Urban and Regional Planners Salary: $114,551 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 43,040 urban and regional planners nationally earn a mean of $114,551. Employment in the series shown rose about 4% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 1.3% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Urban and Regional Planners: what the data shows
Common questions about urban and regional planners careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a urban and regional planners?
Urban and Regional Planners is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 19-3051.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 43,040 workers.
What does a urban and regional planners do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Developing Objectives and Strategies, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a urban and regional planners make?
BLS national median annual wage: $83,720 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $114,551 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $75,713 |
| 25th percentile | $88,553 |
| Median (50th) | $108,090 |
| 75th percentile | $133,410 |
| 90th percentile | $164,307 |
What education do you need?
For Urban and Regional Planners, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Judgment and Decision Making, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Systems Analysis, Reading Comprehension, and knowledge areas including Law and Government, English Language, Geography, Transportation. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is urban and regional planners in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.3% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 6.9%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 14.2%.
Current U.S. headcount: 43,040.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do urban and regional plannerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 43,040 | 17.0% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 37,170 | 14.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 37,030 | 14.6% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 37,030 | 14.6% |
| Local Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 32,190 | 12.7% |
| Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 32,180 | 12.7% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Urban and Regional Planners in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Community Health Workers | 60,730 | $51,030 |
| Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks | 385,000 | $57,770 |
| Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other | 110,390 | $54,940 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Urban and Regional Planners workforce.
Employment Over Time
43,040 Workforce in 2023
The Urban and Regional Planners workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Urban and Regional Planners.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$114,551 Average Wage
In 2023, Urban and Regional Planners earned an average of $114,551.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Urban and Regional Planners.
Salary distribution for Urban and Regional Planners.
Employment Growth Projections
1.3% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
32,555 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 6.9%
34,794 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 14.2%
This occupation is projected to grow at 1.3% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Urban and Regional Planners.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Urban and Regional Planners and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Urban and Regional Planners employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Urban and Regional Planners.
Wage Trends by Industry
3.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Urban and Regional Planners.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Urban and Regional Planners.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 7,630 employees, $111,520 avg wage
- WA: 2,840 employees, $97,160 avg wage
- FL: 2,640 employees, $82,740 avg wage
- TX: 2,150 employees, $81,620 avg wage
- NY: 2,100 employees, $100,040 avg wage
- VA: 1,710 employees, $89,380 avg wage
- NC: 1,640 employees, $79,280 avg wage
- MA: 1,570 employees, $93,240 avg wage
- CO: 1,260 employees, $96,880 avg wage
- IL: 1,190 employees, $85,550 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Urban and Regional Planners.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 1,980 employees, $111,720 avg wage
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 1,490 employees, $102,480 avg wage
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 1,390 employees, $104,770 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 1,290 employees, $129,740 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 1,240 employees, $104,660 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 1,090 employees, $97,420 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA: 1,030 employees, $100,860 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 750 employees, $88,820 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 730 employees, $94,140 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA: 730 employees, $104,600 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Urban and Regional Planners.
Diversity
Demographic information on Urban and Regional Planners in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Urban and Regional Planners in 2023 was 43,040 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Urban and Regional Planners.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Urban and Regional Planners.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Urban and Regional Planners.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Urban and Regional Planners in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Urban and Regional Planners.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Urban and Regional Planners workers.
Education level distribution for Urban and Regional Planners.
Skills
Urban and Regional Planners need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Judgment and Decision Making, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Systems Analysis.
Required skills for Urban and Regional Planners.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Urban and Regional Planners.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Urban and Regional Planners include Law and Government, English Language, Geography, Transportation, Communications and Media.
Knowledge areas required for Urban and Regional Planners.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Urban and Regional Planners include Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Written Expression, Written Comprehension, Speech Clarity.
Required abilities for Urban and Regional Planners.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Urban and Regional Planners.
Daily Activities
Urban and Regional Planners spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Developing Objectives and Strategies, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.
Most important work activities for Urban and Regional Planners.
About
Urban and Regional Planners
The average yearly wage for Urban and Regional Planners was $114,551 in 2023.
SOC Code
19-3051 - Urban and Regional Planners
Insights and Analysis
High earnings profile: Urban and Regional Planners reports an average salary of $114,551, placing it among stronger-paying occupations.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 43,040 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 1.3%, which should inform long-term career planning.
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 Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.