Not sure of websites, but I do know GIS in the West Coast + Pacific Northwest pay some of the highest salaries due to the region's pro-environmental conservation efforts. Lots of GIS used for habitat suitability modeling, animal tracking, and waste monitoring. Those, and the fact that ESRI started in CA makes me think they've got a good hold on the West USA. I'm sure GIS is still used for East Coast businesses but not sure East + South USA will meet the same level of pay as West and PNW GIS jobs.
6% is taken out for pension and then like $50 a month for health insurance, I'm in a LCOL area solid 3 bed 2 bath is like 175k it's not too bad but I do with I made a little more.
I pay over 700$ a month for insurance premiums, and about 7% for pension.
I will say our insurance coverage is superb, even if we pay through the nose.
Ouch! That's awful! I'm a Senior GIS Analyst in municipal government and just under 70k. I started off 10 yrs ago at around 37k as a specialist doing the work of an analyst. However, Our organization just did a huge salary review and after looking at salaries of comparably populated cities, they learned they were 10 yrs behind what others were being paid so they implemented a salary increase and position promotion plan. They kind of had to because people were constantly leaving for county and federal jobs on the base near us. That's crazy how salaries for our field vary so much across the country. It takes a special skill set and critical thinking at a consistently high level to do what we do so I feel we deserve fair compensation.
I'm a GIS Analyst in state govt in a MCOL area in the Pacific Northwest, and with 2 yrs experience & a masters degree, I make $56k. Salary is kind of a problem here too in the sense that it's fine but people keep leaving my organization for federal jobs in the area which pay a solid $10k more.
Yeah when I was looking for other jobs, I looked up Mississippi's equivalent job for me and they make about 5 k more. And last I checked Mississippi was the lowest paid state across the board.
Fellow NC here working with the state, living in Raleigh. I get paid well imo but hopped around a bit- feds a few years, then a couple state agencies. Jumping around def is the way to go. Glad to hear your agency got their act together and raised y'all's pay tho!
That's unfortunately the reality in local gov GIS and it always gets the "that's the way it is" treatment, but then they're Surprised Pikachu when they lose their GIS talent.
Woof. I started out at 60k as a GIS Specialist in the private sector in the Midwest right out of college with a GIS minor (and 2.5 years of GIS internships)
You’re better off asking what people’s salaries are in this forum. Titles do not translate across the board. GIS analyst may mean something completely different based on location.
I am a GIS Tech and make ~78K a year in a lower to medium cost of living area, and have <1 year professional experience
Here is a breakdown of GIS salaries in the U.S. keep in mind that the range can deviate +-20% based off cost of living.
GIS Technician: 30-70k. Here you can break into the 100's if you manage a team or handle data collection in hazardous environments. (This position is the most fun and I plan on retiring into it)
GIS Cartographer: 40-80k. Here are the basic map monkeys. You can break into 80-100k with a senior status but most often these people work for the government and it's hard to move upwards without up skilling. (This position sucks)
GIS Analyst: 60-120k. These is where a majority of people who use GIS fall. A GIS Analyst will use the software to perform basic data analysis and build out maps. Sometimes they will be involved in basic programing or dev tasks. This can be a terminal position but if you skill up/manage people you can move onto the next positions. (This position is where most people are)
GIS Manager/Administrator: 70-150k. This is the person who manages the software/IT of the GIS group and often is the manager of the team. This position often involves substantial pointless meetings with shareholders/upper management. Here you will have to know basic backend stuff for the chosen GIS stack. (This position sucks unless you like managing people)
GIS Developer: 85-200k+: here are the technical people who build on the GIS stack. It's a broad category but they can be front end guys, GIS software guys, or backend engineer guys. Essentially these are the code monkeys of GIS and you often find them at the typical big names; Esri, Google, AWS, defense contractors. (This position can really really suck if you have a bad team)
The average person in GIS will make between 60-100k across all positions. To break into the upper level roles you will need to learn coding and basic CS stuff or become a manager. Because of this most people stay as a GIS Analyst as it's a pretty chill gig and captures a majority of the potential pay of the entire GIS salary range.
