Purchase the 2024 GIS Salary Survey Report
In the summer of 2024, URISA, now known as the Geospatial Professional Network, commissioned Research USA to conduct a survey of individuals in the geospatial profession in order to learn more about the salaries, demographics, job requirements, and current benefit plans offered to GIS professionals.
The results of this survey provide an interesting and useful analysis of the current state of the GIS profession. GPN is pleased to share the Executive Summary of the Results which includes key results of the survey, including:
The average current annual salary among all respondents is $91,774 (the median is $87,000). Of course, salaries vary based on employer type, geography, gender, and certification status. Numerous cross-tabulations of the salary data will be included in the comprehensive publication.
Furthermore, average salary differences between those who are GISPs and those who are not vary widely by job title, with the overall difference being approximately $20,000.
| GISP Certification |
Mean |
Median |
Base |
| I am a GISP |
$105,778 |
$101,250 |
1,310 |
| I am not a GISP |
$85,103 |
$80,000 |
2,810 |
The following information was taken from the URISA 2017 Salary Survey for IT/GIS Professionals. The full comparison report between GISPs and non-GISPs is available as a PDF file.
Access the 2017 Salary Survey Summary
Download the 2011 Salary Survey Summary
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Highlights from the 2011 / 2017 reports:
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How many years of GIS professional experience do you have? (2011)
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GISP
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Non-GISP
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Average
12.1 years
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Average
8.7 years
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Median
11.4 years
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Median
7.5 years
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What is the highest level of education you have attained? (2011)
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GISP
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Non-GISP
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Bachelor’s degree or higher
87.7%
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Bachelor’s degree or higher
84.0%
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Postgraduate degree(s)
41.8%
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Postgraduate degree(s)
35.5%
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Please select the range that most closely describes your salary for calendar year 2017.
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GISP
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Non-GISP
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Average
$76,632
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Average
$66,550
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Median
$73,000
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Median
$62,000
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What additional forms of compensation, if any, does your organization offer? 2017
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GISPs
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Health insurance
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91.5%
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Paid conference attendance
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72.3
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Paid training
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63.9
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Retirement plans
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61.1
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Membership dues in a professional organization
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46.3
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Professional certification reimbursement or support
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47.0
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401(k) plans (or similar)
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56.6
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College tuition reimbursement
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37.9
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Bonuses
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27.0
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Stock
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7.7
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Life Insurance
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68.2
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What GIS and geospatial skills are required for your job? (2011)
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GISPs
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Non-GISPs
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Data analysis
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90.9%
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82.8%
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Data acquisition and creation
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85.3
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78.1
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Data manipulation
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85.0
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77.3
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Editing and querying GIS data
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84.6
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76.6
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Cartography and visualization
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79.0
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75.4
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Database design
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77.7
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68.9
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Database maintenance
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77.0
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64.5
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Map composition
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69.7
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61.7
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Project P planning and implementation
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65.2
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55.6
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Data visualization and reporting
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64.9
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54.5
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Quality assurance/Quality control
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63.6
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54.0
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Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
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62.1
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53.3
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Data modeling
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61.4
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52.0
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Geocoding
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61.1
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49.5
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Application development
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54.7
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41.9
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Database/Systems administration
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53.6
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39.9
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Geospatial management
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49.1
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39.1
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Maintain GIS Web capabilities
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43.7
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33.2
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Programming
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43.5
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31.8
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Systems design
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38.2
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25.5
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Photogrammetry
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22.5
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23.4
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Remote sensing
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21.0
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21.4
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Geocomputation
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17.9
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13.6
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| What other skills are required for your job? (2011) |
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GISPs
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Non-GISPs
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Project management
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83.2%
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74.7%
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Technical support
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77.7
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72.5
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Teaching/Training
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72.0
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62.6
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Public speaking
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68.2
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60.9
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Report writing
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66.0
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59.3
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Research
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61.8
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59.0
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Budgeting
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58.7
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51.0
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Personnel management
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57.4
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50.6
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Mathematics
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39.1
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36.6
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Cost benefit analysis
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38.9
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34.1
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Statistics
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30.7
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30.2
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Sales/Marketing
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25.2
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17.8
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