A recent survey by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that approximately 85% of US museums face a costly backlog of maintenance or building repairs, with 77% having at least one structural issue that puts their collections at risk. Based on a survey of around 300 museums and 17 site visits, the report reveals that institutions across the country struggle to keep buildings updated and safe due to a lack of funding, with challenges especially pronounced in rural and remote locations where shipping materials and finding skilled workers is prohibitively expensive. Many museums are housed in historic homes or sites that are part of their collections, adding further complexity, and smaller museums often lack the budget to address major problems like new roofs or HVAC systems.
This matters because deferred maintenance directly affects museums' ability to care for collections, serve communities, and remain open and accessible to the public. The report highlights a systemic 'chronic underinvestment' in museum infrastructure, with around half of surveyed museums having more than $100,000 in deferred maintenance and limited access to federal grants for structural needs. The findings underscore a growing crisis for thousands of small historical museums across the US, which often lack the private fundraising capacity of major institutions, and raise urgent questions about the long-term sustainability of the nation's cultural infrastructure.