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Urban & Regional Planning

Types of Degrees Urban & Regional Planning Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Urban & Regional Planning may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	10
Bachelor’s Degree	669
Master’s Degree	1,611
Doctor’s Degree	72

What Urban & Regional Planning Majors Need to Know

Studies in Urban & Regional Planning build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Urban & Regional Planning graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Urban & Regional Planning emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Design — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Engineering and Technology — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Urban & Regional Planning program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Urban & Regional Planning careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Urban & Regional Planning graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Working with Computers	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Processing Information	4.2 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Urban & Regional Planning professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Adobe Illustrator	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Computer aided design CAD software	Computer aided design CAD software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Autodesk AutoCAD	Computer aided design CAD software	✓
Oracle Java	Object or component oriented development software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Urban & Regional Planning graduates include:

• Lecturer
• City Planning Teacher
• Naval Science Teacher
• Urban Planning Professor
• Survey Research Professor
• Science Teacher
• Liberal Arts Teacher
• Social Science Professor
• Weight Control Lecturer
• Labor Relations Teacher
• Military Science Teacher
• Humanities Teacher
• Industrial Arts Teacher
• Urban Planning Teacher
• Survey Research Teacher

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Urban & Regional Planning graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	36.4%
Master’s degree	22.1%
Doctoral degree	18.7%
First professional degree	10.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	6.2%
Post-master’s certificate	2.1%
Postsecondary certificate	1.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.1%
Post-doctoral training	0.5%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.5%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Urban & Regional Planning?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 53.1% women and 46.9% men among Urban & Regional Planning graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,254	53.1%
Men	1,108	46.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Urban & Regional Planning graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,184	50.1%
Asian	155	6.6%
Hispanic or Latino	366	15.5%
Black or African American	202	8.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native	3	0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	4	0.2%
Two or More Races	97	4.1%
Race Unknown	58	2.5%
International Students	293	12.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Urban & Regional Planning Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Urban & Regional Planning graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$57,381
4 years	$68,856
5 years	$79,049

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $79,049 — roughly 38% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Urban & Regional Planning Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Urban & Regional Planning. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	1	1
Master’s	5	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Urban & Regional Planning Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Urban & Regional Planning graduates earn a median of $68,856 four years after completion — roughly 81% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Architecture and Related Services	04
Architectural History, Criticism, and Conservation	04.08
Architectural Sciences and Technology	04.09
Architecture and Related Services, Other	04.99
ARCHITECTURE AND RELATED SERVICES	04.00
Architecture	04.02
Environmental Design	04.04
Interior Architecture	04.05
Landscape Architecture	04.06
Real Estate Development	04.10

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.