US College Programs

Geography (Bachelor's) Programs in Wisconsin, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

  • 5 programs report first-year pay
  • 5 also report federal debt
  • Bachelor's in Geography and Cartography

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Wisconsin geography bachelor's program pays its graduates $37,537 in their first year, $1,407 less than the national median. UW-Madison reports the highest first-year pay ($42,997), and UW-Madison the lowest median debt ($20,250).

Median first-year pay$37,537National $38,944
Median pay after 5 years$55,942National $56,803
Median federal debt$23,850National $22,250
Debt-to-earnings64%National 55%

All 5 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

Debt and first-year pay at every Wisconsin geography program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Wisconsin medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. UW-Madison$42,997
  2. UW-Eau Claire$40,048
  3. UW-La Crosse$37,537
  4. UW-Whitewater$37,521
  5. UW-Milwaukee$32,052

Lowest median debt

  1. UW-Madison$20,250
  2. UW-Eau Claire$21,212
  3. UW-La Crosse$23,850
  4. UW-Whitewater$23,983
  5. UW-Milwaukee$27,000

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. UW-Madison47%
  2. UW-Eau Claire53%
  3. UW-La Crosse64%
  4. UW-Whitewater64%
  5. UW-Milwaukee84%

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to geography, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Surveying and Mapping Technicians

$59,080

Median pay in Wisconsin. 660 people work in this job in Wisconsin. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $39,340Top 10%: $77,690

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists

$76,760

Median pay in Wisconsin. 260 people work in this job in Wisconsin. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $54,400Top 10%: $112,510

Geographers

$102,040

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Common questions

UW-Madison in Madison reports the highest median first-year pay, $42,997. Its median federal debt is $20,250.

Related pages

Geography (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked90 programs by pay and debt

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
  • Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
  • Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Wisconsin rankings when their main campus is in another state.
  • Medians are across the geography bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024