Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY
PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER
ISSN 0033-0124 · eISSN 1467-9272 · Taylor & Francis
PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.76; JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 244 days to acceptance (83 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 47% (journal website); 71 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Geographic Information Systems Studies, Human auditory perception and evaluation and Earthquake and Disaster Impact Studies, together about 28.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Geography, Planning and Development. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Professional Geographer, initially a publication of the American Society for Professional Geographers, became a journal of the American Association of Geographers in 1949. It publishes short articles of academic or applied geography, emphasizing empirical studies and methodologies. These features may range in content and approach from rigorously analytic to broadly philosophical or prescriptive. The journal provides a forum for new ideas and alternative viewpoints. The Professional Geographer accepts the following types of articles: Regular Manuscripts, Focus Sections, Research Notes, and Commentaries. For information on submitting a Research Note or Commentary, contact the Managing Editor at journals@aag.org. Peer Review Policy: All Articles, Forums, Research Notes, and Commentaries submitted to this journal undergo a “double-anonymous” peer review by one to three referees, one of which will be the editor or designate. Commentary Responses undergo "single-anonymous" peer review. Disclaimer Read the Instructions for Authors and the Editorial Policies to ensure you’ve correctly followed all the requirements.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geographic Information Systems StudiesSocial Sciences11%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering8.9%
- Earthquake and Disaster Impact StudiesSocial Sciences8.5%
- Historical Geography and Geographical ThoughtSocial Sciences8.3%
- Geography Education and PedagogySocial Sciences7.9%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.4%
- Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation StudiesSocial Sciences4.6%
- Legal case studies and regulationsSocial Sciences4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
GeoRefCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, Academic ASAP, Expanded Academic ASAP, Academic Search Elite, Academic Search Premier, Agricultural Engineering Abstracts, American Bibliography of Slavic & Eastern European Studies, Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Bibliographica Cartographica, Bibliography and Index of Geology, CatchWord, Coal Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Current Advances in Ecological and Environmental Science, EBSCO MasterFILE Elite, EBSCO MasterFILE Premier, EBSCO MasterFILE Select, EBSCO Online, Ecology Abstracts, Energy Information Abstracts, Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management, Forestry Abstracts, GEOBASE, ISI Basic Social Sciences Index, InfoTrac OneFile, Ingenta, International Bibliography of Sociology, International Development Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.76LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.52LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.52Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.78LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.78Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 127OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,612OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.1OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 16.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 10.23%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 65LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 186,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,053 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 55 | 17 | 16 |
| 2025 | 71 | 22 | 142 |
| 2024 | 65 | 19 | 243 |
| 2023 | 56 | 16 | 421 |
| 2022 | 93 | 28 | 769 |
| 2021 | 91 | 19 | 861 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
244 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 178 days – 321 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 55 days (83 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 312 days
- Sample
- 83 articles with submission and acceptance dates (138 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 47%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 60 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 64 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 55 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer review, Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted6
- commentariesThe Professional Geographer accepts the following types of articles: Regular Manuscripts, Focus Sections, Research Notes, and Commentaries.Length not stated
- editorialEditorialLength not stated
- focus sectionsThe Professional Geographer accepts the following types of articles: Regular Manuscripts, Focus Sections, Research Notes, and Commentaries.Length not stated
- regular manuscriptsThe Professional Geographer accepts the following types of articles: Regular Manuscripts, Focus Sections, Research Notes, and Commentaries.Length not stated
- research articleResearch ArticleLength not stated
- research notesThe Professional Geographer accepts the following types of articles: Regular Manuscripts, Focus Sections, Research Notes, and Commentaries.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
The Professional Geographer is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-anonymous peer review by one to three referees, one of which will be the editor or designate. Model summary
All Articles, Forums, Research Notes, and Commentaries submitted to this journal undergo a “double-anonymous” peer review by one to three referees, one of which will be the editor or designate.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0033-0124
- Electronic ISSN
- 1467-9272
- Society / sponsor
- American Association of Geographers
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 78, Issue 4 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER
What CAS zone is PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geography. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.76; CiteScore 3.5, h-index 127.
How long does peer review take at PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER?
Based on the dates recorded on 83 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 244 days (interquartile range 178–321 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 47%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Sociology.
Which databases index PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists GeoRef and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER open access, and what is the APC?
PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .