Best degree programs for Geographers, ranked by enrollment
10 college programs and 463 schools train Geographers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $102,040 median wage, 1,400 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
10 college programs at 463 schools train geographers, graduating 9,125 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Geographic Information Science and Cartography. The job pays a median of $102,040 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About geographers
Study the nature and use of areas of the Earth's surface, relating and interpreting interactions of physical and cultural phenomena. Conduct research on physical aspects of a region, including land forms, climates, soils, plants, and animals, and conduct research on the spatial implications of human activities within a given area, including social characteristics, economic activities, and political organization, as well as researching interdependence between regions at scales ranging from local to global.
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interact. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" and the Greek suffix, "graphy", meaning "description", so a geographer is someone who studies the earth. The word "geography" is a Middle French word that is believed to have been first used in 1540.
Read more on Wikipedia →Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
10 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 45.0702 | 4,067 | 44.6% | 269 | $38,944 | $22,762 |
| 2 | Geographymain feeder CIP 45.0701 | 2,786 | 30.5% | 266 | $38,944 | $22,762 |
| 3 | Geography and Environmental Studiesmain feeder CIP 30.4401 | 1,229 | 13.5% | 70 | — | — |
| 4 | CIP 51.3204 | 415 | 4.5% | 31 | $99,851 | $21,475 |
| 5 | Geography, Othermain feeder CIP 45.0799 | 323 | 3.5% | 23 | $38,944 | $22,762 |
| 6 | CIP 30.3501 | 127 | 1.4% | 7 | — | — |
| 7 | CIP 30.4101 | 90 | 1.0% | 11 | — | — |
| 8 | CIP 30.3801 | 62 | 0.7% | 7 | — | — |
| 9 | CIP 43.0407 | 19 | 0.2% | 6 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 10 | Geography and Anthropologymain feeder CIP 45.1501 | 7 | 0.1% | 1 | — | — |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What geographers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $114,460 | 80 | 0.48× | 87 | 1,069 |
| Texas | $79,170 | 180 | 1.39× | 24 | 672 |
| Colorado | — | 90 | 3.61× | 13 | 382 |
| Washington | $112,260 | 40 | 1.17× | 7 | 338 |
| Virginia | $108,020 | 130 | 3.63× | 10 | 282 |
| Missouri | $102,040 | 40 | 1.40× | 8 | 221 |
| Illinois | $92,640 | 40 | 0.80× | 16 | 192 |
| Maryland | $114,920 | 210 | 8.35× | 9 | 179 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Create and modify maps, graphs, or diagrams, using geographical information software and related equipment, and principles of cartography, such as coordinate systems, longitude, latitude, elevation, topography, and map scales.
- Gather and compile geographic data from sources such as censuses, field observations, satellite imagery, aerial photographs, and existing maps.
- Teach geography.
- Write and present reports of research findings.
- Provide geographical information systems support to the private and public sectors.
- Study the economic, political, and cultural characteristics of a specific region's population.
- Analyze geographic distributions of physical and cultural phenomena on local, regional, continental, or global scales.
- Develop, operate, and maintain geographical information computer systems, including hardware, software, plotters, digitizers, printers, and video cameras.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.1
- Writing4.1
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Active Listening3.8
- Active Learning3.6
- Science3.4
- Learning Strategies3.1
Knowledge areas
- Geography4.8
- English Language3.8
- Computers and Electronics3.8
- Education and Training3.5
- Sociology and Anthropology3.5
- Mathematics3.0
Abilities
- Written Expression4.1
- Written Comprehension4.1
- Inductive Reasoning4.1
- Oral Expression4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Deductive Reasoning4.0
Core activities
- Analyzing Data or Information4.6
- Working with Computers4.5
- Processing Information4.5
- Getting Information4.5
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.3
- Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others4.2
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
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.
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
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
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 Geographic Information Science and Cartography, which awarded 4,067 degrees in 2024-25, 44.6% 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 10 programs to this occupation. The largest are Geography and Cartography, Geography and Environmental Studies, Health Professions Education, Climate Science, plus 4 more. Together they graduate about 9,125 people a year.
How much do geographers earn?+
The median is $102,040 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $66,770 at the 10th percentile to $136,660 at the 90th. 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?+
463 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 10 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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