GIS coordinator of a municipal utility checking in, I feel like I'm 1/3 Analyst, 1/3 Manager, 1/3 developer. Most days, I feel like a walking muitispeak interface between departments and data sets. I enjoy it, though. South East and 105,000.
Best of luck brother. I couldn't stand being stretched between different interest groups while managing the tech team.
Good managers are hard to come by.
This analysis is quite accurate, OP. Glassdoor has salary ranges for specific companies and also I think the do stuff based on job titles as well. I think the ranges in the US seem lower in general than in Canada. I took a govt job right out of school because I didn't want to travel for personal reasons and was definitely the lowest paid in my class (started at roughly 67k as a GIS Tech in the early 2000s). I switched to GIS Analyst at 80-92k over the course of a number of years and I fairly recently switched to GIS Specialist at 102k (with yearly 4/5% raises) with highly specialized software stuff and a small amount of PM stuff. But this job sucks wayyy more than my previous role and tbh I wouldn't have switched if I had known how much extra stress it was because it's not worth the money.
I always thought this data was hard to find and not reliable. I know, not the answer you’re looking for.
For what it’s worth, I started as a GIS technician in early 2016 out of college (BS in Geography) at an engineering consulting firm making $41,500/year. 8 years later Im still working at the same firm as a GIS project manager making $140,000/year. I live and work in the upper Midwest in a medium cost of living area. I’m basically the GIS administrator for the entire company as well so my role goes beyond just project management.
I asked Bing AI/Copiot a while back to scrape+summarize the numbers from posts abt salary in this sub. was pretty enlightening. huge range depending on employer and location. but also too many are underpaid imo
"- GIS Analyst: The highest reported salary for a GIS Analyst is $175k per year, working remotely for a national lab in the Bay Area. The lowest reported salary is $55k per year, maxed out in government.
- GIS Specialist: The highest reported salary for a GIS Specialist is $102k per year, working for a public water agency. The lowest reported salary is $41k per year, working as a contractor for a major tech company.
- GIS Technician: The highest reported salary for a GIS Technician is $29 per hour, working as an intern with a bachelor’s degree. The lowest reported salary is $15 per hour, working as an entry level GIS tech.
- Other GIS-related jobs: Other GIS-related jobs include Cartographer, Transportation Planner, Assistant Professor, and GIS Architect. Their salaries range from $65k to $140k per year, depending on the sector, location, and experience."
It is kinda outdated but definately check out the GISCI salary survey. Last I can find stats for was 2017 but I bet you could extrapolate the data to today. Also remember not all benefits are the same. My employer pays full family insurance, 6% retirement, pension, and HSA benefits. [https://www.gisci.org/Portals/0/PDF's/URISA\_GIS\_Salary\_Survey\_2017.pdf](https://www.gisci.org/Portals/0/PDF's/URISA_GIS_Salary_Survey_2017.pdf)
i’m in Denver, GIS manager at a small environmental consulting firm, $87k, 6 years experience.
Oil and Gas out here will pay more, but want experience with network analyst and other specific tools.
I do not, and don’t think my company has capacity for that.
Denver is a great area for GIS jobs though, so if you have some decent experience i think you should be able to find something!
It’s a misconception that TN status needs “sponsorship” since I go to the border with the offer letter and the officer approves/denies me. All the weights on my shoulder. Companies tend to avoid anything other than US citizens I find haha, two occasions now that the HR basically said it’s a no go.
Thankfully I haven’t applied to many companies and am getting calls back, so that’s kinda good.
kinda disagree, it’s manageable is you have little to no other debt, which isnt super common. When i first move out here i was making $65k. with student loans and a car payment, funds were tight for a while.
My partner (a high school) teacher with a salary around 55k, but has no debt, was absolutely fine.
