How much should I pay a surveyors in 2026?

A competitive 2026 offer for Surveyors is $75,442 to $98,134 (market median to the 75th percentile). BLS ECI shows professional services wages growing about 2.5% a year, so budget a similar annual increase to stay at market.

Is a salary competitive for a surveyors?

Compare it to the BLS OEWS range: below $58,178 is below market, $75,442 to $98,134 is competitive, and above $98,134 is above market for Surveyors.

How is surveyors pay changing in 2026?

Median pay for this role rose 3.7% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, outpacing the 2.5% wage growth of Professional & Business Services (BLS ECI). Professional & Business Services is running a 5.5% job-openings rate with quits at 2.2% (BLS JOLTS). Demand has cooled for 2 straight months (6.2% down to 5.5%).

Surveyors Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks

SOC 17-1022 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data

Median Annual Salary

$75,442

$36.27/hr

Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026

Is this a competitive Surveyors salary in 2026?

Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS June 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.

Check a salary or offer:$Competitive · ~P50

P10$47K

P25$58K

P50$75K

P75$98K

P90$126K

Drag the dot or type an amount above.

🔥

Demand: HOT. Demand is hot -- professional & business services job openings are running at 5.5% (JOLTS, June 2026), a tight market. Candidates have leverage, so a competitive offer sits at or above the median; below-median offers often will not close.

📈

Merit budget: Wages in professional services are rising about 2.5% a year (BLS ECI, Q2 2026). Budget a 2.1-2.6% merit increase to hold this role at market.

Our read

For a competitive 2026 offer, target $75,442 to $98,134 (market median to the 75th percentile). Lean toward the top of the range for senior or hard-to-fill roles.

Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.

How Surveyors pay is moving in 2026

Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI

Pay trend

Median pay for this role rose 3.7% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, outpacing the 2.5% wage growth of Professional & Business Services (BLS ECI).

Hiring demand · HOT

Professional & Business Services is running a 5.5% job-openings rate with quits at 2.2% (BLS JOLTS). Demand has cooled for 2 straight months (6.2% down to 5.5%).

Pay spread

Top earners (P90) make about 2.7 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is wider than typical, so expect large pay differences by experience, employer size, and geography; build generous ranges and differentiate strongly.

What changed recently

Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: sector openings eased to 5.5% (down 0.3pp), still the highest of any major sector. Quits held at 2.2%.
Jul 31, 2026ECI Q2 2026: sector wages growing 2.5% per year. Nationally, wages rose 3.2% while CPI hit 3.5%, so real wages turned negative.

Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS June 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.

Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026

Next refresh: May 2027

Get notified when this number updates

Personal or work email, both work. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

The national median salary for Surveyors is $75,442 per year ($36.27/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $58,178 and $98,134 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $125,590 per year. There are approximately 50,830 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

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	37K	$73,320
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) NAICS 999300	3K	$89,190
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) NAICS 999200	2K	$97,880
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction NAICS 237300	1K	$81,100
Other Specialty Trade Contractors NAICS 238900	900	$68,520

Wage range across top 5 industries: $68,520 to $97,880 (43% spread)

Wage Percentiles

Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)

Percentile	Hourly Rate	Annual Salary
P10	$22.54	$46,883
P25	$27.97	$58,178
P50MEDIAN	$36.27	$75,442
P75	$47.18	$98,134
P90	$60.38	$125,590

Market Context Signal

JOLTS · professional sector

Hot

Openings Rate

5.5%

Quits Rate

2.2%

Professional & Business Services openings eased to 1.30M in June (-71K), rate 5.5% -- still the highest of any major sector. Quits held at 2.2%. White-collar demand is cooling at the edges but remains the tightest market.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average surveyors salary?

The national median salary for Surveyors is $75,442 per year ($36.27/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $58,178 and $98,134 annually.

How much do top-earning surveyors make?

The 90th percentile salary for Surveyors is $125,590 per year ($60.38/hr). The 75th percentile is $98,134 per year.

What is the entry-level salary for surveyors?

Entry-level Surveyors (10th percentile) earn approximately $46,883 per year ($22.54/hr). The 25th percentile is $58,178 per year.

Related Salary Data

Compare with other occupations

Civil Engineers17-2051$101K/yr Industrial Engineers17-2112$102K/yr Mechanical Engineers17-2141$104K/yr Electrical Engineers17-2071$121K/yr Engineers, All Other17-2199$123K/yr Browse all 770+ occupations →

Surveyors Salary by State

Top 5 states by employment

Texas6,410 workers California4,520 workers Florida4,000 workers Georgia1,770 workers Illinois1,710 workers

About This Data

Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 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.

Next OEWS release: May 2027Verify on BLS.gov →

About CompSignal

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.

Open the full app →About Falcon Incentives →Privacy Policy

Explore more occupations on CompSignal →

Free BLS wage benchmarks, JOLTS talent signals, and AI analyst briefs

CompSignal by Falcon Incentives · BLS data, made usable · Verify on BLS.gov