2023 Best Value Urban & Regional Planning Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Urban & Regional Planning School for You
Urban & Regional Planning is the #181 most popular major in the country with 2,419 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
The Best Value Urban & Regional Planning Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 72 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best value experiences for urban planning students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools
Our 2023 rankings named California State Polytechnic University - Pomona the best value school in the United States for urban and regional planning students. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $19,319 per year. While working on their degree, urban planning majors at Cal Poly Pomona accumulate an average of around $17,250 in student debt.
Full Urban & Regional Planning at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report
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The excellent programs at Arizona State University - Skysong helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best urban and regional planning schools in the United States. Located in the midsize city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 a year. After completing their degree, urban planning graduates from ASU - Skysong carry an average student debtload of $26,875. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $436.
ASU - Skysong excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools list.
Full Urban & Regional Planning at Arizona State University - Skysong Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $28,105 a year. Urban Planning majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo take out an average of $15,269 in student loans while working on their egree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also did well on our Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full Urban & Regional Planning at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Texas. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. UNT is a very large public school located in the city of Denton.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNT are $20,906 per year.
Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at University of North Texas
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Nebraska - Lincoln is a great value for urban and regional planning students. UNL is a fairly large public school located in the city of Lincoln.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UNL are $26,720 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UNL also is in the top 10% of our Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools ranking.
Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at University of Nebraska - Lincoln
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University of California - Berkeley came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Urban & Regional Planning Schools ranking. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $43,980 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UC Berkeley is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools list.
Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at University of California - Berkeley
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The University of Texas at Austin came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Urban & Regional Planning Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UT Austin are $40,996 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UT Austin also did well on our Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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University of North Carolina at Charlotte ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. Located in the large city of Charlotte, UNC Charlotte is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNC Charlotte are $20,622 per year.
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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value urban and regional planning programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.
UCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $43,012 in tuition and fees each year.
UCLA also claimed a spot on our Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
Full Urban & Regional Planning at University of California - Los Angeles Report
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Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value urban and regional planning programs. Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Atlanta.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Georgia Tech are $33,964 a year.
Georgia Tech excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 1% of all schools on our Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools list.
Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus
Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for Urban & Regional Planning students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Urban & Regional Planning Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Prairie View A & M University | Prairie View, TX |
| 12 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX |
| 13 | Auburn University | Auburn, AL |
| 14 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA |
Urban & Regional Planning by Region
View the Best Value Urban & Regional Planning Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Urban & Regional Planning Rankings
Majors Related to Urban Planning
One of 8 majors within the area of study, urban and regional planning has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar to Urban Planning
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Architectural Sciences & Technology | 6,781 |
| General Architecture | 4,982 |
| Landscape Architecture | 905 |
| Environmental Design | 741 |
| Interior Architecture | 728 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Arcaddmarketing.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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