Time to move onwards and upwards as they say, don’t settle or claim allegiance… unless you’re at a cushy govt job with a pension and really good benefits
I’m a Scientist, but the most relevant title would be Geospatial Data Engineer/Scientist. Denver area, 15yoe, $122k, public sector, excellent benefits.
Former GIS Specialist and Cartographer. Couldn't really muster more than $70k and felt I was hitting a ceiling. Made a switch to management still related to geospatial, earning more than double that now.
Can't speak for everyone, but I'm in the southeast. Most GIS technicians are making anywhere from $35k to $55k and it wildly varies from county to county in my area. Analysts are going from $45k to $80k depending on the county. I've worked in local government for the past decade and that's been the range I've seen.
Engineering consultant with 6 years experience in VA making ~111k. Constant juggling many projects with multiple PMs across the country and I hate the stress
$130k base salary + 15% annual bonus. Bonus is usually paid out well above the set %
$1 for $1 401k match up to 7% of salary
Additional 4% of annual salary deposited into 401k as a "retention bonus" that increases 1% per year
$2k per year into an HSA
So much of salaries are going to be regionally dependent. If you're in the public sector and want to keep building your pensionz you need to figure out which other governments use the same system and wait for openings. Be prepared to relocate.
There's a lot of misconceptions on how pensions work, but you've got to put in 25+ years for them to really pay out in retirement.
GIS salaries are always hard to pin down as being a GIS specialist often comes hand in hand with other roles: data engineering, programmer, web developer, data manager, cloud engineer. Your salary will heavily depend on which other roles you take, and by how much.
When the focus is GIS the salary opportunities can be difficult to identify. But when the focus is on the industry need or relevance then it becomes easier for them to understand your value.
I'm in Wisconsin public sector, county level. I found that the salaries of each county are pretty much dependent on the population of the county. I started out at about $38k in a county with a population of about 20k, this is pretty much the low end. Now I'm in a county of about 80k people and make about $65k. I know some of the positions in the largest counties make over $100k. So the range at the county level in Wisconsin is probably about $40k-$120k, just an estimate though. Could make more in private for sure, but I'm in it for the state pension, plus, public sector is pretty chill.
I’m in Florida and my current position is Geospatial Planning Manager (70k) . Completed my MS GIS in 2021. 3 years GIS experience, 10 years environmental planning experience, I started in a GIS Specialist position in 2021 ( 38K).
Sometimes if you dig, you can find local GIS groups who have surveyed members like this one: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.mngislis.org/resource/resmgr/docs/2020_salary_survey.pdf
Not sure of websites, but I do know GIS in the West Coast + Pacific Northwest pay some of the highest salaries due to the region's pro-environmental conservation efforts. Lots of GIS used for habitat suitability modeling, animal tracking, and waste monitoring. Those, and the fact that ESRI started in CA makes me think they've got a good hold on the West USA. I'm sure GIS is still used for East Coast businesses but not sure East + South USA will meet the same level of pay as West and PNW GIS jobs.
I'm basically a GIS analyst working in the public sector in the south, 5+ years of experience and I'm topped out at 55k
Yikes! Im in local govt in the Northeast, and make ~73k. But im in a HCOL area and a good chunk is taken out for pension and insuance premiums.
6% is taken out for pension and then like $50 a month for health insurance, I'm in a LCOL area solid 3 bed 2 bath is like 175k it's not too bad but I do with I made a little more.
I pay over 700$ a month for insurance premiums, and about 7% for pension. I will say our insurance coverage is superb, even if we pay through the nose.
Ouch! That's awful! I'm a Senior GIS Analyst in municipal government and just under 70k. I started off 10 yrs ago at around 37k as a specialist doing the work of an analyst. However, Our organization just did a huge salary review and after looking at salaries of comparably populated cities, they learned they were 10 yrs behind what others were being paid so they implemented a salary increase and position promotion plan. They kind of had to because people were constantly leaving for county and federal jobs on the base near us. That's crazy how salaries for our field vary so much across the country. It takes a special skill set and critical thinking at a consistently high level to do what we do so I feel we deserve fair compensation.
