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The national median salary for Surveyors is $72,738 per year ($34.97/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024. The middle 50% of earners make between $53,581 and $94,557 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $116,334 per year. There are approximately 53,080 surveyors employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
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.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+4.4%
Faster than average
Annual openings
4K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
56K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
6% from new growth94% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
Internship/residency
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services
NAICS 541300
38K
$69,330
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999300
2K
$83,240
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999200
1K
$99,680
Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
NAICS 541900
1K
$41,600
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction
NAICS 237300
1K
$79,740
Wage range across top 5 industries: $41,600 to $99,680 (140% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$21.00
$43,680
P25
$25.76
$53,581
P50MEDIAN
$34.97
$72,738
P75
$45.46
$94,557
P90
$55.93
$116,334
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · professional sector
Cooling
Openings Rate
4.2%
Quits Rate
2.0%
Professional & Business Services openings tumbled 318K in March -- the largest single-sector drop in this release. Openings rate fell from 5.5% to 4.2%. Layoffs jumped to 527K (+99K). White-collar demand has cooled abruptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average surveyors salary?
The national median salary for Surveyors is $72,738 per year ($34.97/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2024 data. The middle 50% earn between $53,581 and $94,557 annually.
How much do top-earning surveyors make?
The 90th percentile salary for Surveyors is $116,334 per year ($55.93/hr). The 75th percentile is $94,557 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for surveyors?
Entry-level Surveyors (10th percentile) earn approximately $43,680 per year ($21.00/hr). The 25th percentile is $53,581 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.