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2025 Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor's Degree Schools

111 Colleges in the United States
4,014 Bachelor's Degrees
$38,375 Avg Early-Career Salary
Geography & Cartography is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #86 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 111 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 4,014 bachelor's degrees in geography & cartography to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Geography & Cartography School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor's Degree Schools Your choice of geography & cartography for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality geography program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for geography & cartography students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Geography & Cartography Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Geography Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The geography school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor's Degree Schools.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Geography & Cartography in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in geography & cartography. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

22 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Geography

1
82 Annual Graduates
$36,776 Median Starting Salary
$19,243 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in geography & cartography. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the geography program make around $36,776 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of California - Los Angeles

2

University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in geography & cartography. UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison.

Geography & Cartography bachelor's degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison receive an earnings boost of about $4,622 above the typical income of geography & cartography majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of Wisconsin - Madison

3

University of California - Santa Barbara is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in geography & cartography. UCSB is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.

Soon after graduating, geography bachelor's recipients generally earn about $37,398 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of California - Santa Barbara

4
18 Annual Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in geography & cartography. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of Southern California

5

Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the geography & cartography degree program at George Washington University get $14,508 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from George Washington University

6
31 Annual Graduates

UCONN is a very large public university located in the fringe town of Storrs.More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of Connecticut

7

Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population.

Those geography & cartography students who get their bachelor's degree from Ohio State University - Main Campus make $6,414 more than the typical geography graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from Ohio State University - Main Campus

8

Located in the city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a very large student population.

Geography & Cartography bachelor's degree recipients from Arizona State University - Tempe receive an earnings boost of approximately $10,892 over the typical earnings of geography & cartography graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from Arizona State University - Tempe

9

UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Seattle.

Geography & Cartography bachelor's degree recipients from University of Washington - Seattle Campus receive an earnings boost of around $4,114 over the average income of geography & cartography graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

10

Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the midsize city of College Station.

Geography & Cartography bachelor's degree recipients from Texas A&M University - College Station receive an earnings boost of about $15,829 over the typical income of geography & cartography majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from Texas A&M University - College Station

11

Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Geography & Cartography bachelor's degree recipients from University of Maryland - College Park earn a boost of about $2,538 above the typical income of geography & cartography majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of Maryland - College Park

12

UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the geography program report average early career earnings of $38,019.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

13
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
15 Annual Graduates

Michigan State is a very large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from Michigan State University

14
Colgate crest
Colgate University
Hamilton, NY
20 Annual Graduates

Located in the rural area of Hamilton, Colgate is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from Colgate University

15
43 Annual Graduates
$36,878 Median Starting Salary
$32,711 Median Student Debt

UT Austin is a very large public university located in the city of Austin.

Soon after graduating, geography bachelor's recipients usually make an average of $36,878 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from The University of Texas at Austin

16
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the geography program state that they receive average early career earnings of $39,328.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from Virginia Tech

17

UIUC is a very large public university located in the city of Champaign.

Bachelor's recipients from the geography & cartography program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $3,839 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

18

Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a very large student population.

Geography & Cartography bachelor's degree recipients from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill get an earnings boost of about $4,079 over the typical income of geography & cartography majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

19
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL

Florida State is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Tallahassee.

Soon after graduation, geography bachelor's recipients generally earn around $35,608 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from Florida State University

20

University of Arizona is a fairly large public university located in the city of Tucson.

Geography & Cartography bachelor's degree recipients from University of Arizona earn a boost of approximately $4,454 over the average earnings of geography & cartography graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of Arizona

21
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
16 Annual Graduates

Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova.More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from Villanova University

22

UGA is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Athens.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the geography program earn about $26,801 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in geography & cartography from University of Georgia

Rest of the Top Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor's Degree Schools

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
26 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
27 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
28 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
29 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
30 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
31 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
32 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
33 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
34 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
35 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
36 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
37 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
23 University of Denver Denver, CO
24 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
25 Texas State University San Marcos, TX

Geography & Cartography by Region

View the Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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

Geography Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Geography 3,118
Geographic Information Science 805
Other Geography 91

Majors Similar to Geography

Related Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 42,363
Economics 37,777
Sociology 27,751
International Relations & National Security 8,561
Anthropology 8,434
General Social Sciences 5,486
Other Social Sciences 1,491
Urban Studies 984
Sociology & Anthropology 519
Archeology 186

Notes and References

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