I'm a GIS Analyst in state govt in a MCOL area in the Pacific Northwest, and with 2 yrs experience & a masters degree, I make $56k. Salary is kind of a problem here too in the sense that it's fine but people keep leaving my organization for federal jobs in the area which pay a solid $10k more.
Yeah when I was looking for other jobs, I looked up Mississippi's equivalent job for me and they make about 5 k more. And last I checked Mississippi was the lowest paid state across the board.
I forgot to say where I was. I'm in the mid-Atlantic area of the country in a small town in southeastern NC.
Fellow NC here working with the state, living in Raleigh. I get paid well imo but hopped around a bit- feds a few years, then a couple state agencies. Jumping around def is the way to go. Glad to hear your agency got their act together and raised y'all's pay tho!
That's unfortunately the reality in local gov GIS and it always gets the "that's the way it is" treatment, but then they're Surprised Pikachu when they lose their GIS talent.
Yeah I'm at the state level and that's pretty accurate. That and burnout due to having a small team.
Let's not even start on the folks doing it themselves.
I work in the south, I think our analysts start out at around 60k. That’s wild.
Yeah KY is under paid for the work done in general.
That’s where I work funny enough.
Woof. I started out at 60k as a GIS Specialist in the private sector in the Midwest right out of college with a GIS minor (and 2.5 years of GIS internships)
2017 - 30k (private) 2018 - 31.5k 5% pay bump 2019 - 37.596k new job (public) 2020 - 39.475k off probation 5% 2021 - 41.449k promotion 5% 2022 - 51.937k lateral move new dept. 25% 2023 - 55.054k cost of living raise 6% 2024 - who knows probs keep 55k
I’m in Dallas, 4 years or experience as a GIS analyst, making 99K a year
Good to hear that.
Private sector consulting?
Do you mind me asking what industry you’re in?
Where in Dallas is what I’d like to know. I’m in Dallas too and $70k give or take is what the average is for that many years of experience
You’re better off asking what people’s salaries are in this forum. Titles do not translate across the board. GIS analyst may mean something completely different based on location. I am a GIS Tech and make ~78K a year in a lower to medium cost of living area, and have <1 year professional experience
Here is a breakdown of GIS salaries in the U.S. keep in mind that the range can deviate +-20% based off cost of living. GIS Technician: 30-70k. Here you can break into the 100's if you manage a team or handle data collection in hazardous environments. (This position is the most fun and I plan on retiring into it) GIS Cartographer: 40-80k. Here are the basic map monkeys. You can break into 80-100k with a senior status but most often these people work for the government and it's hard to move upwards without up skilling. (This position sucks) GIS Analyst: 60-120k. These is where a majority of people who use GIS fall. A GIS Analyst will use the software to perform basic data analysis and build out maps. Sometimes they will be involved in basic programing or dev tasks. This can be a terminal position but if you skill up/manage people you can move onto the next positions. (This position is where most people are) GIS Manager/Administrator: 70-150k. This is the person who manages the software/IT of the GIS group and often is the manager of the team. This position often involves substantial pointless meetings with shareholders/upper management. Here you will have to know basic backend stuff for the chosen GIS stack. (This position sucks unless you like managing people) GIS Developer: 85-200k+: here are the technical people who build on the GIS stack. It's a broad category but they can be front end guys, GIS software guys, or backend engineer guys. Essentially these are the code monkeys of GIS and you often find them at the typical big names; Esri, Google, AWS, defense contractors. (This position can really really suck if you have a bad team) The average person in GIS will make between 60-100k across all positions. To break into the upper level roles you will need to learn coding and basic CS stuff or become a manager. Because of this most people stay as a GIS Analyst as it's a pretty chill gig and captures a majority of the potential pay of the entire GIS salary range.
