In last week’s Museum 411 newsletter, we shared a Blooloop article on the top 20 museums in the United States (based on the insights from the TEA/AECOM Museum Index 2023, an annual report that details visitor trends, attendance growth, and the evolving role of museums).
It got us thinking about admission prices across genres. Below, you’ll see adult regular admission prices for each museum in that top 20 most-visited list — marked with an asterisk — plus a smattering of other museums, arranged by type of museum.
Note: Allow for a bit of +/-, as some offer a discount for advanced/online purchase, or employ dynamic pricing, or different pricing depending on time of day, etc. We’re aiming for a general representation of an adult ticket.
Art Museums
| Museum | Admission Price |
|---|---|
| Art Institute of Chicago* | $32 |
| The Dalí Museum (St. Petersburg, FL) | $32 |
| The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC)* | $30 |
| Museum of Modern Art – MoMA (NYC)* | $30 |
| Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | $27 |
| Portland Art Museum | $25 |
| Georgia O’Keefe Museum (Santa Fe, NM) | $22 |
| Charles Hosmer Morse Museum (Winter Park, FL) | $6 |
| Dixon Gallery & Gardens (Memphis, TN) | Free |
| Getty Center (L.A.)* | Free |
| National Gallery of Art (D.C.)* | Free |
| Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO) | Free |
| Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, AR) | Free |
| Smithsonian American Art Museum (D.C.)* | Free |
Science & Natural History Museums
| Museum | Admission Price |
|---|---|
| California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, CA)* | $49 |
| Space Center Houston* | $34.95 |
| Museum of Science (Boston, MA)* | $31 |
| American Museum of Natural History (NYC)* | $30 |
| Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)* | $25.95 |
| Denver Museum of Nature and Science* | $25.95 |
| Perot Museum of Nature and Science (Dallas, TX) | $25 |
| Houston Museum of Natural Science* | $25 |
| Cincinnati Museum Center | $19.50 |
| National Air and Space Museum (D.C.)* | Free |
| National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Chantilly, VA)* | Free |
| California Science Center (Los Angeles, CA)* | Free |
| National Museum of Natural History (D.C.)* | Free |
History & Cultural Museums
| Museum | Admission Price |
|---|---|
| National WWII Museum (New Orleans, LA) | $36 |
| 9/11 Memorial & Museum (NYC)* | $36 |
| Tenement Museum (NYC) | $30 |
| Museum of the American Revolution (Philadelphia, PA) | $23 |
| Eternal Gandhi Museum Houston | $20 |
| Wing Luke Museum (Seattle, WA) | $17 |
| The Bryan Museum (Galveston, TX) | $15 |
| Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum (Evanston, IL) | $8 |
| National Museum of African American History (Washington, D.C.)* | Free |
| National Museum of American History (Washington, D.C.)* | Free |
Specialty Museums
| Museum | Admission Price |
|---|---|
| International Spy Museum (Washington, D.C.) | $31.75 |
| The Neon Museum (Las Vegas, NV) | $25 (daytime), $35 (at night) |
| The Mütter Museum (Philadelphia, PA) | $20 |
| Computer History Museum (Mountain View, CA) | $19.50 |
| Museum of Jurassic Technology (Los Angeles, CA) | $15 |
| Vent Haven [Ventriloquism] Museum (Fort Mitchell, KY) | $15 (seasonally, by appointment only) |
| The Bicycle Museum of America (New Bremen, OH) | $3 |
| The National Mustard Museum (Middleton, WI) | Free |
Children’s Museums
| Museum | Admission Price |
|---|---|
| Children’s Museum of Indianapolis | $37 |
| Please Touch Museum (Philadelphia, PA) | $22 |
| Boston Children’s Museum | $22 |
| Children’s Museum Houston | $19.95 |
| Children’s Discovery Museum (San Jose, CA) | $18 |
| The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum | $15 |
Historic Home Museums
| Museum | Admission Price |
|---|---|
| The Biltmore Estate (Asheville, NC) | $95 |
| Monticello (Charlottesville, VA) | $42 |
| Tenement Museum (NYC) | $30 |
| The Hermitage (Nashville, TN) | $28 |
| Mark Twain House (Hartford, CT) | $28 |
| Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum (Key West, FL) | $19 |
Zoos & Aquariums
| Institution | Admission Price |
|---|---|
| San Diego Zoo | $76 |
| Monterey Bay Aquarium (CA) | $65 |
| Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, GA) | $48.49 |
| Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, IL) | $39.95 |
| Bronx Zoo (NYC) | $38.20 |
| Fort Worth Zoo | $20 |
| National Zoo (Washington, D.C.) | Free |
Botanic Gardens
| Garden | Admission Price |
|---|---|
| New York Botanical Garden (NYC) | $35 |
| Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square, PA) | $35 |
| Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden | $25.95 |
| Desert Botanical Garden (Phoenix, AZ) | $16.95 (summer) |
| Chicago Botanic Garden | $16.95 |
(Gardens are particularly inclined to utilize dynamic pricing, seasonal pricing, and other variable pricing schemes.)
Takeaways:
While free entry is an incredible thing, it’s obviously not feasible for most. And the reality is that admission (and parking) can price certain segments of your community out of visiting entirely. The conversation then becomes: How can we make admission more accessible to those who can’t afford it, while still sustaining the institutions themselves?
In addition to the more common discount patterns (seniors, students, small children, military, large groups, etc.), admission to the Met and the American Museum of Natural History include a pay-what-you-wish model for residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
The Children’s Museum of Minneapolis offers $2 admission for Indiana families receiving SNAP benefits through the Access Pass program. Similarly, more than 1,400 U.S. institutions participate in Museums for All, which offers $3 or less admission for SNAP recipients.
Another workaround is Bank of America’s Museums on Us, which offers free admission to select museums for cardholders the first weekend of each month. And, of course, Blue Star Museums. If you’re looking for ways to mix in discounted admission schemes, you might also look into occasional creative promotions.
