# Cartographers and Photogrammetrists

US SOC code 17-1021. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/17-1021

Also called: Cartographer, Photogrammetrist, GIS cartographer, Mapping specialist, Geospatial analyst.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **14,260** US cartographers and photogrammetrists, with median pay of **$81,390** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1050/pdf/CIRC1050.pdf) of **2,500** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for cartographers and photogrammetrists: LiDAR point clouds, cloud GIS, and commercial UAV mapping, 2010 to 2020. The UAV mapping boom directly increased demand for photogrammetrists who could operate drone-based survey pipelines end-to-end.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 7.4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=17-1021&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **46%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Cartographers and Photogrammetrists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1852
- Latest US employment: 14,260 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $81,390 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [7]
- Outlook: +7.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [21]

### All 27 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 2,500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., USGS Circular 1050 [1] |
| 1945 | 12,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NGA history [2] |
| 1965 | 9,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Early Automation at the U.S. Geological… [3] |
| 2000 | 7,360 | $39,410 | BLS OEWS 2000 [4] |
| 2003 | 8,940 | $44,170 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 9,870 | $46,080 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 11,260 | $48,250 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 11,430 | $48,240 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 11,460 | $49,970 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 11,690 | $51,180 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 11,750 | $53,050 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 11,670 | $54,510 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 11,240 | $55,970 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 11,490 | $57,440 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 11,290 | $58,840 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 11,610 | $60,930 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 11,970 | $61,880 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 12,100 | $62,750 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 11,440 | $63,990 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 11,050 | $64,430 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 11,300 | $65,470 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 12,600 | $68,380 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 12,610 | $68,900 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 13,270 | $71,890 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 12,330 | $76,210 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 12,790 | $78,380 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 14,260 | $81,390 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (87)

### Employment series

1. [USGS Circular 1050 — "The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989" (federal mapping workforce context)](https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1050/pdf/CIRC1050.pdf), U.S. Geological Survey
2. [NGA history — "WWII Mapping Maidens Chart Course for Today's Mapmakers" (Army Map Service wartime production, 40,000 maps, 500M copies)](https://www.nga.mil/history/Mapping_Maidens_Chart_Course_for_Todays_Mapmakers.html), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
3. [Early Automation at the U.S. Geological Survey (U. Wisconsin History of Cartography) — USGS National Mapping Program photogrammetric production context](https://geography.wisc.edu/histcart/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2017/04/07mchaffie.pdf), University of Wisconsin History of Cartography
4. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

6. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
7. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
8. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

9. [USGS — "125 Years of Topographic Mapping at USGS" (ESRI ArcNews, Fall 2009): history of USGS national mapping program from 1884](https://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/fall09articles/125-years.html), USGS / ESRI
10. [USGS Circular 1050 — "The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989": founding of national topographic mapping program under John Wesley Powell](https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1050/pdf/CIRC1050.pdf), U.S. Geological Survey
11. [NGA history — "WWII Mapping Maidens Chart Course for Today's Mapmakers": Army Map Service produced 40,000 map types, 500M copies (1941-1945)](https://www.nga.mil/history/Mapping_Maidens_Chart_Course_for_Todays_Mapmakers.html), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
12. [PixElement — "The History of Aerial Photogrammetry and Mapping": WWI aerial reconnaissance timeline, Fairchild Manhattan surveys, commercial adoption 1920s](https://pixelement.com/blog/2024/08/06/history-of-photogrammetry.html), PixElement
13. [Grokipedia — Stereoplotter: Wild A8 (1,070 units, 1952-1980) and Kern PG2 (700+ units, 1960-1985) as dominant analog stereoplotters](https://grokipedia.com/page/Stereoplotter), Grokipedia
14. [GIM International — "Digital Photogrammetric Workstations": analog plotters were displaced by softcopy systems in the early 1990s after dominance through the 1980s](https://www.gim-international.com/content/article/digital-photogrammetric-workstations), GIM International
15. [ArcInfo Wikipedia — ArcInfo as first commercial GIS (1981), ArcInfo 7.1 on Windows NT (1994)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArcInfo), Wikipedia
16. [ESRI — "Back to Basics": history of ArcInfo and GIS development from 1969 (Jack Dangermond founding ESRI) through commercial GIS revolution](https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/arcwatch/back-to-basics), ESRI
17. [Spatial Post — "The Remarkable History of GIS": Google Earth Engine public availability 2010; history of cloud GIS revolution](https://www.spatialpost.com/history-of-gis/), Spatial Post
18. [MarketsandMarkets — Drone Mapping and Surveying Market: $5B+ globally in 2024, 15%+ CAGR (drone mapping demand driving photogrammetrist employment)](https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/drone-mapping-surveying-market.html), MarketsandMarkets
19. [ESRI — ArcGIS Pro AI Deep Learning Tools (2024-2025): automated feature extraction, land cover classification, LiDAR point cloud classification from imagery at production scale](https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-pro/overview), ESRI
20. [BLS OOH — Cartographers and Photogrammetrists: 6% projected employment growth 2024-2034; employment 13,400 (2024)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/cartographers-and-photogrammetrists.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

21. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 17-1021 Cartographers and photogrammetrists (2025: 14.7 thousand; 2035: 15.7 thousand; +7.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=17-1021&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
22. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 17-1021.00, human-rated β 0.46)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

23. [Photogrammetry from its Origins to the Present (Krakow 3D): Laussedat 1849-1859 experiments; Meydenbauer coinage of "photogrammetry" 1867](https://krakow3d.pl/en/photogrammetry-from-its-origins-to-the-present/), Krakow 3D
24. [ESRI ArcNews Fall 2009 — "125 Years of Topographic Mapping": USGS national topographic program from 1884; Henry Gannett as founding figure](https://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/fall09articles/125-years.html), ESRI / USGS
25. [OneStopGIS — "History of Photogrammetry": WWI aerial photography, "by 1918 both sides were photographing the entire front twice a day and had taken over half a million photos"](https://www.onestopgis.com/Aerial-Photography/2-Elements-of-Photographic-Systems/3-History-of-Aerial-Photography/2-History-of-Photogrammetry.html), OneStopGIS
26. [American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Wikipedia — founded 1934; renamed 1985; 7,000+ professional members; PE&RS journal from 1937](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_for_Photogrammetry_and_Remote_Sensing), Wikipedia
27. [NGA — "WWII Mapping Maidens": Army Map Service established 1941; 40,000 map types, 500M copies, 1941-1945; "Military Mapping Maidens" trained 1942](https://www.nga.mil/history/Mapping_Maidens_Chart_Course_for_Todays_Mapmakers.html), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
28. [Army Map Service Wikipedia — organizational lineage: AMS (1941-1968), USATC (1968-1972), DMA (1972-1996), NIMA (1996-2003), NGA (2003-present)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Map_Service), Wikipedia
29. [ArcInfo Wikipedia — first commercial GIS (1981), first fully integrated commercial GIS system, ESRI founded by Jack Dangermond; ArcInfo 7.1 on Windows NT (1994)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArcInfo), Wikipedia
30. [MarketsandMarkets — Drone Mapping and Surveying Market: $5B+ globally in 2024; 15%+ CAGR; FAA Part 107 as enabling regulatory context for US commercial UAV mapping](https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/drone-mapping-surveying-market.html), MarketsandMarkets

### Predecessors & successors

31. [USGS Circular 1050 — "The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989": USGS descended from Army Corps topographic engineers; mapping profession grew from military origins](https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1050/pdf/CIRC1050.pdf), U.S. Geological Survey
32. [NGA history — "WWII Mapping Maidens": civilian photogrammetrists recruited and trained from non-specialist backgrounds after Pearl Harbor for Army Map Service production roles](https://www.nga.mil/history/Mapping_Maidens_Chart_Course_for_Todays_Mapmakers.html), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Cartographers and Photogrammetrists (17-1021.00): tasks, technology skills, knowledge, wages, employment](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-1021.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): occupational LLM exposure framework](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [ESRI — ArcGIS Pro 3.x AI Deep Learning Tools (2024–2025): automated feature extraction from imagery; ArcGIS Image Analyst; AI-powered land cover classification and change detection](https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-pro/overview), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Pix4D — Pix4Dmapper AI: AI-accelerated drone mapping pipeline; automatic orthorectification, DSM/DTM extraction, point cloud classification (2023–2025)](https://www.pix4d.com/product/pix4dmapper-photogrammetry-software), accessed 2026-05-24
- [DroneDeploy — AI-powered drone mapping platform: automated flight planning, orthomosaic processing, volume measurement, and 3D model generation (2024–2025)](https://www.dronedeploy.com), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Hexagon — ERDAS IMAGINE AI (2024): AI-accelerated image classification, automated stereo photogrammetric extraction, and change detection for remote sensing workflows](https://www.hexagongeospatial.com/products/power-portfolio/erdas-imagine), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Agisoft — Metashape AI (2023–2025): AI-guided tie point matching, camera calibration automation, and dense point cloud semantic classification for UAV and close-range photogrammetry](https://www.agisoft.com/features/professional-edition/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Google — Earth Engine Machine Learning API: cloud-scale ML on planetary satellite imagery archive for land cover classification, change detection, and large-area feature mapping](https://earthengine.google.com), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Microsoft — Planetary Computer: cloud-based geospatial analytics platform with ML tools for global satellite imagery processing, climate change monitoring, and biodiversity mapping (2023–2025)](https://planetarycomputer.microsoft.com), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Cartographers and Photogrammetrists: 2% employment growth projected through 2032; median annual wage $72,990; federal government and engineering services largest employers](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/cartographers-and-photogrammetrists.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MarketsandMarkets — Drone Mapping and Surveying Market: $5B+ globally in 2024, 15%+ CAGR through 2029; infrastructure inspection, construction, precision agriculture, and emergency response driving demand](https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/drone-mapping-surveying-market.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Trimble — Inpho AI photogrammetric processing suite: AI-accelerated aerial triangulation, automated tie point matching, and batch orthorectification for large aerial survey projects](https://geospatial.trimble.com/en/products/software/trimble-inpho), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.