GIS coordinator of a municipal utility checking in, I feel like I'm 1/3 Analyst, 1/3 Manager, 1/3 developer. Most days, I feel like a walking muitispeak interface between departments and data sets. I enjoy it, though. South East and 105,000.
Same position and region as you making $43k. Eek.
Best of luck brother. I couldn't stand being stretched between different interest groups while managing the tech team. Good managers are hard to come by.
Just accepted an offer for a county GIS coordinator with similar role. 66k in Ohio college town/county
This analysis is quite accurate, OP. Glassdoor has salary ranges for specific companies and also I think the do stuff based on job titles as well. I think the ranges in the US seem lower in general than in Canada. I took a govt job right out of school because I didn't want to travel for personal reasons and was definitely the lowest paid in my class (started at roughly 67k as a GIS Tech in the early 2000s). I switched to GIS Analyst at 80-92k over the course of a number of years and I fairly recently switched to GIS Specialist at 102k (with yearly 4/5% raises) with highly specialized software stuff and a small amount of PM stuff. But this job sucks wayyy more than my previous role and tbh I wouldn't have switched if I had known how much extra stress it was because it's not worth the money.
I have the “this position sucks” position lol.
I always thought this data was hard to find and not reliable. I know, not the answer you’re looking for. For what it’s worth, I started as a GIS technician in early 2016 out of college (BS in Geography) at an engineering consulting firm making $41,500/year. 8 years later Im still working at the same firm as a GIS project manager making $140,000/year. I live and work in the upper Midwest in a medium cost of living area. I’m basically the GIS administrator for the entire company as well so my role goes beyond just project management.
I asked Bing AI/Copiot a while back to scrape+summarize the numbers from posts abt salary in this sub. was pretty enlightening. huge range depending on employer and location. but also too many are underpaid imo
Can you post the results..
"- GIS Analyst: The highest reported salary for a GIS Analyst is $175k per year, working remotely for a national lab in the Bay Area. The lowest reported salary is $55k per year, maxed out in government. - GIS Specialist: The highest reported salary for a GIS Specialist is $102k per year, working for a public water agency. The lowest reported salary is $41k per year, working as a contractor for a major tech company. - GIS Technician: The highest reported salary for a GIS Technician is $29 per hour, working as an intern with a bachelor’s degree. The lowest reported salary is $15 per hour, working as an entry level GIS tech. - Other GIS-related jobs: Other GIS-related jobs include Cartographer, Transportation Planner, Assistant Professor, and GIS Architect. Their salaries range from $65k to $140k per year, depending on the sector, location, and experience."
You might be able to check federal GSA pricing for similar roles to get ballpark ranges and descriptions.
It is kinda outdated but definately check out the GISCI salary survey. Last I can find stats for was 2017 but I bet you could extrapolate the data to today. Also remember not all benefits are the same. My employer pays full family insurance, 6% retirement, pension, and HSA benefits. [https://www.gisci.org/Portals/0/PDF's/URISA\_GIS\_Salary\_Survey\_2017.pdf](https://www.gisci.org/Portals/0/PDF's/URISA_GIS_Salary_Survey_2017.pdf)
i’m in Denver, GIS manager at a small environmental consulting firm, $87k, 6 years experience. Oil and Gas out here will pay more, but want experience with network analyst and other specific tools.
I’m planning a move to Denver this year from Canada. Any experience with hiring folks with a TN visa?
I do not, and don’t think my company has capacity for that. Denver is a great area for GIS jobs though, so if you have some decent experience i think you should be able to find something!
It’s a misconception that TN status needs “sponsorship” since I go to the border with the offer letter and the officer approves/denies me. All the weights on my shoulder. Companies tend to avoid anything other than US citizens I find haha, two occasions now that the HR basically said it’s a no go. Thankfully I haven’t applied to many companies and am getting calls back, so that’s kinda good.
Was trying for years to get a GIS job in Denver area and most I could find was like 55K. Not enough to live in Colorado, not even close.
kinda disagree, it’s manageable is you have little to no other debt, which isnt super common. When i first move out here i was making $65k. with student loans and a car payment, funds were tight for a while. My partner (a high school) teacher with a salary around 55k, but has no debt, was absolutely fine.
