When a street does not match
Set survey records beside aerial images in GIS and learn why they disagree before you change the map.
Career profile
Cartographer
Cartographers turn location data into maps that readers can understand and use.
Every map runs short on space. Cartographers decide which features belong, confirm each one's location, and arrange everything around what readers need to find.
A day in the life
Design a park entrance map
Choose trails and landmarks that steer park visitors where they're headed, and leave out detail that distracts.
Simplify shapes for a wider view
Once the map covers a wider region, change symbols and simplify shapes so key features don't blur together.
Proof the map before release
Scan the finished map for missing features and wrong labels, and match visitor-map names to posted signs.
Quick facts
Bachelor’s degree
United States
$81,390/year
United States · May 2025
7.4% growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Bachelor’s degreeTypical preparation is a degree in cartography, geography, or a related field.
Pay
$81,390/yearMedian for cartographers and photogrammetrists combined; equivalent to $39.13/hour.
Outlook
7.4% growthProjected for cartographers and photogrammetrists combined, with about 900 openings annually.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy investigating why two sources disagree.
- You like adjusting a visual until someone else can understand it.
Things to weigh
- Much of the work means sitting at a computer and checking small details repeatedly.
- Some jobs include travel to mapped locations, with longer days during fieldwork.
Where AI may help
Mapping software already supports partly automated production. Researchers also develop tools that reduce dense geographic detail for maps showing larger areas.
What people still lead
You decide what the reader needs and whether a simplified map still communicates the right information.
What we can’t predict yet
How far software can take over those design choices remains unsettled: an effective simplification depends on the map’s purpose and scale.
Pay in context
Earnings
Separate national pay figures are not reported for cartographers alone. These figures cover cartographers and photogrammetrists together.
The national midpoint
The median was $81,390 a year, equivalent to $39.13 an hour. Half earned more and half less; this is not a starting salary.
The national spread
The 10th-to-90th-percentile range was $53,740–$126,950 annually, or $25.84–$61.03 hourly. These are points in the wage distribution, not beginner and senior pay levels.
Openings across the field
Employment is projected to grow 7.4%, with about 900 openings per year on average. Openings include replacements for people leaving the occupation as well as growth.
Getting started
Study mapmaking in a degree program
- What the route involves
- Study cartography, geography, or a related subject, including GIS and interpreting remotely collected images. An internship can add practical mapping experience.
- What it can lead to
- This provides the typical academic preparation for entering cartographic work.
Combine coursework with relevant experience
- What the route involves
- For federal Cartography Series 1370, complete courses equivalent to a cartography major, or the specified 30 semester hours in cartography, related science, and mathematics, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
- What it can lead to
- This can meet the federal series’ basic qualification requirement without using its degree route.
- What to check
- The 30-hour option must include 6–15 semester hours of qualifying college mathematics or statistics. Each vacancy also has grade and other requirements; this is a federal hiring route.
A relevant bachelor’s degree is the usual route. Federal cartography jobs also recognize a specified combination of coursework and experience.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn the map standards and source records your workplace uses. Build accuracy through revisions and final checks.
Own a complete map
Take a map from choosing source data through layout and review, explaining your decisions to coworkers.
Lead map production
Work toward directing a mapping project: set production specifications, estimate the work, and check the finished output.
Where you can work
Park visitor-map offices
Your desk work connects to a specific place: the sign’s location, viewing direction, and nearby landmarks shape the design. Labels need to agree with park signs.
- Office
- Indoors
National topographic mapping programs
At the U.S. Geological Survey, map production draws on geographic databases and standardized, partly automated processes. The work emphasizes consistent maps across many areas.
- Office
- Indoors
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Draw a paper map that helps a new student find one destination on a familiar campus. Choose the landmarks and symbols, then ask someone to explain the route using only your map. Revise whatever confused them. Notice whether you enjoy making those choices.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Cartographers and Photogrammetrists — 17-1021.00. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cartographers and Photogrammetrists — Occupational Outlook Handbook. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — pinned national estimates, SOC 17-1021. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Projections Table 1.2 — pinned 2025–2035 estimates, SOC 17-1021. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Cartography Series 1370 — Individual Occupational Requirements. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- National Park Service. Harpers Ferry Center — Wayside Maps. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- U.S. Geological Survey. Generalization. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- U.S. Geological Survey. Topographic mapping evolution: From field and photogrammetric data collection to GIS production and Linked Open Data. Accessed 2026-10-10.