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Best Geography and Cartography Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

95 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Geography and Cartography, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Geography and Cartography graduate earns $38,355/yr across 95 schools.

What do Geography and Cartography graduates do? See career paths and salaries →

Why a Sacramento School Leads the Nation in Mapping

California State University-Sacramento's #1 ranking isn't just about academic quality; it's about location. Situated in the state capital, the program offers a direct pipeline into the heart of California's massive public sector. Graduates are perfectly positioned for careers in state agencies like Caltrans (transportation) and the Department of Water Resources, which are among the largest employers of geographers and GIS specialists. This proximity provides unparalleled internship and networking opportunities, translating into strong hiring outcomes and solid earnings ($48,227/yr) right out of the gate.

The Smartest Financial Bet? An Online Degree From Florida

The appearance of University of Florida-Online at #6 is the most significant financial story in this ranking. It achieves a stunning 35.2x ROI by pairing the high earnings potential of a top-tier university brand ($43,856/yr) with incredibly low tuition ($15,504). This model works because modern geography and cartography are primarily digital, screen-based professions. UF-Online delivers the valuable degree and career outcomes without the high cost of a traditional campus experience, making it the highest-value proposition in the top 10.

The Public School Monopoly on Geography

The near-total dominance of public universities (19 of the top 20) is no accident. Geography and cartography are intrinsically linked to the missions of state and land-grant institutions. These schools were founded to support state-level needs in agriculture, natural resource management, and urban planning—the very sectors that employ geography graduates. Their deep connections to government agencies and large-scale research projects create a career ecosystem that most private universities, with different priorities, simply cannot match.

Don't Fear the AI: Your Job Is Becoming an Analyst, Not a Drafter

Seeing that 100% of programs face high AI exposure might seem alarming, but it signals an evolution, not an extinction. The 53% task exposure refers to the automation of tedious, manual work like digitizing features from satellite images. This frees you, the human expert, to focus on higher-value tasks: asking critical questions, interpreting spatial patterns, and using AI-generated maps to make strategic decisions. Your career won't be about drawing the map, but about telling leaders what the map means.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$38,355/yr

