clerical, maintenance, and security are more valid when secured from within a museum’s own region.

Peter R. Griffiths of CMI Solutions, Inc. in Charlotte, North Carolina, tabulated the statistical data in this survey. Thanks are due to Mr. Griffiths and his staff, particularly Ajay Shah, for their work on the online survey format and for the publication of the survey. Thanks are also due to the museums responding to the survey for the considerable time and effort put into their responses.

The format of the survey reflects metropolitan areas defined as metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and consolidated metropolitan statistical areas (CMSAs), and primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs) as of April 1, 2000.

Salary information is based on compensation for FY14. Information is not presented for positions when fewer than five museums reported salary figures. Categories with no reporting museum are denoted by “n.d.” Salaries reported by Canadian art museums are reported in Canadian dollars.