# Geography Teachers, Postsecondary

US SOC code 25-1064. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/25-1064

Also called: Geography professor, Geography teacher, GIS professor, Human geography professor, Physical geography professor.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **3,330** US postsecondary geography teachers, with median pay of **$97,590** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **3,480**, in May 2023, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.aag.org/an-american-association-of-geographers/) of **500** from 1920, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for postsecondary geography teachers: Deep learning for remote sensing and spatial data science, 2015 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 2.7% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1064&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **46.6%** 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.

## Geography Teachers, Postsecondary employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1904
- Latest US employment: 3,330 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $97,590 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [8]
- Outlook: +2.7% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [19]

### All 30 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1920 | 500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., American Association of Geographers [1] |
| 1956 | n/a | $5,200 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [5] |
| 1960 | 2,800 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Academies Press [2] |
| 1972 | 4,800 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Academies Press [2] |
| 1975 | n/a | $16,200 (estimate) | Est., AAUP Annual Report on the Economic… [6] |
| 1988 | 3,200 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Academies Press [2] |
| 2000 | 4,200 (estimate) | $54,080 | Est., O\*NET 25-1064.00 (employment) [3]; BLS OEWS 2000 (pay) [7] |
| 2003 | 3,910 | $55,930 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [4] |
| 2004 | 4,180 | $57,510 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [4] |
| 2005 | 4,250 | $57,870 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [4] |
| 2006 | 4,070 | $59,000 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [4] |
| 2007 | 4,050 | $61,310 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [4] |
| 2008 | 4,030 | $62,880 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [4] |
| 2009 | 3,930 | $65,420 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [4] |
| 2010 | 4,250 | $66,700 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [4] |
| 2011 | 4,280 | $68,510 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [4] |
| 2012 | 4,460 | $67,820 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [4] |
| 2013 | 4,400 | $70,500 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [4] |
| 2014 | 4,440 | $71,320 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [4] |
| 2015 | 4,350 | $75,400 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [4] |
| 2016 | 4,140 | $76,810 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [4] |
| 2017 | 3,980 | $78,040 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [4] |
| 2018 | 3,960 | $80,350 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [4] |
| 2019 | 3,970 | $80,520 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [4] |
| 2020 | 3,720 | $82,330 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [4] |
| 2021 | 3,440 | $81,440 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 3,340 | $81,920 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 3,480 | $85,600 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 3,290 | $86,730 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 3,330 | $97,590 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (82)

### Employment series

1. [American Association of Geographers — founding and early history; AAG membership and professional standards (aag.org)](https://www.aag.org/an-american-association-of-geographers/), American Association of Geographers
2. [National Academies Press — "Rediscovering Geography: New Relevance for Science and Society" (1997), Appendix A: Enrollment and Employment Trends in Geography](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/4913/chapter/12), National Academy of Sciences
3. [O\*NET 25-1064.00 — Geography Teachers, Postsecondary (BLS occupational profile, employment and wages)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-1064.00), O\*NET / BLS
4. 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

5. [University of Missouri Libraries — Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959 (AAUP faculty salary survey data, 1956)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries / AAUP historical sources
6. [AAUP Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession (historical faculty salary survey data, 1974-75 academic year)](https://www.aaup.org/our-work/research/faculty-salary), American Association of University Professors
7. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
8. 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)
9. [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

10. [American Association of Geographers — founding history; William Morris Davis and the establishment of professional geography (aag.org)](https://www.aag.org/an-american-association-of-geographers/), American Association of Geographers
11. [Wikipedia — William Morris Davis: physical geography, the cycle of erosion, and geography at Harvard 1878-1912](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris_Davis), Wikipedia
12. [National Academies Press — "Rediscovering Geography: New Relevance for Science and Society" (1997): quantitative revolution, degree production peak, and employment trends in US geography](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/4913/chapter/12), National Academy of Sciences
13. [Esri — GIS in Education: history of Esri's engagement with higher education since 1992, ArcGIS academic site license program (esri.com/education)](https://www.esri.com/en-us/industries/education/overview), Esri
14. [Google Earth Engine — Education and Research: history and academic use (earthengine.google.com, 2025)](https://earthengine.google.com/noncommercial/), Google
15. [Esri ArcNews — "GIS Has Evolved, and So Must GIS Curricula" (Fall 2024): how the GIS curriculum shifted from desktop to web and cloud-native spatial analysis](https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/arcnews/gis-has-evolved-and-so-must-gis-curricula), Esri
16. [Janowicz et al. 2023 — GeoAI: Enabling Next-Generation Location Intelligence (Annals of the AAG, doi:10.1080/24694452.2022.2160022): defining transition from GIS syntax to spatial AI judgment in geography education](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24694452.2022.2160022), Taylor and Francis / AAG
17. [Esri — ArcGIS Pro deep learning tools: "Classify Pixels Using Deep Learning" and pretrained models on Living Atlas (esri.com/geospatial-artificial-intelligence, 2025)](https://www.esri.com/en-us/geospatial-artificial-intelligence/overview), Esri
18. [Mapbox — Mapbox Location AI (2025): natural-language geospatial queries, AI-powered map styling and location agents via MCP server (mapbox.com/location-ai)](https://www.mapbox.com/location-ai), Mapbox

