Surveyors — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$75,440
United States, 2025
Employment
50,830
United States, 2025
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Job Zone 4
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
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.
- O*NET code
- 17-1022.00
- Job zone
- 4
- Experience required
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years
Typical tasks
- 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.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$46,880
25th percentile
$58,170
75th percentile
$98,130
90th percentile
$125,590
Most important skills
- Mathematics4.0
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Writing3.8
- Speaking3.6
- Active Listening3.5
- Coordination3.5
- Active Learning3.3
- Judgment and Decision Making3.3
- Learning Strategies3.1
- Complex Problem Solving3.1
- Time Management3.1
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 16 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
16
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.9 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.8 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Writing | 3.8 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Speaking | 3.6 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Active Listening | 3.5 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Coordination | 3.5 | 3.6 | Not selected | 3.6 |
| Active Learning | 3.3 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.1 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Time Management | 3.1 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Instructing | 3.0 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.1 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
Supplemental
National median $80,730
Compare with SurveyorsSupplemental
National median $101,920
Compare with SurveyorsHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuba City, CA | $133,270 | 50 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $128,600 | 370 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $125,060 | 630 | 2025 |
| Redding, CA | $124,160 | 40 | 2025 |
| Vallejo, CA | $123,590 | 50 | 2025 |
| Stockton, CA | $120,000 | 40 | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $117,160 | 170 | 2025 |
| Kennewick, WA | $111,400 | 30 | 2025 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | $107,700 | 80 | 2025 |
| Fresno, CA | $107,230 | 190 | 2025 |
| Bellingham, WA | $106,590 | 40 | 2025 |
| CA | $105,330 | 4,520 | 2025 |
| Salem, OR | $102,880 | 60 | 2025 |
| Fargo, ND | $102,270 | 60 | 2025 |
| San Diego, CA | $102,210 | 430 | 2025 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $101,950 | 970 | 2025 |
| Anchorage, AK | $101,820 | 170 | 2025 |
| Salinas, CA | $101,120 | 40 | 2025 |
| Santa Maria, CA | $100,930 | 100 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $100,920 | 130 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Surveyors to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.