| Los Angeles (October 29, 2025) – Museums Moving Forward (MMF) is proud to release its 2025 Report on Workplace Equity and Organizational Culture in US Art Museums. The nationwide study has expanded participation to include 3,100 staff respondents and 91 museums. Launched in 2023, MMF produces the only study that uses quantitative metrics to examine the working conditions and workplaces of the US art museum sector, drawing insights directly from workers. Data for this year’s report was collected between November 2024 and February 2025. MMF intends to continue conducting the study biannually until 2030, with a third round of data collection planned for late 2026.
In the two years since MMF’s last report, the art museum sector has faced a new dimension of pressure and strain amid broader political and cultural turmoil. MMF’s 2025 Report reveals a sector 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.
“This year’s report reveals that inequities in pay, promotions, and workplace culture remain entrenched across the field. Yet it also points to some positive trends: career satisfaction has improved significantly since 2023 and smaller institutions are showing that more equitable, meaningful workplaces are possible,” says Mia Locks, Executive Director. “MMF’s goal is to provide data that reflects the realities of museum workers and to offer recommendations based on this data to support museum leaders in building a healthier, more sustainable sector for all.”
Key findings from the 2025 Report include:
Smaller Museums Are Outperforming Their Counterparts
Despite offering lower salaries and fewer advancement opportunities, on average, smaller museums (with annual operating budgets up to $5 million) offer workplace experiences that their staff find more satisfying and fulfilling than those provided by their larger and better-funded institutional peers. Across almost all workplace culture metrics—including feeling a sense of meaning and purpose (81% vs. 70%), having good mentors (53% vs. 43%), and believing people are held accountable for discrimination (56% vs. 38%)—small museums are outperforming large museums (with annual operating budgets of more than $15 million).
Nearly Half of Workers Have Actively Looked for Another Job in the Last Year
Nearly half (49%) of art museum workers have actively looked for another job in the last 12 months. More than half (54%) of workers say they have considered leaving the field altogether within the last five years. This is a significant portion of the workforce, albeit a substantial improvement from the 68% of workers reported in 2023.
The top three reasons workers want to leave the field remain unchanged from 2023: low pay, burnout, and a lack of growth opportunities.43% of art museum workers report feeling burned out. Millennials are almost twice as burned out as Baby Boomers (50% vs. 26%).
Promotions Are Hard to Come By
Notably, more than three-quarters (78%) of art museum workers have never received a full promotion at their current workplace, despite having an average tenure of six years.
More Than a Quarter of Full-Time Workers Don’t Make a Living Wage
More than a quarter (28%) of full-time workers do not make a living wage, defined by the Economic Policy Institute as the ability to afford basic necessities such as housing, food, health care, and transportation. This is most pronounced at the entry level, where more than two-thirds (69%) of full-time workers do not make a living wage.
The median annual income for full-time art museum workers is $65,000, and 26% of full-time workers are making less than $50,000 per year.
The Generational Shift Is Well Underway
Art museums are undergoing a generational shift: 63% of workers are now Millennial or Gen Z (compared to 54% in 2023), and more younger workers are moving into managerial positions. These generational shifts are influencing other changes in the art museum workforce, including a 5% increase in nonbinary workers (now 9%) and a 7% increase in workers with disabilities (now 24%) since 2023.
Discrimination Data Reveals Culture of Distrust Within Museums
One in five (20%) art museum workers have experienced discrimination or harassment in their current workplace. More than a third (37%) of those who have experienced discrimination or harassment took no action: 70% say this is because they thought nothing would be done about it, and 56% say it is because they do not trust HR. The majority (65%) of workers who did report experiencing discrimination are “not at all satisfied” with the institution’s response.
The Workforce Remains Predominantly White
The art museum workforce remains overwhelmingly white at all position levels and across roles. The proportion of white workers in art museums is significantly higher than in the nonprofit sector as a whole (67% vs. 51%). White workers 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.
Union Members Are Less Happy, But Earn More
While union members are more dissatisfied on nearly all metrics 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: non-unionized art museum workers earn 78% of what unionized workers make.
Executive Staff Have the Highest Career Satisfaction
Executive-level staff (6% of the workforce) report higher career satisfaction on the majority of metrics compared to staff at any other position level, most notably in their compensation, opportunities for advancement, and job security.
The data reveals 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.
“This is the only field-wide study that asks the workforce directly about their experiences in the art museum sector,” says Connie Butler, The Agnes Gund Director at MoMA PS1 and MMF board member. “It is critically important that we hear from workers themselves if we want to evolve toward a more sustainable future for the field.”
“MMF’s data is invaluable for understanding trends across the field as well as specific areas of opportunity within my own museum,” says Lisa Melandri, Director at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. “It is a real service to the field that MMF not only produces this report but also provides benchmarks for Partner Museums.”
“MMF’s research and methodology are extremely thoughtful and rigorous, and their work has been an inspiration to many of us in the field,” adds Diane Jean-Mary, Executive Director of the Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums and MMF Board member. “The data that MMF is collecting is a vital contribution to the evolving conversation about art museums and cultural relevance.”
Along with this report, MMF is also announcing the MMF Artists Alliance, a nationwide network of artists who support and align with the organization’s mission to create a more just museum sector. Members of the MMF Artists Alliance include Kathryn Andrews, Jordan Casteel, Raven Chacon, Paul Chan, Derek Fordjour, Theaster Gates, Leslie Hewitt, Sky Hopinka, Rashid Johnson, Jennie C. Jones, An-My Lê, Tala Madani, Julie Mehretu, Amalia Mesa-Bains, Ulrike Müller, Catherine Opie, Stephanie Syjuco, and Anicka Yi.
MMF will host two webinars by Zoom to share an overview and key findings from the 2025 Report. Registration is required and links can be found below:
About Museums Moving Forward
Museums Moving Forward (MMF) is an independent, limited-life organization devoted to envisioning and creating a more just museum sector by 2030. As the steward of a diverse network of museums, cultural workers, and philanthropists across the US, MMF drives urgent conversations about the most effective ways to make and measure real change inside museum workplaces. Through data, discourse, and empowerment, MMF is committed to the evolution of museums toward equity by improving the working conditions and lives of cultural workers.
MMF’s work has been generously supported by Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Teiger Foundation, and members of MMF’s Vision Council. MMF is a 501c3 nonprofit. To learn more, visit: museumsmovingforward.com.
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