Best Geographer programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Study the nature and use of areas of the Earth's surface, relating and interpreting interactions of physical and cultural phenomena.
87 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,069 people a year. The job pays a median of $114,460 in California across about 80 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geographymain feeder CIP 45.0701In California → | 561 | 52.5% | 75 | $38,944 | $22,762 |
| 2 | CIP 45.0702In California → | 458 | 42.8% | 34 | $38,944 | $22,762 |
| 3 | Geography and Environmental Studiesmain feeder CIP 30.4401In California → | 42 | 3.9% | 3 | — | — |
| 4 | CIP 51.3204In California → | 5 | 0.5% | 1 | $99,851 | $21,475 |
| 5 | CIP 30.4101In California → | 3 | 0.3% | 1 | — | — |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 87 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 96 | Geography | $36,776 | 93% | — | 9% |
| 2 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 79 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | $37,398 | 83% | — | 33% |
| 3 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 74 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 4 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 53 | Geography | $38,648 | 76% | — | 36% |
| 5 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 52 | Geography | $32,198 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 6 | Pasadena City College Pasadena, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 52 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 48% | — | — |
| 7 | California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 39 | Geography | $27,002 | 57% | — | 93% |
| 8 | Foothill College Los Altos Hills, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 31 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 56% | — | — |
| 9 | California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Geography | $48,227 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 10 | Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 28 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 36% | — | — |
| 11 | Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Geography | $40,614 | 58% | — | 93% |
| 12 | Rio Hondo College Whittier, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 25% | — | — |
| 13 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 20 | Geography | $35,426 | 68% | — | 75% |
| 14 | Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 49% | — | — |
| 15 | Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 18 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 45% | — | — |
| 16 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 18 | Geography | $24,875 | 50% | — | 96% |
| 17 | California State Polytechnic University - Humboldt Arcata, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 16 | Geography | $27,355 | 49% | — | 98% |
| 18 | City College of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 40% | — | — |
| 19 | Cypress College Cypress, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 15 | Geography | — | 37% | — | — |
| 20 | Palomar College San Marcos, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 15 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 38% | — | — |
| 21 | San Diego Mesa College San Diego, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 15 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 35% | — | — |
| 22 | Southwestern College Chula Vista, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 14 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 35% | — | — |
| 23 | American River College Sacramento, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 37% | — | — |
| 24 | California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Geography | $33,727 | 53% | — | 91% |
| 25 | Sierra College Rocklin, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Geography | — | 42% | — | — |
All 87 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 96 | 3 |
| University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public | 79 | 2 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 74 | 2 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego | Public | 53 | 3 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 52 | 2 |
| Pasadena City College | Pasadena | Public | 52 | 2 |
| California State University - Northridge | Northridge | Public | 39 | 2 |
| Foothill College | Los Altos Hills | Public | 31 | 2 |
| California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento | Public | 28 | 1 |
| Santa Monica College | Santa Monica | Public | 28 | 2 |
| Sonoma State University | Rohnert Park | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Rio Hondo College | Whittier | Public | 21 | 1 |
| California State Polytechnic University - Pomona | Pomona | Public | 20 | 2 |
| Diablo Valley College | Pleasant Hill | Public | 19 | 2 |
| Mt San Antonio College | Walnut | Public | 18 | 2 |
What geographers earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $102,040. California pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Geographers page.
How to become a Geographer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 10 majors mapped to Geographers10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.3501Climate Science
- 30.3801Earth Systems Science
- 30.4101Environmental Geosciences
- 30.4401Geography and Environmental Studies
- 43.0407Geospatial Intelligence
- 45.0701Geography
- 45.0702Geographic Information Science and Cartography
- 45.0799Geography, Other
- 45.1501Geography and Anthropology
- 51.3204Medical/Health Humanities
Common questions
Answers for people weighing geographers programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Geographer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Geography, which awarded 561 degrees in California in 2024-25, 52.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Geographer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Geography and Cartography, Geography and Environmental Studies, Health Professions Education, Environmental Geosciences. Together they graduate about 1,069 people a year in California.
How much do geographers earn in California?+
The median is $114,460 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 12.2% above the U.S. median of $102,040. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for geographers growing?+
BLS projects a -3.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
87 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do geographers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Geographer, Earth Observations Scientist, GIS Geographer (Geographic Information Systems Geographer), GIS Coordinator (Geographic Information Systems Coordinator) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-3092.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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