---
title: "Surveyor"
description: "Make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. Provide data relevant to the shape, contour, gravitation, location, elevation, or dimension of…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/surveyor"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Surveyor

**Category:** Architecture and Engineering · **SOC code:** 17-1022 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 17-1022.00

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.

Also advertised as: City Surveyor; County Surveyor; Land Surveyor; Licensed Land Surveyor; Mine Surveyor; Professional Land Surveyor; Registered Land Surveyor; Staff Land Surveyor.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $75,440 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $36.27/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $46,880 to $125,590, with the middle half between $58,170 and $98,130
- **Total US employment:** 50,830
- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +5.8% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 3,100 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 44/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 50,830 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $46,880 |
| 25th | $58,170 |
| 50th (median) | $75,440 |
| 75th | $98,130 |
| 90th | $125,590 |
| Mean (average) | $80,570 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CA | $105,330 | $95,132 | 4,520 |
| AK | $99,550 | $97,256 | 250 |
| OR | $97,070 | $93,914 | 530 |
| MA | $94,590 | $89,441 | 1,290 |
| WA | $85,610 | $80,000 | 780 |
| MT | $84,610 | $89,397 | 350 |
| MN | $83,620 | $84,789 | 980 |
| ME | $83,200 | $85,729 | 270 |
| DE | $82,890 | $83,049 | 120 |
| NV | $82,460 | $82,477 | 490 |
| HI | $82,200 | $74,761 | 140 |
| WY | $81,250 | $87,657 | 240 |
| IN | $80,510 | $86,265 | 870 |
| WI | $79,650 | $84,648 | 610 |
| ND | $79,360 | $89,210 | 250 |

37 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 52 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/surveyor/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/surveyor.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 52,000 in the 2025–2035 base year to 55,000 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 3,000 jobs, or +5.8%. Faster than average: 5.8% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 3,100 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Medium preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Internship/residency.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Bachelor's Degree | 47.4% |
| Some College Courses | 21.1% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 15.8% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 10.5% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 5.3% |

## What the work involves

- Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.
- 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.
- Calculate heights, depths, relative positions, property lines, and other characteristics of terrain.
- Plan and conduct ground surveys designed to establish baselines, elevations, and other geodetic measurements.
- Determine longitudes and latitudes of important features and boundaries in survey areas, using theodolites, transits, levels, and satellite-based global positioning systems (GPS).
- Train assistants and helpers, and direct their work in such activities as performing surveys or drafting maps.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Mathematics — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Coordination — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Instructing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Management of Personnel Resources — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mathematics — importance 4.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Geography — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Design — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Written Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematical Reasoning — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Inductive Reasoning — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Conventional (C), Realistic (R), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| C — Conventional | 5.29 |
| R — Realistic | 5.25 |
| I — Investigative | 4.73 |
| A — Artistic | 2.12 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.88 |
| S — Social | 1.63 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 94.3 |
| ISTP | 81.7 |
| INTJ | 80.3 |
| ISFJ | 72.1 |
| ESTJ | 70.1 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Geodetic Surveyor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geodetic-surveyor) — median $75,440
- [Surveying and Mapping Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surveying-and-mapping-technician) — median $54,240
- [Civil Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/civil-engineer) — median $100,840
- [Cartographer and Photogrammetrist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cartographer-and-photogrammetrist) — median $81,390
- [Civil Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/civil-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $64,950
- [Construction and Building Inspector](https://nuecareer.com/careers/construction-and-building-inspector) — median $74,690
- [Geological Technician, Except Hydrologic Technicians](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geological-technician) — median $53,350
- [Mining and Geological Engineer, Including Mining Safety Engineers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mining-and-geological-engineer) — median $106,220
- [Architectural and Civil Drafter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/architectural-and-civil-drafter) — median $66,150
- [Appraiser and Assessor of Real Estate](https://nuecareer.com/careers/appraiser-and-assessor-of-real-estate) — median $67,960

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/surveyor