Yes — land surveyors make good money: the median surveyor earned $75,440 a year in May 2025 (BLS OEWS, all industries), the middle half earned between $58,170 and $98,130, and the highest-paid 10 percent earned more than $125,590.
That places surveying above the technician and drafting occupations it works alongside, and below civil engineering.
Six figures is realistic with the right employer or the right state; the license gates the certified scope of practice, and this page prices what it takes to get there.
How much do land surveyors make compared with other careers?
The median surveyor earned $75,440 a year — $36.27 an hour — in May 2025, and the mean was $80,570 (BLS OEWS, national, all industries).
The mean sits above the median, a sign that higher earners pull the average up.
BLS's OEWS survey counted 50,830 employed surveyors nationally — a payroll count that excludes the self-employed.
The percentiles frame the spread better than any single number: the lowest-paid 10 percent earned under $46,880, the middle half earned between $58,170 and $98,130, and the highest-paid 10 percent earned more than $125,590.
That middle band is the honest answer to "good money": the typical surveyor out-earns the technician and drafting occupations surveying works with, and gives ground to civil engineering.
Every figure in this table is the BLS OEWS May 2025 national median, all industries, for the occupation itself.
| Occupation (BLS SOC) | Median pay, May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Civil engineers (17-2051) | $100,840 |
| Cartographers and photogrammetrists (17-1021) | $81,390 |
| Surveyors (17-1022) | $75,440 |
| Architectural and civil drafters (17-3011) | $66,150 |
| Surveying and mapping technicians (17-3031) | $54,240 |
Read the rows as occupations, not pay grades.
The surveyor code counts licensed and unlicensed surveyors together, with no separate licensed-surveyor wage; the technician code mixes field crew and GIS office staff; the drafter code combines architectural and civil drafters.
For contrast on the ceiling: the 90th percentile for surveying and mapping technicians was $81,630 in the same data — under the surveyor 90th percentile of $125,590.
The civil-engineering gap is the starkest comparison: $75,440 versus $100,840 at the median — a gap of $25,400; at the 90th percentile the figures were $125,590 versus $163,220.
Civil engineers are also a far larger occupation — 380,600 jobs in 2025 in BLS's OOH profile.
Note what the series does not cover: BLS publishes no wage estimate for surveying and mapping services firms (NAICS 541370) alone, so no figure on this page is a survey-firm wage.
Geography moves the number too.
The five highest state medians for surveyors were California $105,330, Alaska $99,550, Oregon $97,070, Massachusetts $94,590 and Washington $85,610; the five lowest were Arkansas $51,800, Georgia $58,100, Mississippi $58,720, Texas $61,150 and Oklahoma $61,300.
BLS publishes those state medians without adjusting for cost of living, so the top of that list is not automatically the best take-home deal.
Texas shows why job counts and pay tell different stories: it held the most surveyor jobs of any state in May 2025 — 6,410 — while sitting in the bottom five for median pay.
The state-by-state percentile tables behind these figures are on our land surveyor salary data page.
Can a land surveyor make six figures?
Yes.
The 75th percentile for surveyors was $98,130 — just under the line — and the 90th percentile was $125,590, so somewhere between 10 and 25 percent of surveyors earned more than $100,000 in May 2025.
BLS does not publish the exact share, so treat any precise percentage you see elsewhere with suspicion.
The levers that push past six figures are visible in the medians.
Employer type is one: private-sector surveyors earned a $74,050 median, surveyors across all levels of government earned $94,850, and the federal-government median was $107,020 — though that last figure rests on only 420 federal surveyors in the OEWS count.
State is another: California's $105,330 median clears the line, and Alaska's $99,550 lands just under it.
Industry is a third: surveyors in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction earned an $80,080 median — above the national figure, though the industry's median does not cross six figures.
What no table can do is price the license itself.
BLS's surveyor series counts licensed and unlicensed surveyors together, and our research found no verified figure for how much a license adds.
The license still matters to six figures, for a structural reason.
BLS's line is that surveyors must be licensed before they can certify legal documents and provide surveying services to the public.
The certified scope sits behind the license, and the wage series counts the licensed and unlicensed tiers together.
