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2025 Best Geography & Cartography Schools in California

16 Colleges in California
1,151 Geography Degrees Awarded
$43,035 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in geography & cartography, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #110 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 16 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of geography & cartography. Combined, these schools handed out 1,151 degrees in geography & cartography to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Geography & Cartography School

Best Geography & Cartography Schools in California Your choice of geography & cartography school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for geography & cartography schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Geography & Cartography Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Geography
Bachelor's Degrees in Geography
Master's Degrees in Geography
Doctor's Degrees in Geography

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Geography & Cartography Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Geography & Cartography in California

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the geography degree levels they offer.

10 Top California Schools in Geography

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
106 Geography Degrees Awarded
$36,776 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in geography & cartography. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 106 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the geography program make about $36,776 for their early career.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from University of California - Los Angeles

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Geography Degrees Awarded
$37,398 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Santa Barbara is a great option for students interested in a degree in geography & cartography. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #47 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were about 114 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the geography program report average early career earnings of $37,398.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from University of California - Santa Barbara

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Geography Degrees Awarded
27.6% Growth in Graduates

University of Southern California is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in geography & cartography. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 87 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Those geography & cartography students who get their degree from University of Southern California earn $18,028 more than the standard geography graduate.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from University of Southern California

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In CA
37 Geography Degrees Awarded

Every student pursuing a degree in geography & cartography has to take a look at San Diego State University. SDSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #185 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.

There were about 37 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from San Diego State University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
73 Geography Degrees Awarded
$47,267 Median Starting Salary

CSULB is a very large public university located in the large city of Long Beach. A Best Colleges rank of #246 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.

There were roughly 73 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year. Those geography & cartography students who get their degree from California State University - Long Beach earn $4,233 more than the typical geography grad.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from California State University - Long Beach

6
American River crest
American River College
Sacramento, CA
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In CA

American River is a fairly large public college located in the suburb of Sacramento. This college ranks 116th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 20 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at American River in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from American River College

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
50 Geography Degrees Awarded
10.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 48th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 50 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at CSUN in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the geography program report average early career earnings of $27,002.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from California State University - Northridge

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
36 Geography Degrees Awarded
$48,227 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #267 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Sac State is a great university overall.

There were about 36 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent data year. Those geography & cartography students who get their degree from California State University - Sacramento earn $5,192 more than the standard geography graduate.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from California State University - Sacramento

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
36 Geography Degrees Awarded
$24,875 Median Starting Salary

SFSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #225 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SFSU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 36 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the geography program make around $24,875 for their early career.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from San Francisco State University

10
SSU crest
Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
73 Geography Degrees Awarded
38.4% Growth in Graduates

SSU is a moderately-sized public university located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park. This university ranks 68th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 73 geography & cartography students who graduated with this degree at SSU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the geography program state that they receive average early career income of $40,614.

More information about a degree in geography & cartography from Sonoma State University

Best Geography & Cartography Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Geography & Cartography Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 215
Oregon 266 123
Nevada 192 23
Hawaii 164 44
Alaska 119 4

View All Rankings >

Geography & Cartography is one of 13 different types of Social Sciences programs to choose from.

Geography Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Geography 748
Geographic Information Science 382
Other Geography 21

View All Geography Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Sociology 13,805
Economics 10,639
General Social Sciences 8,449
Political Science & Government 7,951
Anthropology 2,667
International Relations & National Security 1,395
Other Social Sciences 406
Urban Studies 346
Archeology 39
Demography & Population Studies 21

View All Geography Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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