Best Geography and Cartography Degrees in the US by ROI

Top colleges ranked by estimated 20-year net return on investment across all active states. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Programs Analyzed

101

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

-$107,790

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$27,725

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	University of California-Berkeley Grad rate: 93.5%	CA	+$264,188	$63,751	$42,708	N/A	Full ROI →
2	Northern Illinois University Grad rate: 51.3%	IL	+$178,644	$56,375	$27,214	N/A	Full ROI →
3	University of Maryland-College Park Grad rate: 88.9%	MD	+$135,412	$56,035	$28,073	$24,441	Full ROI →
4	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Grad rate: 68.8%	NC	+$128,506	$54,449	$22,034	$23,954	Full ROI →
5	California State University-Fresno Grad rate: 55.5%	CA	+$90,900	$50,275	$18,650	N/A	Full ROI →
6	Binghamton University Grad rate: 83.2%	NY	+$85,267	$53,585	$29,657	$20,596	Full ROI →
7	California State University-Northridge Grad rate: 56.1%	CA	+$61,654	$49,703	$20,317	$8,250	Full ROI →
8	West Chester University of Pennsylvania Grad rate: 70.7%	PA	+$59,044	$50,464	$27,559	N/A	Full ROI →
9	California State University-Chico Grad rate: 63.9%	CA	+$47,392	$50,787	$25,590	$19,250	Full ROI →
10	Michigan State University Grad rate: 81.9%	MI	+$39,548	$50,083	$30,528	N/A	Full ROI →
11	Old Dominion University Grad rate: 46.2%	VA	+$32,820	$49,077	$27,180	N/A	Full ROI →
12	Dartmouth College Grad rate: 95.4%	NH	+$30,332	$60,277	$83,802	N/A	Full ROI →
13	University of Florida-Online Grad rate: 78.1%	FL	+$27,186	$48,022	$17,036	$18,600	Full ROI →
14	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Grad rate: 27.4%	AZ	+$18,705	$44,859	N/A	$28,500	Full ROI →
15	University of Florida Grad rate: 90.7%	FL	+$8,454	$48,022	$21,719	$18,600	Full ROI →
16	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grad rate: 84.8%	IL	-$1,466	$50,041	$32,134	$25,000	Full ROI →
17	The University of Texas at Austin Grad rate: 87.7%	TX	-$17,799	$48,555	$29,842	$21,875	Full ROI →
18	State University of New York at Cortland Grad rate: 68.5%	NY	-$20,052	$46,280	$26,413	N/A	Full ROI →
19	Central Washington University Grad rate: 51.0%	WA	-$22,892	$45,885	$25,148	N/A	Full ROI →
20	University of Georgia Grad rate: 87.6%	GA	-$25,863	$47,688	$27,436	$22,133	Full ROI →
21	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Grad rate: 86.3%	VA	-$29,515	$48,316	$32,040	$20,500	Full ROI →
22	University of California-Santa Barbara Grad rate: 85.5%	CA	-$32,846	$48,641	$36,776	$13,750	Full ROI →
23	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Grad rate: 62.9%	WI	-$33,561	$45,673	$18,661	$23,983	Full ROI →
24	Towson University Grad rate: 68.7%	MD	-$35,754	$46,279	$26,621	$11,000	Full ROI →
25	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Grad rate: 66.5%	CA	-$36,313	$45,787	$22,672	$15,826	Full ROI →
26	Miami University-Oxford Grad rate: 81.3%	OH	-$37,192	$47,584	$37,218	N/A	Full ROI →
27	Youngstown State University Grad rate: 51.0%	OH	-$43,692	$43,821	$20,028	N/A	Full ROI →
28	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Grad rate: 84.6%	MN	-$43,967	$46,988	$29,013	$20,500	Full ROI →
29	California State University-Fullerton Grad rate: 69.3%	CA	-$44,068	$43,150	$16,767	N/A	Full ROI →
30	Salisbury University Grad rate: 68.0%	MD	-$46,886	$46,570	$26,134	$25,000	Full ROI →
31	Kennesaw State University Grad rate: 47.2%	GA	-$53,267	$46,454	$24,618	$32,500	Full ROI →
32	West Virginia University Grad rate: 61.7%	WV	-$54,202	$45,584	$23,678	$23,089	Full ROI →
33	Texas A&M University-College Station Grad rate: 83.7%	TX	-$55,086	$46,775	$32,085	$16,479	Full ROI →
34	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Grad rate: 84.0%	WA	-$58,678	$46,304	$30,282	$17,504	Full ROI →
35	James Madison University Grad rate: 81.0%	VA	-$59,522	$46,403	$30,213	$19,800	Full ROI →
36	California State University-Sacramento Grad rate: 55.1%	CA	-$63,675	$44,431	$22,714	$15,881	Full ROI →
37	University of North Texas Grad rate: 59.2%	TX	-$70,781	$44,972	$25,470	$20,994	Full ROI →
38	University of Wisconsin-Madison Grad rate: 89.3%	WI	-$80,917	$44,875	$27,770	$20,250	Full ROI →
39	Brigham Young University Grad rate: 80.4%	UT	-$81,702	$42,790	$20,879	$10,360	Full ROI →
40	Framingham State University Grad rate: 52.0%	MA	-$83,316	$43,142	$26,539	N/A	Full ROI →
41	Saint Cloud State University Grad rate: 45.5%	MN	-$85,676	$41,994	$21,389	N/A	Full ROI →
42	Minnesota State University-Mankato Grad rate: 53.3%	MN	-$87,800	$42,123	$22,565	N/A	Full ROI →
43	Texas State University Grad rate: 56.0%	TX	-$90,578	$44,270	$26,348	$22,657	Full ROI →
44	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Grad rate: 66.2%	PA	-$91,924	$42,360	$24,781	N/A	Full ROI →
45	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Grad rate: 55.3%	PA	-$92,524	$43,149	$28,876	N/A	Full ROI →
46	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Grad rate: 67.4%	AZ	-$93,483	$44,859	$28,047	$28,500	Full ROI →
47	Rowan University Grad rate: 68.2%	NJ	-$96,731	$45,691	$34,116	$25,250	Full ROI →
48	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Grad rate: 75.7%	OK	-$98,199	$44,696	$28,833	$27,250	Full ROI →
49	George Mason University Grad rate: 69.9%	VA	-$99,708	$43,894	$26,972	$22,000	Full ROI →
50	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Grad rate: 73.0%	TN	-$101,752	$45,199	$32,658	$26,000	Full ROI →

How ROI is calculated

20-Year Net ROI = Gross Earnings (salary × 20) − Total Degree Cost − Debt Payoff (×1.35) − Baseline Opportunity Cost ($42,000 × 20). Data from the U.S. College Scorecard.

Find Best Geography and Cartography Degrees by State

Browse Geography and Cartography programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.