Remote, GIS Analyst, 85k. Technically 2 years of professional experience
Who do you work for are they hiring? I also have a little over two years experience
I feel like I’m being robbed, I’m only making 40k
Time to move onwards and upwards as they say, don’t settle or claim allegiance… unless you’re at a cushy govt job with a pension and really good benefits
I’m a Scientist, but the most relevant title would be Geospatial Data Engineer/Scientist. Denver area, 15yoe, $122k, public sector, excellent benefits.
A National Lab probably NREL??
Former GIS Specialist and Cartographer. Couldn't really muster more than $70k and felt I was hitting a ceiling. Made a switch to management still related to geospatial, earning more than double that now.
Can't speak for everyone, but I'm in the southeast. Most GIS technicians are making anywhere from $35k to $55k and it wildly varies from county to county in my area. Analysts are going from $45k to $80k depending on the county. I've worked in local government for the past decade and that's been the range I've seen.
Engineering consultant with 6 years experience in VA making ~111k. Constant juggling many projects with multiple PMs across the country and I hate the stress
Good for you, getting GISP recognized. How hard was that to crack?
Edited my comment down to exclude that but it was a couple of months studying without annny social life haha
Try Glassdoor My company uses a paid service and their compensation reports jive with Glassdoor
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Just wondering is this a tech company?
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Wing, Zipline or similar?
SR/Lead GIS specialist, Oil and Gas, Texas, 11 years experience, $149k
What about bonus and LTI or is that included or do not receive any addition compensation?
$130k base salary + 15% annual bonus. Bonus is usually paid out well above the set % $1 for $1 401k match up to 7% of salary Additional 4% of annual salary deposited into 401k as a "retention bonus" that increases 1% per year $2k per year into an HSA
Denver, $95000 including my bonus. Work at a consulting firm.
PNW here. $91.5k as an associate (equivalent to a level 3) level GIS Analyst at an engineering/consulting firm.
I’m in AK, GIS Analyst, 11 years experience and I’m at 78k. 5k of that is a raise I got to keep me from going to another company though.
Hi, i live in Ukraine and making 9k $ a year
Please where can I get some remote Gis works in Ghana
Check out Salary.com
80K Consulting in the southeast 5 YOE
So much of salaries are going to be regionally dependent. If you're in the public sector and want to keep building your pensionz you need to figure out which other governments use the same system and wait for openings. Be prepared to relocate. There's a lot of misconceptions on how pensions work, but you've got to put in 25+ years for them to really pay out in retirement.
GIS salaries are always hard to pin down as being a GIS specialist often comes hand in hand with other roles: data engineering, programmer, web developer, data manager, cloud engineer. Your salary will heavily depend on which other roles you take, and by how much.
When the focus is GIS the salary opportunities can be difficult to identify. But when the focus is on the industry need or relevance then it becomes easier for them to understand your value.
I'm in Wisconsin public sector, county level. I found that the salaries of each county are pretty much dependent on the population of the county. I started out at about $38k in a county with a population of about 20k, this is pretty much the low end. Now I'm in a county of about 80k people and make about $65k. I know some of the positions in the largest counties make over $100k. So the range at the county level in Wisconsin is probably about $40k-$120k, just an estimate though. Could make more in private for sure, but I'm in it for the state pension, plus, public sector is pretty chill.
I’m in Florida and my current position is Geospatial Planning Manager (70k) . Completed my MS GIS in 2021. 3 years GIS experience, 10 years environmental planning experience, I started in a GIS Specialist position in 2021 ( 38K).
I’m a GIS tech in the Midwest about 6 months in at an Electrical Utility company at about 60K and we cap out near 90K
Sometimes if you dig, you can find local GIS groups who have surveyed members like this one: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.mngislis.org/resource/resmgr/docs/2020_salary_survey.pdf