### Forecasts and exposure studies

19. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 25-1064 Geography teachers, postsecondary (2025: 4.1 thousand; 2035: 4.2 thousand; +2.7%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1064&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
20. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 25-1064.00, human-rated β 0.466)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

21. [American Association of Geographers — "An American Association of Geographers?" (founding history)](https://www.aag.org/an-american-association-of-geographers/), American Association of Geographers
22. [Wikipedia — American Association of Geographers: 1948 merger with American Society of Professional Geographers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_of_Geographers), Wikipedia
23. [Geography Directions blog — "What happened to the American geography department?" (citing Harvard 1951, Penn 1963, Yale 1967, Columbia 1986 closures)](https://blog.geographydirections.com/2015/04/08/what-happened-to-the-american-geography-department/), Geography Directions / RGS-IBG
24. [National Academies Press — "Rediscovering Geography" (1997), Appendix A: degree production peak 1971-74](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/4913/chapter/12), National Academy of Sciences

### Predecessors & successors

25. [Wikipedia — William Morris Davis: geology and geography teaching at Harvard, 1878-1912](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris_Davis), Wikipedia
26. [American Association of Geographers — founding history and membership requirements (original members included government survey geographers)](https://www.aag.org/an-american-association-of-geographers/), American Association of Geographers
27. [Clark University Graduate School of Geography — oldest sustained geography PhD program in the US; pipeline into faculty positions](https://www.clarku.edu/departments/geography/), Clark University
28. [AAG Job Center — geography faculty postings 2025-26: GIS proficiency (ArcGIS, QGIS) listed as required in 95%+ of postings; GIS industry experience increasingly valued for applied GIS teaching positions](https://www.aag.org/jobs/), American Association of Geographers

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Geography Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1064.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-1064.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Postsecondary Teachers (2024–2034, +7% projected growth)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/postsecondary-teachers.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OES May 2025 — Geography Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1064): median annual wage ~$84,020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251064.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Janowicz et al. 2023 — GeoAI: Enabling Next-Generation Location Intelligence (Annals of the AAG, doi:10.1080/24694452.2022.2160022): foundational review of AI × GIS convergence shaping geography research and teaching](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24694452.2022.2160022), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Esri Education — ArcGIS in Higher Education: GeoAI tools, deep learning for remote sensing, and "Lucy" AI assistant for ArcGIS Online (esri.com/education, 2025)](https://www.esri.com/en-us/industries/education/overview), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Google Earth Engine — Education and Research: used in 900+ published geography and environmental science courses worldwide; built-in ML classifiers for land cover analysis (earthengine.google.com, 2025)](https://earthengine.google.com/noncommercial/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [AAG — "The State of AI in Geographic Education 2025": 83% of geography faculty report students using AI for assignments; 61% have incorporated AI tools; GIS automation and AI lecture prep are top adoption categories; field methods identified as most AI-resistant core (aag.org, 2025)](https://www.aag.org/events/aag2025/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Federal Reserve FEDS Notes — Educational Exposure to Generative Artificial Intelligence (Timmerman & Xiao, Feb 2026): Social Sciences among highest LLM-exposed academic disciplines](https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/educational-exposure-to-generative-artificial-intelligence-20250226.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Mapbox AI / Map Studio AI — AI-assisted map design tools: natural-language styling, automated choropleth generation, AI label placement (mapbox.com/ai, 2025)](https://www.mapbox.com/location-ai), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Gradescope — AI-assisted grading and answer groups: AI-assisted answer grouping for high-enrollment geography and GIS courses; documented use for map interpretation and physical geography assessments (guides.gradescope.com, 2025)](https://guides.gradescope.com/hc/en-us/articles/24838908062093-AI-assisted-grading-and-answer-groups), accessed 2026-05-24

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