Which paths lead to the highest surveying pay?
Five paths run from the surveyor median toward the top of the range, and the data measures some of them far better than others.
1. The license.
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for surveyors, with licensure required before a surveyor can certify legal documents or serve the public.
The road there runs through supervised years: entry-level surveyors often work under a licensed surveyor for several years before qualifying, and some start as technicians and license after many years, under rules each state writes.
Our how to become a land surveyor guide lays the route out step by step.
2. The employer.
Government medians run well above the private sector's $74,050: $94,850 across all levels of government, and $107,020 in the federal government on a small base of 420 jobs.
3. The industry.
BLS's industry medians show the spread: $80,080 in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; $73,360 in construction; $73,320 in architectural, engineering, and related services.
That last industry is where the jobs sit: 52,000 surveyor jobs in 2025 in BLS's Employment Projections count — which includes the self-employed — with 71 percent of them in architectural, engineering, and related services.
The extraction premium exists, yet mining held 1 percent of surveyor jobs in the same count, so it is a niche door into the profession.
4. Management or ownership.
Moving into project management or running a firm changes the basis of pay, not just its size.
No verified national figure prices either path: our research found no BLS wage series for survey project managers or firm owners as separate occupations.
BLS's OEWS numbers are payroll wages — not an owner's draw or a practice's profit.
5. The schedule.
Travel-heavy fieldwork and remote assignments change the deal itself: BLS notes surveyors may put in longer workdays during fieldwork, and that those on resource-extraction projects may work in remote areas and spend long periods away from home.
What a firm adds on top — per diem, overtime, rotation terms — is employer policy, and our research found no verified national norm for it.
Which of these paths pays best depends on where you license, because experience counts, exams and licensing rules are each state's law.
License rules are state rules
What does the money cost in hours, travel and liability?
Full time is the baseline: most surveyors work full time (BLS), and fieldwork may bring longer workdays.
Travel is the second cost.
BLS notes surveyors may commute long distances, and that those on resource-extraction projects may work in remote areas and spend long periods away from home.
The entry cost is paid in years.
The typical entry-level education is a bachelor's degree, new surveyors often spend several years working under a licensed surveyor before qualifying, and technicians who take the same road do it after many years in the field, under rules each state sets.
The liability cost is the one the pay tables cannot show at all.
The license that unlocks certified work is what lets a surveyor certify legal documents — BLS's own line ties certification of legal documents and service to the public to licensure.
What that responsibility costs in insurance premiums or claims has no verified national figure behind it; our research did not confirm premium ranges or claims data for surveying firms.
Read the wage as priced, not free: the licensed scope takes years to reach, the field schedule is not a desk schedule, and the certification responsibility is a standing one.
Is surveying pay worth the license?
Set the numbers side by side and the trade is legible.
Surveying's median runs $25,400 below civil engineering, and its 90th percentile trails the same way — $125,590 against $163,220.
Against the occupations it works alongside, the median leads: $75,440 for surveyors, $66,150 for architectural and civil drafters, $54,240 for surveying and mapping technicians.
The license is the dividing line in that comparison: certification of legal documents and service to the public requires it, while BLS notes licensing is not required for surveying and mapping technicians.
Demand supports the wage holding where it is.
BLS projects surveyor employment to grow 6 percent from 2025 to 2035 — faster than average — from 52,000 to 55,000 jobs in its Employment Projections count, with 3,100 openings a year on average, mostly from replacing workers who retire or change occupations.
Technology is priced in too: BLS expects surveyors to remain in demand despite drones and similar tools, because someone has to review and interpret their output for accuracy and completeness.
So, is surveying pay good?
It is a solid professional wage with a licensed gate and steady replacement demand — above the technician tier, below engineering's top end, and movable by geography: the state medians in this page run from $51,800 in Arkansas to $105,330 in California.
The lifestyle, field conditions and long-term outlook of the work are separate questions from the money; our land surveyor career guide covers the role itself.
Career information, not legal, tax or licensing advice — pay figures are BLS's as of May 2025, and licensure requirements are each state's law, so confirm current rules with your state licensing board before you make a decision.