NOC 21203: Land surveyors
What land surveyors do
Land surveyors plan, direct and conduct legal surveys to establish the location of real property boundaries, contours and other natural or human-made features, and prepare and maintain cross-sectional drawings, official plans, records and documents pertaining to these surveys. They are employed by federal, provincial and municipal governments, private sector land surveying establishments, real estate development, natural resource, engineering and construction firms, or they may be self-employed.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Develop survey plans, methods and procedures for conducting legal surveys
- Plan, direct and supervise or conduct surveys to establish and mark legal boundaries of properties, parcels of lands, provincial and Canada Lands, Aboriginal land claims, wellsites, mining claims, utility rights-of-way, roadways and highways
- Survey and lay out subdivisions for rural and urban development
- Determine precise locations using electronic distance measuring equipment, global positioning systems (GPS), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)/drones
- Analyze, manage and display data using geographic information systems (GIS) and computer-aided design and drafting (CAD)
- Record all measurements and other information obtained during survey activities
- Prepare or supervise the preparation and compilation of all data, plans, charts, records and documents related to surveys of real property boundaries
- Certify and assume liability for surveys made to establish real property boundaries
- Advise, provide consultation and testify as an expert witness on matters related to legal surveys
- May supervise other land surveyors, and land survey technologists and technicians.
Job titles under NOC 21203
15 job titles are classified here, including cadastral surveyor, Canada lands surveyor, city surveyor.
- cadastral surveyor
- Canada lands surveyor
- city surveyor
- commissioned land surveyor
- country surveyor
- land survey supervisor
- land surveying party chief
- land surveyor
- legal surveyor
- pipeline surveyor
- port surveyor
- professional land surveyor
- property surveyor
- provincial land surveyor
- railway surveyor
Employment requirements
- A bachelor's degree in geomatics engineering or survey engineering or a college diploma in survey science or geomatics technology with additional academic credits and successful completion of equivalent examinations set by a regional board of examiners for land surveyors is required.
- A one- to three-year articling period is required.
- Successful completion of professional land surveyor examinations is required.
- A federal or provincial land surveyor's licence is required.
Land surveyors wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $29.00/hr | $42.20/hr | $60.51/hr |
Toronto ON | $28.37/hr | $39.89/hr | $60.34/hr |
Montréal QC | $29.60/hr | $42.43/hr | $62.39/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $35.00/hr | $40.87/hr | $60.00/hr |
Ottawa ON | $27.83/hr | $38.39/hr | $59.42/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $28.83/hr | $41.91/hr | $61.81/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $30.00/hr | $40.06/hr | $51.00/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $28.45/hr | $39.15/hr | $57.86/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $28.57/hr | $39.16/hr | $59.80/hr |
London ON | $26.40/hr | $36.29/hr | $53.63/hr |
Halifax NS | $27.54/hr | $36.07/hr | $56.67/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $35.00/hr | $40.87/hr | $60.00/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $22.60/hr | $39.88/hr | $51.16/hr |
Nova Scotia | $30.00/hr | $36.06/hr | $63.94/hr |
New Brunswick | $25.73/hr | $39.92/hr | $67.47/hr |
Quebec | $30.00/hr | $40.06/hr | $51.00/hr |
Ontario | $26.54/hr | $39.36/hr | $62.08/hr |
Manitoba | $26.81/hr | $41.23/hr | $65.31/hr |
Alberta | $26.00/hr | $48.53/hr | $61.00/hr |
British Columbia | $35.00/hr | $40.87/hr | $60.00/hr |
Using NOC 21203 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 15 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Civil engineering technologists and technicians (NOC 22300)
- Engineering managers (NOC 20010)
- Geomatics engineer (NOC 21300)
- Hydrographic surveyor - geology (NOC 21102)
- Land survey technologists and technicians (NOC 22213)
- Survey engineer (NOC 21300)
- Technical occupations in geomatics and meteorology (NOC 22214)
- Urban and land use planners (NOC 21202)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for land surveyors?
Land surveyors are NOC 2021 unit group 21203. Example job titles in this group include cadastral surveyor, Canada lands surveyor, city surveyor, land surveyor.
What TEER is NOC 21203?
NOC 21203 is TEER 1 (University degree). Usually requires a university degree (bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate), or experience from a related TEER 2 occupation. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do land surveyors earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $42.20/hr, about $82,000 a year full-time, with a range of $29.00/hr to $60.51/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.