Vocational Index

Career

Urban and regional planners

Plan how cities and towns use land and grow.

$89,320
Median pay
+3.9%
Job growth, 2025–35
3,200
Openings a year
Master's degree
Typical education
6 years
Typical time after high school

Here's what you actually need to know.

The work

What people in this job do

  • Design, promote, or administer government plans or policies affecting land use, zoning, public utilities, community facilities, housing, or transportation.
  • Advise planning officials on project feasibility, cost-effectiveness, regulatory conformance, or possible alternatives.
  • Create, prepare, or requisition graphic or narrative reports on land use data, including land area maps overlaid with geographic variables, such as population density.
  • Hold public meetings with government officials, social scientists, lawyers, developers, the public, or special interest groups to formulate, develop, or address issues regarding land use or community plans.
  • Mediate community disputes or assist in developing alternative plans or recommendations for programs or projects.

The outlook

How the forecast changed this year

2024–34 edition+3.4%2025–35 edition+3.9%
Projected 10-year growth in last year's and this year's BLS projections. 3,400 → 3,200 openings a year.

The deeper question

What kind of person does this path ask you to become?

What this work centers on

Ideas & analysis
5.3
Persuasion & leadership
4.5
Information & systems
4.0
Objects & tools
3.2
Creation & expression
3.1
People & care
3.0

O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.

The work

Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then persuasion & leadership?

Responsibility

Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?

“Design, promote, or administer government plans or policies affecting land use, zoning, public utilities, community facilities, housing, or transportation.”

Development

What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?

Active Listening, Judgment and Decision Making, Speaking, Systems Analysis.

Trade-offs

What does it ask of you in exchange?

6 years of education after high school (master's degree), for a median of $89,320 a year and 3,200 openings nationally each year.

Paths in

Degrees that lead here

  • City/Urban, Community, and Regional PlanningCIP 04.0301
  • Sustainable Design/ArchitectureCIP 04.0403
  • Real Estate DevelopmentCIP 04.1001
  • Sustainability StudiesCIP 30.3301
  • Design for Human HealthCIP 30.3701
  • Transportation and Infrastructure Planning/StudiesCIP 44.0403

Paths across

Careers that use similar skills

  • Transportation Planners
  • Project Management Specialists$102,320 · +6.7%
  • Chief Sustainability Officers
  • Sustainability Specialists
  • Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers

Ask anything about this career.

“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.

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Sources

  1. BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  2. BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  3. O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  4. CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.