Majors

Best Colleges for Geography and Cartography, by Earnings

245 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Geography and Cartography, about 3,362 degrees a year. Across the 103 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $57,677 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	George Washington University	DC	$78,390	26	47.1%
2	University of Connecticut	CT	$76,851	23	52.4%
3	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	IL	$75,877	20	97.5%
4	California State University-Sacramento	CA	$75,234	37	94%
5	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	$74,864	11	73.7%
6	George Mason University	VA	$74,692	20	87.5%
7	Syracuse University	NY	$71,543	20	45.9%
8	Binghamton University	NY	$71,207	22	38.6%
9	California State University-Chico	CA	$69,500	17	92.7%
10	Illinois State University	IL	$69,383	23	88.2%
11	California State University-Northridge	CA	$69,323	29	93.5%
12	University at Buffalo	NY	$68,176	32	74.2%
13	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	$67,521	81	33%
14	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	$67,336	8	95.2%
15	University of Florida	FL	$67,276	5	24.2%
16	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$67,193	62	9%
17	California State University-Fresno	CA	$66,863	9	95.3%
18	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	$66,429	7	98.8%
19	Louisiana State University	LA	$66,168	13	73.3%
20	Park University	MO	$65,890	33
21	Arizona State University	AZ	$65,759	48	89.9%
22	Virginia Tech	VA	$65,259	37	54.8%
23	Texas A&M University	TX	$65,228	48	57.4%
24	University of Washington	WA	$64,950	86	39.1%
25	Brigham Young University	UT	$64,875	46	67.8%
26	University of Maryland	MD	$63,835	24	44.8%
27	James Madison University	VA	$63,768	61	71.5%
28	San Francisco State University	CA	$63,590	17	96.4%
29	Radford University	VA	$63,552	11	89.5%
30	Central Michigan University	MI	$62,999	5	89.8%
31	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania	PA	$62,659	16	71.5%
32	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	$62,589	6	85.7%
33	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$62,504	14	42.4%
34	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$62,438	43	26.6%
35	University of Northern Colorado	CO	$62,369	4	85.9%
36	Grand Valley State University	MI	$61,831	14	83%
37	Texas Tech University	TX	$60,831	3	72.7%
38	Texas State University	TX	$60,646	49	89.3%
39	Ohio State University	OH	$60,363	43	60.6%
40	University of Iowa	IA	$59,578	6	83.6%
41	SUNY College at Geneseo	NY	$59,528	13	66.5%
42	University of South Carolina	SC	$59,472	20	60.2%
43	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$59,424	53	45.2%
44	Salem State University	MA	$58,593	17	95.9%
45	University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	$58,569	6	88.8%
46	Salisbury University	MD	$58,548	15	87.5%
47	Appalachian State University	NC	$58,289	19	90.1%
48	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	WI	$58,129	28	82.3%
49	San Diego State University	CA	$58,004	42	36.2%
50	Keene State College	NH	$57,900	3	90.3%
51	Millersville University of Pennsylvania	PA	$57,825	13	86.2%
52	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	$57,677	62	78.1%
53	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	$57,604	10	90.7%
54	Rowan University	NJ	$57,567	31	77.7%
55	Bridgewater State University	MA	$57,550	1	87.8%
56	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	$57,424	36	75.2%
57	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	$57,285	41	74.7%
58	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	$57,208	31	79.6%
59	SUNY Oneonta	NY	$57,154	10	69.6%
60	West Virginia University	WV	$57,075	8	89%
61	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$56,979	12	58.1%
62	University of Louisville	KY	$56,775	15	79.4%
63	Michigan State University	MI	$56,515	27	84.8%
64	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	$56,381	1	85%
65	University of Missouri	MO	$56,191	11	78.5%
66	University of Oregon	OR	$56,165	27	88.3%
67	Sam Houston State University	TX	$56,151	9	90.3%
68	Minnesota State University-Mankato	MN	$56,022	11	88.4%
69	University of Wyoming	WY	$55,889	6	96.9%
70	Northwest Missouri State University	MO	$55,656	10	86.1%
71	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	NC	$55,532	10	88.5%
72	Central Connecticut State University	CT	$55,274	9	73.3%
73	University of South Florida	FL	$54,944	16	43.2%
74	University of Utah	UT	$54,757	34	86%
75	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$54,656	22	41.6%
76	Portland State University	OR	$54,310	14	90.9%
77	Ball State University	IN	$53,992	13	85.5%
78	Framingham State University	MA	$53,840	2	83.6%
79	University of Minnesota	MN	$53,666	44	79.8%
80	Kent State University at Kent	OH	$53,656	12	86.3%
81	Eastern Michigan University	MI	$53,455	11	79.6%
82	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	$53,449	20	86.8%
83	Montclair State University	NJ	$53,285	6	87.9%
84	University of Mary Washington	VA	$53,081	16	79.8%
85	Central Washington University	WA	$53,081	8	90.6%
86	Kennesaw State University	GA	$53,044	44	69.2%
87	University of North Texas	TX	$52,712	35	72.2%
88	Florida State University	FL	$52,537	20	24.2%
89	University of North Alabama	AL	$50,445	22	87.3%
90	Western Michigan University	MI	$49,921	14	84.6%
91	Augustana College	IL	$49,763	12	62.7%
92	Pennsylvania Western University	PA	$49,517	11	94.3%
93	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	$49,476	28	15.3%
94	The University of Alabama	AL	$49,269	8	76.6%
95	California State University-Fullerton	CA	$48,979	23	90.5%
96	University of Colorado Colorado Springs	CO	$48,892	39	97.4%
97	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$48,715	46	46.3%
98	Old Dominion University	VA	$48,280	13	90.4%
99	Northern Illinois University	IL	$47,738	14	69.8%
100	Jacksonville State University	AL	$46,817	8	77.7%

Showing the top 100 of 103 colleges that report earnings. 142 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Geography and Cartography graduates?

George Washington University ($78,390), University of Connecticut ($76,851), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville ($75,877), California State University-Sacramento ($75,234), University of Nevada-Reno ($74,864) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Geography and Cartography majors make?

The median across 103 colleges is $57,677 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $31,499 to $78,390.

Which colleges have the biggest Geography and Cartography programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: University of Washington (86), University of California-Santa Barbara (81), University of California-Los Angeles (62), University of Colorado Boulder (62), James Madison University (61).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Geography and Cartography". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.