Best programs to become a surveyor
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for surveyors. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Surveying Technology/Surveying and Surveying Engineering (IPEDS completions).
2 college programs at 90 schools train surveyors, graduating 1,205 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $75,440 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About surveyors
Make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. Provide data relevant to the shape, contour, gravitation, location, elevation, or dimension of land or land features on or near the earth's surface for engineering, mapmaking, mining, land evaluation, construction, and other purposes.
Best programs to study to become a surveyor
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 15.1102 | 1,117 | 92.7% | 79 | $59,013 | — |
| 2 | Surveying Engineeringmain feeder CIP 14.3801 | 88 | 7.3% | 16 | $72,931 | — |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
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.
What surveyors 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $61,150 | 6,410 | 1.39× | 6 | 183 |
| North Carolina | $76,210 | 1,530 | 0.94× | 6 | 113 |
| California | $105,330 | 4,520 | 0.76× | 9 | 81 |
| Ohio | $70,620 | 1,300 | 0.72× | 5 | 80 |
| Floridamoderate | $65,480 | 4,000 | 1.23× | 3 | 57 |
| Arkansasmoderate | $51,800 | 550 | 1.29× | 3 | 56 |
| Mainelimited | $83,200 | 270 | 1.31× | 1 | 53 |
| Washingtonmoderate | $85,610 | 780 | 0.67× | 3 | 47 |
| Oklahomalimited | $61,300 | 960 | 1.72× | 1 | 43 |
| Utahlimited | $73,230 | 650 | 1.14× | 2 | 37 |
| Indianalimited | $80,510 | 870 | 0.83× | 1 | 35 |
| Michiganmoderate | $72,080 | 1,050 | 0.73× | 3 | 30 |
| Louisianamoderate | $63,140 | 1,460 | 2.30× | 3 | 27 |
| Georgiamoderate | $58,100 | 1,770 | 1.11× | 3 | 26 |
| Tennesseelimited | $76,340 | 920 | 0.86× | 2 | 26 |
| Minnesotamoderate | $83,620 | 980 | 1.02× | 3 | 25 |
| Idaholimited | $73,940 | 250 | 0.89× | 1 | 23 |
| New Yorklimited | $78,870 | 1,470 | 0.46× | 2 | 22 |
| Wyominglimited | $81,250 | 240 | 2.63× | 2 | 21 |
| South Dakotalimited | $77,190 | 180 | 1.21× | 1 | 20 |
| Virginiamoderate | $71,070 | 1,360 | 1.01× | 4 | 20 |
| New Mexicolimited | $74,230 | 290 | 1.01× | 2 | 16 |
| Pennsylvaniamoderate | $75,950 | 1,610 | 0.81× | 3 | 15 |
| Coloradolimited | $79,310 | 1,620 | 1.72× | 1 | 14 |
| New Jerseylimited | $77,160 | 900 | 0.64× | 2 | 14 |
| South Carolinalimited | $63,300 | 1,000 | 1.33× | 2 | 13 |
| Oregonlimited | $97,070 | 530 | 0.82× | 2 | 12 |
| Nevadalimited | $82,460 | 490 | 0.97× | 1 | 11 |
| West Virginialimited | $61,520 | 630 | 2.76× | 1 | 11 |
| Alaskalimited | $99,550 | 250 | 2.35× | 1 | 10 |
| Kentuckylimited | $71,840 | 670 | 1.03× | 2 | 10 |
| Alabamalimited | $66,840 | 910 | 1.31× | 1 | 9 |
| North Dakotalimited | $79,360 | 250 | 1.75× | 1 | 9 |
| Illinoislimited | $75,980 | 1,710 | 0.86× | 1 | 8 |
| Connecticutlimited | $76,730 | 430 | 0.77× | 1 | 5 |
| Wisconsinlimited | $79,650 | 610 | 0.63× | 1 | 4 |
| Marylandlimited | $64,910 | 950 | 1.06× | 1 | 1 |
| Nebraskalimited | $68,050 | 430 | 1.29× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and knowledge
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
- Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles.
- Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed.
- Write descriptions of property boundary surveys for use in deeds, leases, or other legal documents.
- Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.
- Search legal records, survey records, and land titles to obtain information about property boundaries in areas to be surveyed.
- Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features.
- Prepare, or supervise preparation of, all data, charts, plots, maps, records, and documents related to surveys.
- Compute geodetic measurements and interpret survey data to determine positions, shapes, and elevations of geomorphic and topographic features.
Skills
- Mathematics4.1
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Active Listening3.7
- Writing3.7
- Speaking3.5
- Active Learning3.3
- Monitoring3.2
Knowledge areas
- Mathematics4.7
- Engineering and Technology4.1
- Geography3.9
- Computers and Electronics3.9
- English Language3.6
- Design3.4
Abilities
- Mathematical Reasoning4.0
- Written Comprehension4.0
- Inductive Reasoning3.9
- Deductive Reasoning3.9
- Written Expression3.9
- Near Vision3.9
Core activities
- Working with Computers4.6
- Processing Information4.4
- Analyzing Data or Information4.4
- Documenting/Recording Information4.4
- Getting Information4.4
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.2
How to get in
How to become a surveyor
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Internship/residency
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 2 majors mapped to Surveyors2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.3801Surveying Engineering
- 15.1102Surveying Technology/Surveying
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 surveyor?+
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for surveyors. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Surveying Technology/Surveying and Surveying Engineering (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a surveyor?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Surveying Technology/Surveying and Surveying Engineering (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this job, which together graduate about 1,205 people a year.
How much do surveyors earn?+
The median is $75,440 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $46,880 at the 10th percentile to $125,590 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 surveyors growing?+
BLS projects a +4.4% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 3,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
90 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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 surveyors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Surveyor, Geodesist, Land Surveyor, County Surveyor, Geodetic Advisor, Geodetic Surveyor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-1022.
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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