US Museums Face Widespread Repair Backlogs as Structural Risks Mount
A new federal survey suggests that the physical condition of many American museums is far more fragile than their public image implies. The US Government Accountability Office found that about 85% of museums face a backlog of maintenance or repairs, and about 77% have at least one structural issue that could put collections at risk.
The report, released in March, was based on surveys of around 300 museums and 17 site visits conducted as part of the federal appropriations process. Its findings point to a system in which many institutions are trying to preserve art, history, and community memory inside buildings that are aging faster than their budgets can keep up.
David Marroni, the GAO’s director of physical infrastructure, said the research challenged assumptions about what a typical museum looks like. Rather than large urban institutions in purpose-built facilities, the report found that most of the 16,700 museums in its target population are small operations with limited staff and modest resources. That reality makes major repairs especially difficult. A new roof, HVAC system, or other high-cost fix can consume a significant share of an annual budget.
The problem is compounded in rural and remote areas, where shipping materials and finding skilled labor can be prohibitively expensive. Historic buildings create another layer of complexity, particularly when the structure itself is part of the collection. Accessibility is also a major concern. Many museums occupy buildings erected before the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, leaving visitors to navigate stairs, uneven paths, or other barriers. In one California site visited by GAO researchers, the museum sits atop a hill equivalent to five flights of stairs, with no elevator or accessible alternative.
Funding remains the central obstacle. Around half of the museums surveyed said they had more than $100,000 in deferred maintenance. For many, private fundraising is the only realistic path forward. The Institute of Museum and Library Services can support some conservation-related needs, such as humidity control or fire suppression, but its grants cannot be used for construction.
The report also describes the consequences of delay. In some cases, deferred maintenance has become so extensive that building anew would be cheaper than repairing what already exists. One anonymous museum in Alaska, for example, has endured two consecutive years of flooding. Other institutions have resorted to storing objects in bathrooms and garages when proper space is unavailable.
Museum advocates say the findings reflect a long-running national problem. A spokesperson for the American Alliance of Museums said deferred maintenance affects not only facilities, but also a museum’s ability to care for collections, serve its community, and remain open to the public. The report’s broader message is hard to miss: for museums, buildings are not background infrastructure. They are part of the work of preservation itself.
That urgency is especially acute for tribal museums, which face added pressure to store repatriated sacred objects, materials, and remains with the care those holdings require.