Avg DW Score

47/100

AI Risk

High

53% task exposure

All Geography and Cartography Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA · Public	65 61–66	$48,227/yr	20.8x
2	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX · Public	63 59–64	$54,204/yr	12.6x
3	California State University-Chico Chico, CA · Public	61 59–62	$40,380/yr	21.4x
4	Appalachian State University Boone, NC · Public	61 59–62	$41,648/yr	21.3x
5	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC · Public	61 59–62	$42,210/yr	21.7x
6	University of Florida-Online Gainesville, FL · Public	61 58–62	$43,856/yr	35.2x
7	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD · Public	60 58–61	$40,913/yr	15.7x
8	Brigham Young University Provo, UT · Private nonprofit	60 58–60	$40,051/yr	24.0x
9	George Mason University Fairfax, VA · Public	60 57–61	$49,568/yr	11.5x
10	University of Florida Gainesville, FL · Public	59 57–60	$43,856/yr	21.0x
11	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	59 58–60	$40,020/yr	25.6x
12	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	57 54–58	$49,267/yr	11.3x
13	University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public	57 56–58	$39,259/yr	22.2x
14	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	57 55–58	$42,489/yr	12.4x
15	Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL · Public	56 53–57	$44,543/yr	11.1x
16	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV · Public	56 52–57	$53,079/yr	13.8x
17	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	56 53–57	$44,789/yr	11.1x
18	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI · Public	56 54–57	$42,997/yr	12.9x
19	Binghamton University Vestal, NY · Public	55 53–56	$40,434/yr	13.9x
20	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA · Public	54 55–55	$35,426/yr	21.0x
21	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN · Public	54 53–55	$40,553/yr	14.4x
22	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ · Public	54 51–55	$44,380/yr	9.2x
23	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA · Public	54 51–55	$45,094/yr	10.2x
24	Park University Parkville, MO · Private nonprofit	53 48–54	$58,786/yr	8.0x
25	University of Oregon Eugene, OR · Public	53 50–54	$45,030/yr	8.7x
26	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	53 50–54	$44,909/yr	10.9x
27	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX · Public	53 53–54	$36,878/yr	13.9x
28	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI · Public	53 52–54	$40,048/yr	14.1x
29	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC · Public	52 49–53	$46,929/yr	9.6x
30	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	52 51–53	$39,960/yr	12.1x
31	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI · Public	52 52–53	$37,521/yr	16.5x
32	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL · Public	51 49–51	$40,546/yr	11.0x
33	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	51 51–51	$36,776/yr	11.4x
34	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO · Public	50 49–50	$39,104/yr	12.4x
35	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA · Public	50 50–51	$39,328/yr	9.6x
36	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA · Public	49 52–50	$27,002/yr	25.7x
37	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA · Public	49 49–49	$37,398/yr	9.8x
38	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO · Public	49 46–50	$44,861/yr	9.4x
39	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA · Public	49 46–50	$45,566/yr	9.4x
40	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN · Public	49 46–50	$44,553/yr	8.7x
41	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL · Public	48 49–49	$35,608/yr	20.0x
42	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC · Public	48 46–49	$42,454/yr	10.8x
43	University of North Alabama Florence, AL · Public	47 45–48	$41,076/yr	9.6x
44	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	47 45–48	$42,829/yr	8.3x
45	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA · Public	47 49–47	$32,198/yr	18.4x
46	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA · Public	47 46–48	$40,614/yr	11.4x
47	University of Louisville Louisville, KY · Public	47 47–48	$37,844/yr	10.2x
48	Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX · Public	47 48–48	$35,936/yr	13.5x
49	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ · Public	47 44–48	$49,267/yr	—
50	University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO · Public	46 47–47	$36,426/yr	12.4x
51	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	46 46–47	$38,019/yr	8.2x
52	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Saint Clairsville, OH · Public	46 48–46	$33,199/yr	18.9x
53	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Chillicothe, OH · Public	46 48–46	$33,199/yr	18.9x
54	Ohio University-Southern Campus Ironton, OH · Public	46 48–46	$33,199/yr	18.9x
55	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Lancaster, OH · Public	46 48–46	$33,199/yr	18.9x
56	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Zanesville, OH · Public	46 48–46	$33,199/yr	18.9x
57	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT · Public	46 45–47	$41,052/yr	10.0x
58	University of Wisconsin-La Crosse La Crosse, WI · Public	46 46–46	$37,537/yr	11.8x
59	San Diego State University San Diego, CA · Public	45 44–45	$38,648/yr	10.7x
60	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH · Private nonprofit	45 41–46	$56,756/yr	1.2x
61	George Washington University Washington, DC · Private nonprofit	44 40–45	$52,883/yr	1.0x
62	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL · Public	44 42–45	$42,214/yr	5.6x
63	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ · Public	44 42–45	$42,638/yr	6.2x
64	SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY · Public	44 44–45	$38,784/yr	10.0x
65	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV · Public	44 46–45	$34,435/yr	12.5x
66	Ball State University Muncie, IN · Public	43 44–43	$34,274/yr	11.2x
67	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI · Public	43 41–44	$41,103/yr	5.6x
68	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA · Public	41 43–41	$26,040/yr	17.5x
69	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO · Public	41 40–42	$38,726/yr	5.9x
70	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA · Public	41 44–42	$29,931/yr	13.6x
71	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	40 42–41	$33,727/yr	11.4x
72	University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO · Public	40 40–40	$36,996/yr	6.7x
73	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI · Public	40 41–41	$35,838/yr	7.9x
74	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA · Public	39 41–39	$27,355/yr	14.8x
75	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA · Public	39 40–39	$24,875/yr	16.0x
76	University of Georgia Athens, GA · Public	39 41–40	$26,801/yr	12.0x
77	Portland State University Portland, OR · Public	39 40–40	$35,330/yr	9.2x
78	Salem State University Salem, MA · Public	38 40–39	$32,504/yr	9.6x
79	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC · Public	38 41–39	$25,975/yr	15.5x
80	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO · Public	37 39–38	$32,078/yr	7.4x
81	Augustana College Rock Island, IL · Private nonprofit	37 36–38	$40,683/yr	1.0x
82	Salisbury University Salisbury, MD · Public	37 39–38	$25,255/yr	11.8x
83	SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY · Public	37 39–38	$33,758/yr	8.4x
84	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH · Public	37 38–37	$33,199/yr	8.0x
85	Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA · Public	37 38–38	$23,553/yr	13.1x
86	Illinois State University Normal, IL · Public	36 37–37	$34,952/yr	4.5x
87	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM · Public	36 38–37	$32,096/yr	8.9x
88	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI · Public	36 39–37	$32,052/yr	10.2x
89	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH · Public	35 37–35	$31,414/yr	8.4x
90	University of Hawaii at Hilo Hilo, HI · Public	34 37–35	$30,293/yr	8.7x
91	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY · Public	33 36–34	$29,390/yr	9.5x
92	University of Vermont Burlington, VT · Public	33 35–34	$33,424/yr	3.4x
93	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ · Public	27 29–28	$26,701/yr	2.9x
94	Clark University Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit	26 28–26	$29,713/yr	0.3x
95	Macalester College Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit	23 25–23	$30,053/yr	1.2x

Scores calculated using College Scorecard, BLS, and AI task-exposure data. See full methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Geography and Cartography?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score, California State University-Sacramento ranks #1 for Geography and Cartography with a score of 65/100 and graduate earnings of $48,227/yr.

How much do Geography and Cartography graduates earn?

Across 95 schools, Geography and Cartography graduates earn an average of $38,355/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $58,786/yr.

Is Geography and Cartography a good major for AI resistance?

Geography and Cartography has an average AI task exposure of 53%, rated "High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.