Best Surveying programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Perform surveying and mapping duties, usually under the direction of an engineer, surveyor, cartographer, or photogrammetrist, to obtain data used for construction, mapmaking, boundary location, mining, or other purposes.
16 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 162 people a year. The job pays a median of $57,470 in Illinois across about 1,110 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Illinois that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
3 programs in Illinois that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Illinois (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 Illinois page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 45.0701In Illinois → | 77 | 47.5% | 10 | $38,944 | $22,762 |
| 2 | CIP 45.0702In Illinois → | 77 | 47.5% | 7 | $38,944 | $22,762 |
| 3 | CIP 15.1102In Illinois → | 8 | 4.9% | 1 | $59,013 | — |
Top 16 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 4 of the 16 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Geography | $34,952 | 65% | — | 88% |
| 2 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 29 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | $47,464 | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
| 3 | Western Illinois University Macomb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 45% | — | 71% |
| 4 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | $42,214 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 5 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 12 | Geography | — | 47% | — | 65% |
| 6 | William Rainey Harper College Palatine, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 48% | — | — |
| 7 | Augustana College Rock Island, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Geography | $40,683 | 73% | $14,960 | 63% |
| 8 | Parkland College Champaign, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Surveying Technology/Surveying | — | 32% | — | — |
| 9 | Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Geography | — | 70% | $20,794 | 74% |
| 10 | Chicago State University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Geography | — | 15% | — | 43% |
| 11 | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 73% | $33,454 | 82% |
| 12 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Geography | — | 22% | — | 75% |
| 13 | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Geography | — | 49% | — | 70% |
| 14 | College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Geography | — | 25% | — | — |
| 15 | Lake Land College Mattoon, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Geography | — | 58% | — | — |
| 16 | Lincoln Land Community College Springfield, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Geographic Information Science and Cartography | — | 48% | — | — |
All 16 schools in Illinois
Every school in Illinois 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois State University | Normal | Public | 31 | 1 |
| DePaul University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 29 | 2 |
| Western Illinois University | Macomb | Public | 19 | 1 |
| University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Eastern Illinois University | Charleston | Public | 12 | 2 |
| William Rainey Harper College | Palatine | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Augustana College | Rock Island | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
| Parkland College | Champaign | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Elmhurst University | Elmhurst | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| Chicago State University | Chicago | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Northeastern Illinois University | Chicago | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Northern Illinois University | Dekalb | Public | 4 | 1 |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | Public | 1 | 1 |
What surveying and mapping technicians earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $54,240. Illinois pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Illinois
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 Surveying and Mapping Technicians page.
How to become a Surveying
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Illinois
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 3 majors mapped to Surveying and Mapping Technicians3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.1102Surveying Technology/Surveying
- 45.0701Geography
- 45.0702Geographic Information Science and Cartography
Common questions
Answers for people weighing surveying and mapping technicians programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Surveying?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Geography, which awarded 77 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 47.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Surveying?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Geography and Cartography, Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 162 people a year in Illinois.
How much do surveying and mapping technicians earn in Illinois?+
The median is $57,470 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.0% above the U.S. median of $54,240. 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 surveying and mapping technicians growing?+
BLS projects a +4.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 7,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
16 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 3 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 surveying and mapping technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Survey Technician, Mapping Technician, Photogrammetric Technician, Photogrammetric Compilation Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-3031.
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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