Compared with the local labor market
Museum Curator I pay vs. California
Across all employers in California, the median wage for Curators — about 1,140 people — is $78,740. Afro-American Museum pays a median base salary of $67,106 for this role, 15% below that figure — about the 26th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Afro-American Museum sits in the local pay range
$53,390
$66,480
$78,740
$99,430
$125,670
Afro-American Museum median · $67,106
The bar is the range of annual wages for Curators across every employer in California, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Afro-American Museum’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Curators — about 12,150 people — is $63,420. Afro-American Museum’s median base salary is 6% above that national figure, about the 55th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$40,470
$48,870
$63,420
$83,080
$107,140
Afro-American Museum median · $67,106
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the California range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Afro-American Museum is $72,181, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
This role across California
Museum Curator I is held in 2 California departments. In Afro-American Museum, the median of $59,749 ranks #2 of 2.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Museum Curator I role in other Californiadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Museum Curator beyond California
This role is reported in 3 jurisdictions. In California, the median of $77,573 ranks #2 of 3. See Museum Curator across all of California →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Museum Curatorroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.