In the summer of 2024, URISA, now known as the Geospatial Professional Network, commissioned Research USA to conduct a survey of individuals in the geospatial profession in order to learn more about the salaries, demographics, job requirements, and current benefit plans offered to GIS professionals.

Some specific areas studied included:

• Current employment status
  
• Type of organization
  
• Location of job by state/country
  
• Job title/position (review the job titles and descriptions used)
  
• Current annual salary
  
• Additional forms of compensation offered by organization
  
• Demographic characteristics
  
• Highest level of education attained
  
• Disciplines of education
  
• Certified GIS professional (GISP) status
  
• Percentage of time spent performing geospatial technology tasks
  
• Departments in which respondents work
  
• Number of GIS staff in organization/department
  
• GIS software platforms/GIS technology skills required for job
  
• Number of hours worked in a typical week
  
• Number of years of GIS experience/years in current position
  
• Overall level of job satisfaction
  

By August 20, 2024, there were 4,602 usable responses.

The results of this survey provide an interesting and useful analysis of the current state of the GIS profession. GPN is pleased to share the Executive Summary of the Results which includes key results of the survey, including:

The average current annual salary among all respondents is $91,774 (the median is $87,000). Of course, salaries vary based on employer type, geography, gender, and certification status. Numerous cross-tabulations of the salary data are included in the comprehensive publication.

The following chart shows the mean and median 2024 salary by current job title:

The full publication includes an abundance of detailed tabular data and extensive cross-tabulations. That 200+ page publication is available for purchase ($175 for members and $350 for nonmembers).

Eye-opening and information-packed, this resource has been a regular request from the community.

Employers need the information in order to hire and retain qualified employees.
GIS professionals need the information to evaluate their compensation and career strategies.

Please direct any questions to Wendy Nelson, Executive Director.