Executive Summary (TL;DR)

City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning maps to BLS occupations averaging about $69,827, with roughly 86,470 workers nationwide in those roles. Median program completion runs near 59%; median in-state published tuition is about $11,205.

City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning: what the data shows

Common questions about city/urban, community and regional planning degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.

What is a city/urban, community and regional planning degree?

A City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning program is classified under NCES CIP 04.0300 in the City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning field family (00.04).

Types of city/urban, community and regional planning degrees and related programs

Other NCES program codes in the 00.04 family with pages on EDsmart Data:

What do you learn in city/urban, community and regional planning?

O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Speaking, Judgment and Decision Making, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Systems Analysis, Reading Comprehension, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.

What jobs can you get with a city/urban, community and regional planning degree?

Our degree→occupation mapping links City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.

OccupationU.S. employmentMedian annual wage
Urban and Regional Planners43,040$83,720
Community Health Workers60,730$51,030
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks385,000$57,770
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other110,390$54,940

See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.

Is a city/urban, community and regional planning degree worth it?

College Scorecard national medians for the City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning bachelor's program family: median debt $42,373, median earnings $66,874 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.96.

About 4.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.

Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $11,205 and median net price is $17,292.

We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning and the types of students that study this field.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$11,205 Median In-State Public

$59,076 Median Out of State Private

Tuition costs for City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning majors are, on average, $11,205 for in-state public colleges, and $59,076 for out of state private colleges.

Tuition costs comparison for City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning programs.

Degrees Awarded Over Time

N/A Total Degrees Awarded in 2023

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning from 2015 to 2023.

Historical trend of degrees awarded in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning.

Top 5 Schools by Enrollment

Schools with the largest enrollment offering City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning programs.

Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition

Schools with the lowest tuition costs for City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning programs.

Top 5 Lowest Net Price

Schools with the lowest average net price for City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning programs.

Graduation Rates

59.08% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)

59.60% Average Graduation Rate

101 Institutions Reporting

49.59% - 72.82% Interquartile Range

Graduation/completion rates for City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning programs across institutions.

Related specializations

Other NCES program codes in the 00.04 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.

Careers & Jobs

Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.

Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $69,827. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning graduates alone.

Related occupations (BLS OEWS)

Occupation Mean annual wage U.S. employment
Urban and Regional Planners$114,55143,040
Community Health Workers$64,35360,730
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks$67,248385,000
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other$64,394110,390

Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.

Program outcomes (College Scorecard)

National medians across bachelor's programs in the City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning CIP family (3 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning graduate.

  • $42,373 median federal loan debt among completers
  • $66,874 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
  • 0.96 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
  • 4.0% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)

Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.

Employment

Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

$70,585 Average wage, mapped occupations (OEWS)

Occupations mapped to City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning average $70,585 a year in the BLS OEWS extract.

Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning majors.

Occupations by Share

86,470 2023 Workforce

The number of City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning graduates in the workforce has been growing.

Various jobs filled by those with a major in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning by share of the total number of graduates.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning in the United States.

Workforce Age

N/A Average Age in 2023

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning.

Age distribution for City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning degree holders in the workforce.

Gender Distribution

Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Gender distribution of City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning degree recipients.

Race and Ethnicity Distribution

Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Racial and ethnic distribution of City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning degree recipients.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Distribution of degree types awarded in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning.

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Required Skills

City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.

Rating of how necessary various skills are for City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning majors.

Skills Bar Chart

This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.

Skill importance ratings for City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning majors.

About

City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning

In 2023, N/A degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning.

CIP Code

04.0300 - City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning

What the data shows

At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $42,373 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $66,874, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.96. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning graduate.

Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $69,827. The largest mapped role by headcount is Urban and Regional Planners (43,040 U.S. jobs in OEWS).

Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $11,205 in-state at public colleges and $59,076 at private institutions for programs in this field.

Data Sources

This page uses data from the following sources:

  • College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
    • Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
    • Data years: 2015-2024
    • Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
    • Employment and wage data by occupation
    • Latest data: May 2024
    • Source: bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
    • Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
    • Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
    • Source: onetcenter.org
  • IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
    • Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
    • Data years: 2015-2024
    • Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
  • Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
    • Demographic and workforce data
    • Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
    • Source: census.gov/acs

Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.

Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.

Methodology

Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.

All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.