Museum Benchmarking & Comparisons

See how your museum compares with similar institutions nationwide.

When enough museums in your category participate, you’ll receive additional benchmarking by museum type, budget, governance, state, or metro area.

Data Cuts

More museums participating = greater comparative data & deeper insights

When you participate in the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, you receive detailed insights about your museum—who your visitors are, what they value, and how their experiences compare to those at museums nationwide.

But your data doesn’t stop there.

When at least five museums of the same type, budget size, governance, and/or geographic area (city, state, and region) take part, you’ll also receive a data cut—a specialized comparison showing how your museum stacks up against a focused peer group.

These comparative data cuts are provided for free as part of your enrollment in the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers.

The more museums that participate, the more comparative data we can provide—and the more meaningful the insights become for the entire field.

Data cuts will be updated as museums enroll for 2027. See what data cuts we offered in 2026 below!

By Museum Type

In 2026, we are providing data cuts for:

African American Museums
Anthropology
Botanic Gardens/Arboreta
Children’s/Youth Museums
General Museums
Multi-Disciplinary Museums
Museums with significant Indigenous Belongings
Natural History Museums
Nature Centers/Preserves
Planetariums
Religious (Art or History) Museums
Science/Technology Centers
Social Justice Museums
Zoological Parks or Aquaria

Art Museums, including by:
Contemporary Art Museums
Decorative Arts
Design Museums
Encyclopedic Art Museums
Regional Art Museums
University/College Art Museums

History-related museums, including by:
City History Museums
Estates or Mansions
Historic Houses
Historic Sites
Industrial History
Local History/Historical Societies
Maritime History
Military History
Outdoor History Museums
Revolutionary War/Founding of the US
State History Museums

By Governance:
Academic
Municipal (city/county)
State (state/province)

By Location

In 2026, we are providing data cuts for:

By State:
Arizona
Colorado
Florida
Illinois
Indiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Washington, DC

By City/Metro Area:
Albany
Boston metro area
Denver
Philadelphia metro area
Southern California

By Budget

In 2026, we are providing data cuts for:

$400,000 – $1 million, with additional cuts by:
Art Museums/Centers
Historic Houses
Historic Sites
History Museums
Local Historical Societies

$1.1 million – $5 million, with additional cuts by:
Art Museums/Centers
Children’s/Youth Museums
City History Museums/Centers
Contemporary Art Museums
Estates or Mansions
Historic Houses
Historic Sites
History Museums
Natural History Museums
Regional Art Museums
Science/Technology Centers
State History Museums
University/College Art Museums

$5.1 million – $10 million, with additional cuts by:
Art Museums/Centers
Children’s/Youth Museums
Contemporary Art Museums
Historic Houses
History Museums
Natural History Museums
Regional Art Museums
Science/Technology Centers

Greater than $10 million, with additional cuts by:
Anthropology Museums
Art Museums/Centers
Children’s/Youth Museums
City History Museums
Contemporary Art Museums
Encyclopedic Art Museums
Estates or Mansions
Historic Houses
History Museums
Natural History Museums
Regional Art Museums
Science/Technology Centers
State History Museums

Broader Population Comparison

Broader population sampling collects data from casual visitors and non-visitors in your city or state. When you think of your museum and your local population, there are three main groups of people:

Frequent visitors

Potential Annual Survey of Museum-Goers respondents; typically your repeat visitors and/or members.

Casual visitors

Potential broader population sampling respondent; someone who may visit once a year, or every couple of years.

Non-visitors

Potential broader population sampling respondent; someone who has never visited or hasn’t visited in many years.

By adding on Broader Population Sampling in your area, you can create a more complete picture of who does and doesn’t engage with your museum, as well as their values, attitudes, and behaviors. This can then help you develop a more informed audience engagement strategy to broaden audiences.

