SOC 17-1022BLS OEWS May 2025H-1B LCAs, last 12 months
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.
National median · BLS
$75,440
▲ +3.71%YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$75,078
▼ -2.48%YoY · 22 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$80,570
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
50,830
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.
Pay range for Surveyors
Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 22 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.
Percentile
All U.S. workers (BLS)
H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay
$46,880
$46,833
25th
$58,170
$55,250
Median (50th)
$75,440
$75,078
75th
$98,130
$98,150
90th — top pay
$125,590
$113,800
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $75,078 for Surveyors —
0.5% below
the BLS national median of $75,440.
Hourly ⇄ annual pay
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Monthly—
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Weekly—
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Based on
hrs/week ×
weeks/year
= 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035
Job outlook for Surveyors
BLS projects employment of surveyors to grow 5.8% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations.
About 3,100 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.
Jobs 2025 → 2035
52,000 → 55,000
+3,000 jobs
Projected change
+5.8%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
3,100
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
On-the-job training
Internship/residency
Self-employed
2.1% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.
H-1B median$75,078
Change vs prior year-2.48%
After inflation (CPI-U)-5.44%
Top H-1B sponsors for Surveyors
Employers with the most certified LCAs for this occupation nationwide. Browse all sponsors →
Employer
Certified LCAs
Median
Profile
Surveyors salaries by state
BLS state medians, plus the same figure adjusted for local prices (BEA Regional Price Parities). Tap a state for its full range and H-1B pay.
State
Median
Jobs
Cost-adjusted
Profile
Surveyors salaries by metro area
Search by city, ZIP code or metro name. Tap a metro for its full range.
Metro area
Median
Jobs
Cost-adjusted
Profile
Skills & tools
Skills needed for Surveyors
How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.
Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).
Source: 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. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
About the job
What surveyors do
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.
Also called
County SurveyorLand SurveyorLicensed Land SurveyorSurveyorCity SurveyorMine SurveyorProfessional Land SurveyorRegistered Land SurveyorStaff Land SurveyorState Surveyor
Specialties within this occupation
Geodetic Surveyors
More job titles for this occupation (44)
Aerial Photograph InterpreterAerotriangulation SpecialistConstruction SurveyorField InspectorField SurveyorGeodesistGeodetic AdvisorGeodetic ComputatorGeodetic CoordinatorGeodetic EngineerGeodetic Information SpecialistGeodetic Survey DirectorGeodetic SurveyorGeodetic Surveyor TechnologistGeodetic TechnicianGeographic Information System Surveyor (GIS Surveyor)Geomatics TechnicianGeophysical Prospecting SurveyorGeospatial AnalystHealth Facilities SurveyorHome SurveyorInsurance Loss Control SurveyorLand ExaminerLand MeasurerLicensed SurveyorLIDAR Technician (Light Detection and Ranging Technician)Loss Control SurveyorMeasurement AdvisorMeasurement and Sensing TechnicianMineral SurveyorOrthophotography TechnicianPort SurveyorProject SurveyorRailroad SurveyorRegistered Professional Land SurveyorRegistered Public SurveyorRemote Sensing AdvisorRemote Sensing SurveyorSite SurveyorSolar Site SurveyorSurvey EngineerSurvey TechnologistSurveyor TechnicianTopographical Surveyor
Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.
Similar jobs and how they pay
Occupations O*NET lists as closely related to Surveyors, with BLS national medians compared with this occupation's $75,440.
