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Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools

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2023 Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools

135 Colleges
$51,745 Avg Salary
$23,296 Avg Student Debt

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 Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 135 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Urban & Regional Planning program at each school on the list.

Check out the urban planning programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.

Our 2023 rankings named University of Washington - Seattle Campus the most popular school in the United States for urban and regional planning students. UW Seattle is a very large public school located in the large city of Seattle.

Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

The excellent programs at Arizona State University - Tempe 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 Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public college with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that urban planning majors at ASU - Tempe take out is $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.

Full Urban & Regional Planning at Arizona State University - Tempe Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Arizona State University - Skysong. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public college with a fairly large student population.

On average, urban planning graduates from ASU - Skysong take out $26,875 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $436.

Full Urban & Regional Planning at Arizona State University - Skysong Report

#4

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

Out of the 135 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the # 4 spot on the list. University of Arizona is a very large public school located in the large city of Tucson.

Urban Planning majors at University of Arizona take out an average of $23,250 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $980, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public college with a very large student population.

On average, urban planning graduates from Ohio State take out $24,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at Ohio State University - Main Campus

With a ranking of #6, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for urban and regional planning students. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public school located in the city of College Station.

On average, urban planning graduates from Texas A&M College Station take out $21,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at Texas A&M University - College Station

University of California - Los Angeles came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

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California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for urban and regional planning students. It came in at #8 on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.

After completing their degree, urban planning graduates from Cal Poly Pomona carry an average student debt load of $17,250.

Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

With a ranking of #8, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for urban and regional planning students. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

The average amount in student loans that urban planning majors at USC take out is $16,250.

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University of California - Davis came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools ranking. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at University of California - Davis

Massachusetts Institute of Technology landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular urban and regional planning programs. MIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.

Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

#11

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that urban planning majors at Cornell take out is $17,800.

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Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular urban and regional planning programs. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

Read More…

#14

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

With a ranking of #14, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for urban and regional planning students. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at University of Virginia - Main Campus

University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools ranking. CU Anschutz is a very large public school located in the city of Denver.

Full Urban & Regional Planning at University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Report

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, urban planning graduates from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo carry an average student debt load of $15,269.

Full Urban & Regional Planning at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

With a ranking of #17, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for urban and regional planning students. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public college with a very large student population.

Read More…

#18

New York University

New York, NY

New York University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular urban and regional planning programs. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Urban & Regional Planning at New York University

Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. Georgia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Atlanta.

Read More…

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools list. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

Full Urban & Regional Planning at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Urban & Regional Planning Schools award.

Rank College Location
21 Iowa State University Ames, IA
22 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
23 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
23 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
25 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
25 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
27 Portland State University Portland, OR
27 Pratt Institute - Main Brooklyn, NY

Urban & Regional Planning by Region

View the Most Popular 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

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 26 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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