Enroll today

2026 Participants

Academy Art Museum Alabama Department of Archives and History Albany Institute of History & Art Alf Engen Ski Museum Allen County Museum American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Anchorage Museum Armstrong Air & Space Museum (Ohio History Connection) Art Complex Museum Bishop Museum Blanton Museum of Art Boca Raton Museum of Art Boston Children’s Museum Brandywine Museum of Art Buffalo Museum of Science Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture Canadian Museum of Nature Chandler Museum Charlotte Museum of History Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Chicago Architecture Center Children’s Museum Houston Children’s Museum of Manhattan Children’s Museum of Phoenix Chrysler Museum of Art Cincinnati Art Museum Cincinnati Museum Center Cleveland Museum of Natural History Colorado Railroad Museum Columbus Museum of Art Conner Prairie Crystal Bridges Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens CuriOdyssey Denver Art Museum Denver Museum of Nature and Science Des Moines Art Center Descanso Gardens Foundation Detroit Historical Society Detroit Institute of Arts Discovery Museum Discovery Place Science Edith Farnsworth House Historic Site El Paso Museum of Art Exploration Place Farmington Museums Fernbank Museum Field Museum Fort Wayne Museum of Art Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center Franklin G. Burroughs – Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum Fred Jones Jr Museum of Art Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia Genesee Country Village and Museum George Eastman Museum George Washington’s Mount Vernon Glencairn Museum Glensheen Mansion Grand Rapids Art Museum Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum High Desert Museum Hillwood Estate, Museum & Garden Historic Cherry Hill Historical Society of Cheshire County Honolulu Museum of Art Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks (Ohio History Connection) ICA Boston Idaho State Museum Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites International Spy Museum Japanese American National Museum Jewish Museum of Maryland John Michael Kohler Arts Center and Art Preserve Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Kentucky Historical Society Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Levine Museum of the New South Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum Litchfield Historical Society Littleton Museum Longmont Museum Maryland Center for History and Culture Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center McLean County Museum of History Mead Art Museum Meadows Museum Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream Mines Museum of Earth Science Mingei International Museum Minneapolis Institute of Art Minnesota Historical Society Mississippi Museum of Art Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts

Museum at Bethel Woods Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Museum of Early Trades & Crafts Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Museum of Innovation and Science Museum of Northern Arizona Museum of the American Revolution Museum of the Shenandoah Valley Museums at Union Station Mystic Seaport Museum NASCAR Hall of Fame National Air and Space Museum National Museum of Mexican Art National Nordic Museum National Susan B Anthony Museum & House Nebraska State Historical Society Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art New York State Museum Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center North Carolina Museum of Art North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture Norton Museum of Art Ohio History Center (Ohio History Connection) Old Dartmouth Historical Society d/b/a New Bedford Whaling Museum Omaha Children’s Museum Oregon Historical Society Ottawa Museum Network Peabody Essex Museum Perot Museum of Nature and Science Philadelphia Museum of Art Phipps Conservatory Phoenix Art Museum Raclin Murphy Museum of Art Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture Revolutionary Spaces Reynolda House Museum of American Art Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) Ruth Mott Foundation/Applewood Estate Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums Saint Louis Art Museum San Bernardino County Museum San Diego History Center Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Science Museum Oklahoma Seattle Art Museum Seattle Children’s Museum Serpent Mound (Ohio History Connection) Shelburne Museum SHU Discovery Science Center & Planetarium (Sacred Heart University) Sioux City Public Museum Skirball Cultural Center Smithsonian Gardens Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History South Carolina State Museum Space Center Houston Springfield Museum of Art Stanley Museum of Art Swope Art Museum The American Museum of Western Art, The Anschutz Collection The Children’s Museum at Saratoga The Clark Art Institute The Contemporary Austin The Florida Aquarium The Franklin Institute The Frick Pittsburgh The Gamble House Conservancy The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art The Museum of Russian Art The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures The Strong National Museum of Play The Tech Interactive The Valentine The Witte Museum The Wolfsonian–FIU Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Underground Railroad Education Center (Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc.) USS SLATER (Destroyer Escort Historical Museum) Utica Zoo Utility Exploration Center Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Virginia Museum of History & Culture Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art Washington State Historical Society Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West Westmoreland Historical Society and Historic Hanna’s Town Whatcom Museum Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian Wisconsin Veterans Museum Worcester Art Museum

Participant stories

Browse the stories of those who have participated in the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers and learn how they applied the data in practice.

Data Stories

Check out the data stories from previous years’ surveys covering themes from masking in museums to how to spark curiosity among visitors.

Ready to sign up?

Complete the form to sign up or get in touch with Wilkening Consulting for more information.

Sign up for the 2027 Survey

Contact Wilkening Consulting