In last week’s Museum 411 newsletter, we shared a recent 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 (L.A.)*
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 (D.C.)*
Free
National Museum of American History (D.C.)*
Free
Specialty Museums
Museum
Admission Price
International Spy Museum (D.C.)
$31.75
The Neon Museum (Las Vegas, NV)
$25 (daytime), $35 (at night)
Computer History Museum (Mountain View, CA)
$19.50
Museum of Jurassic Technology (L.A.)
$15
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 (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 (and always keeping in mind that there are many things competing for a potential visitor’s disposable income).
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 NY, NJ, and CT residents.
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 avenue 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 could also look into occasional creative promotions.
