Geography and Cartography at Carthage College

In Wisconsin, geography programs range from just over $32,000 to nearly $43,000 in first-year earnings, and peer programs suggest Carthage's graduates would land somewhere in the middle of that pack—around $37,500. That puts the estimated debt load of $25,000 at roughly two-thirds of first-year income, a manageable ratio that typically allows graduates to make steady progress on repayment while covering living expenses.

The challenge is that geography and cartography isn't a field known for strong early-career earnings. Even UW-Madison's geography graduates, who earn the most among Wisconsin programs at about $43,000, start at levels well below what many STEM or business majors command. The work is often meaningful—urban planning, GIS analysis, environmental consulting—but the financial payoff takes time to materialize. Programs like this tend to reward specialization and technical skills, particularly in geographic information systems, which can open doors to better-paying roles.

For Carthage specifically, the lack of reported data means we're working from educated guesses rather than actual graduate outcomes. If your child is passionate about geography and has a clear career path in mind—especially one involving GIS or data analysis—this could work financially. But if they're choosing geography because it seems interesting without a specific goal, the middling earnings projections and lack of concrete outcomes data make this a riskier bet than programs with proven track records.