Leadership salaries in museums
What museum leadership roles have advertised as pay — 19 postings that stated a figure, listed exactly as published. Not a benchmark: with counts this small, “what they paid on these occasions” is the only honest framing. 23 roles are open right now.
What do museum leadership roles pay?
Median advertised salary: ≈ €81,475 / year (annualised, 19 figures, from ≈ €44,720 to ≈ €236,500)
USD postings ≈ €77,826 (n=11) · EUR postings ≈ €82,224 (n=8)
Annualised euro figures are deliberately approximate — monthly grades ×12, hourly ×2080, coarse rates for other currencies. The stated figure is always the authoritative one. Methodology
- Technische:r Leiter:in (m/w/d)
Stiftung Saarländischer Kulturbesitz, Saarbrücken · Germany
€4,846 – €6,773 / month, gross · seen 4 September 2026
- Direktorin / Direktor (m/w/d)
Stiftung Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden · Germany
€6,790 – €9,425 / month, gross · analogous to a public scale · seen 2 September 2026
- Gallery Director, Curator of Exhibitions & Programs
The Art Students League of New York · New York, USA
$115,000 – $125,000 / year · seen 28 August 2026
- Sammlungsleiter
Die LÜBECKER MUSEEN, Lübeck · Germany
€5,881 – €8,431 / month, gross · seen 27 August 2026
- Museumsleitung der Landkreismuseen (m/w/d)
Landkreis Neu-Ulm, Neu-Ulm · Germany
€5,299 – €8,280 / month, gross · seen 26 August 2026
- Leitung Fachbereich „Historisches Bauen und Landwirtschaft“ (m/w/d)
Freilandmuseum Oberpfalz/ Bezirk Oberpfalz, Nabburg · Germany
€5,124 – €7,592 / month, gross · seen 26 August 2026
- Gruppenleiter*in (m/w/d) für die Systematik der Insekten (Diptera, Hemiptera oder Orthoptera)
Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Stuttgart · Germany
€5,711 – €8,118 / month, gross · seen 22 August 2026
- Assistant Director
Mad Rose Gallery · Millerton, USA
$25 – $30 / hour · seen 21 August 2026
- Director
Georgia Southern University Museum
$78,706 – $102,285 / year · seen 17 August 2026
- Director, Georgia Southern University Museum
Georgia Association of Museums - Jobs
$78,706 – $102,285 / year · seen 16 August 2026
- VIMA - Executive Director
Virgin Islands Museum of Art · St. Thomas
$225,000 – $275,000 / year · seen 16 August 2026
- Museum Director
California State Parks Capital District / California State Railroad Museum · Sacramento
$10,010 / month, gross · seen 16 August 2026
- New England Air Museum, ED
New England Air Museum · Windsor Locks
$220,000 – $250,000 / year · seen 16 August 2026
- Manager of School and Gallery Programs
Walker Art Center · Minneapolis, USA
$65,000 – $70,000 / year · seen 15 August 2026
- Gallery Director
The Sheldon Concert Hall and Galleries · Missouri, USA
$60,000 – $66,000 / year · seen 15 August 2026
- Director of Live Programs
The Broad (Los Angeles) · USA
$170,000 – $190,000 / year · seen 15 August 2026
- Associate Director of Visitor and Gallery Experience
Walker Art Center · Minneapolis, USA
$81,500 / year · seen 15 August 2026
- Referatsleitung (m/w/d) in der Museumsabteilung
Bayerische Verwaltung der staatlichen Schlösser, Gärten und Seen, München-Nymphenburg
€5,711 – €8,118 / month, gross · seen 15 August 2026
- Leitung der Städtischen Galerie Fruchthalle (m/w/d) in Teilzeit (19,5 Std./Woche)
Kundenbereich Museen der Stadt Rastatt, Rastatt · Germany
€5,124 – €7,592 / month, gross · seen 15 August 2026
Also by field and country
Archive last added to 4 September 2026. Free to use and cite under CC BY 4.0 — “CuratorSearch Curatorial Pay Archive, curatorsearch.com/salaries” with the date, or by DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22544232. Download the whole archive.