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Museum Preparator Salary in the United States

How much does a Museum Preparator make in the United States? The salary range for a Museum Preparator job is from $45,376 to $56,777 per year in the United States. Click on the filter to check out Museum Preparator job salaries by hourly, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly, and yearly.

Average base salary
updated at March 01, 2025
$50,165
Per Year
The average salary for a Museum Preparator is $50,165
per Year in the United States.
Individually reported data submitted by users of our website

HOW SHOULD YOU USE THIS DATA?

Employees: Use this as a guide for salary expectations, but be aware that responsibilities can change across companies for the same job title, so there may be differences between this data, other free site and our subscription products bought by employers.

Employers: This data could be used as reference point in your market pricing, but not the only source, due to differences across jobs locations, and sizes of companies.Consider additional sources like our Employer reported data.

Base Salary
$45,376
$50,165
Medium
$56,777

Highest Paying Cities for Museum Preparator in the United States

Museum Preparator salaries in the United States will pay differently by cities. Below following are the eight cities with the highest income for Museum Preparator jobs in the United States. The city with the highest salary is San Jose. Click on the Museum Preparator salary in cities you are interested in to view detailed job salary information.

States with Higher Salaries for Museum Preparator

The five states where Museum Preparator jobs get higher salaries in the United States are: District of Columbia, California, New Jersey, Alaska, and Massachusetts. Compared with the average salary of a Museum Preparator in the United States, the state of District of Columbia with the highest job income for this job. The second and third states are California and New Jersey respectively. The high or low salary paid to Museum Preparator by the US has a greater relationship with the demand for jobs and the cost of living.

How Much Do Similar Professions Get Paid in the United States?

There are some different titles for Museum Preparator jobs, and the job title of Museum Preparator will vary in different companies. The job title has a lot to do with the department and responsibilities, and the same job title will vary in different departments. The following list is the salary of jobs similar to Museum Preparator, start to view Museum Preparator-related jobs you are interested in.
Preparator
Average salary
United States
$54,250
per Year
Art Preparator
Average salary
United States
$118,844
per Year
Chief Preparator
Average salary
United States
$61,111
per Year
Fossil Preparator
Average salary
United States
$54,250
per Year
Lab Preparator
Average salary
United States
$61,869
per Year
Museum Coordinator
Average salary
United States
$68,485
per Year

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What Does a Museum Preparator Do?

Along the way, preparators do significant physical and epistemic processing to make fossils researchable, although their contributions to the forms that specimens take are rarely reported in institutional records or museum exhibits—and even less often in published papers.

December 21, 2021

The Preparator & Operations Coordinator reports to the Museum Director and fulfills their duties in accordance with campus, state, and federal policies and laws as well as in keeping with museum and gallery professional practices.

December 18, 2021

From the viewpoint of the strict conservationist, all adhesives used on museum specimens, should be reversible; however, from the practical standpoint of the preparator, that is not always possible.

December 16, 2021

The museum preparator is expected to move fluidly among assignments, and yet approach each object deliberately and with prudence.

December 15, 2021

Exhibition Preparator Sean Murtha, left, and Senior Exhibition Designer Dan Buckley encase Native American blackware pottery at the new exhibit "Resolute: Native Nations Art in the Bruce Collection" at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Conn.

December 14, 2021

Most Common Benefits for Museum Preparator

Social Security
Healthcare
401(k)
Pension
Disability
Time Off (days)

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about salaries for a Museum Preparator
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Along the way, preparators do significant physical and epistemic processing to make fossils researchable, although their contributions to the forms that specimens take are rarely reported in institutional records or museum exhibits—and even less often in published papers.
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Explore our personal salary report to know the Museum Preparator market value in the United States. And find out if any places are having a higher Museum Preparator salary.
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The highest Museum Preparator salary is $56,777, while the lowest is $45,376 in the United States.
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