Archivists, curators, & museum technicians

Detailed Occupation

Add Comparison

2020 Workforce

61.5k

Average Age

44.1

Average Salary

$54,189

Average Male Salary

$59,212

Average Female Salary

$50,853

About

Archivists, curators, & museum technicians are most often employed by the Museums, art galleries, historical sites, & similar institutions industry. The average yearly wage for Archivists, curators, & museum technicians was $54,189 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Archivists, curators, & museum technicians by wage are Avionics technicians, Maintenance workers, machinery, and Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.

Archivists, curators, & museum technicians are part of the Education, Training, & Library Occupations, along with Postsecondary teachers, Preschool & kindergarten teachers, Elementary & middle school teachers, Secondary school teachers, Special education teachers, and 7 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Archivists, curators, & museum technicians are Battery Park City, Greenwich Village & Soho PUMA, NY, Alexandria City PUMA, VA, and District of Columbia (Central) PUMA, DC. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians are Battery Park City, Greenwich Village & Soho PUMA, NY, Alexandria City PUMA, VA, and Chapel Hill Town PUMA, NC.

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations Education, Training, & Library Occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Archivists, curators, & museum technicians and on wages and locations for those in the field. Museums, art galleries, historical sites, & similar institutions is the industry that employs the most Archivists, curators, & museum technicians, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Archivists, curators, & museum technicians, by average wage, is Scientific research & development services. Archivists, curators, & museum technicians are paid most in Chinatown & Lower East Side PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Battery Park City, Greenwich Village & Soho PUMA, NY.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$54,189

AVERAGE SALARY

± $4,646

In 2020, Archivists, curators, & museum technicians earned an average of $54,189, $1,765 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Avionics technicians make somewhat more than Archivists, curators, & museum technicians while Maintenance workers, machinery make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Archivists, curators, & museum technicians as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.409

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Archivists, curators, & museum technicians had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.409, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Archivists, curators, & museum technicians (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Archivists, curators, & museum technicians.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Archivists, curators, & museum technicians, by number of employees, are Museums, art galleries, historical sites, & similar institutions, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Libraries & archives, Other general government & support, Miscellaneous retail stores, Civic, social, advocacy organizations, & grantmaking & giving services, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Amusement & Recreation, Religious organizations, Scientific research & development services, and Elementary & secondary schools.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Archivists, curators, & museum technicians, by average wage, are Scientific research & development services, Electronic shopping and mail-order houses, and National security & international affairs.

Industries by Share

61.5k

2020 Workforce

± 6,089

12.2%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 12.8%

The number of people employed as Archivists, curators, & museum technicians has been growing at a rate of 12.2%, from 54,842 people in 2019 to 61,533 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians employed by various industries. Museums, art galleries, historical sites, & similar institutions employs the largest share of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians at 65.1%, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 11.6% and Libraries & archives with 3.44%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Archivists, curators, & museum technicians in the US. The average age of male Archivists, curators, & museum technicians in the workforce is 45.5 and of female Archivists, curators, & museum technicians is 43.1, and the most common race/ethnicity for Archivists, curators, & museum technicians is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

24.6k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 3,847

37k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 4,720

60.1% of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

82.8% of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 3.74% of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians.

Age by Sex

45.5

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 2.36

43.1

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.97

The median age of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians is 44.1, and Male employees are generally 2.36 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Archivists, curators, & museum technicians from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Archivists, curators, & museum technicians is Visual & Performing Arts but a relatively high number of Archivists, curators, & museum technicians hold a major in Library Science.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Archivists, curators, & museum technicians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Archivists, curators, & museum technicians need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension and Writing. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Archivists, curators, & museum technicians need more than the average amount of Management of Material Resources, Management of Financial Resources, and Technology Design.