Life & Physical Science
Urban & Regional Planners
SOC 19-3051
Plan how communities grow, balancing housing, transport, and the environment.
The job
Median pay
$89k
$72k to $110k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing
+3.9% projected
Openings a year
3k
BLS projection
Typical education
Master's
Our model
AI displacement risk
High
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
4/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
66th pct
More exposed than 66% of occupations · modeled estimate · 94th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
52/100
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Active Learning
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7,460 | 0.4 | 1.4× | $110k |
| Washington | 3,180 | 0.9 | 3.1× | $101k |
| Florida | 2,620 | 0.3 | 0.9× | $81k |
| New York | 2,420 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $90k |
| Texas | 2,190 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $83k |
| Virginia | 1,740 | 0.4 | 1.5× | $86k |
| North Carolina | 1,630 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $81k |
| Massachusetts | 1,540 | 0.4 | 1.5× | $100k |
| Michigan | 1,380 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $79k |
| Arizona | 1,330 | 0.4 | 1.4× | $102k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 1,300 | 0.5 | 1.6× | $101k |
| Georgia | 1,150 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $80k |
| Illinois | 1,140 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $91k |
| Wisconsin | 1,100 | 0.4 | 1.3× | $84k |
| Oregon | 1,010 | 0.5 | 1.8× | $103k |
| Maryland | 900 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $89k |
| Minnesota | 860 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $97k |
| Pennsylvania | 860 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $81k |
| New Jersey | 790 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $86k |
| Ohio | 760 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $80k |
| Indiana | 620 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $71k |
| South Carolina | 530 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $76k |
| Alabama | 520 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $71k |
| Utah | 500 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $84k |
| Hawaii | 450 | 0.7 | 2.5× | $86k |
| Missouri | 440 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $81k |
| Nebraska | 360 | 0.4 | 1.2× | $75k |
| Connecticut | 350 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $100k |
| Idaho | 350 | 0.4 | 1.4× | $77k |
| Oklahoma | 350 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $82k |
| Tennessee | 310 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $79k |
| Iowa | 300 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $79k |
| Delaware | 290 | 0.6 | 2.1× | $67k |
| Montana | 270 | 0.5 | 1.9× | $81k |
| Nevada | 270 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $100k |
| New Mexico | 270 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $78k |
| New Hampshire | 260 | 0.4 | 1.3× | $74k |
| Kansas | 250 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $82k |
| Louisiana | 240 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $75k |
| Alaska | 230 | 0.7 | 2.5× | $94k |
| North Dakota | 210 | 0.5 | 1.7× | $79k |
| South Dakota | 210 | 0.5 | 1.6× | $71k |
| Mississippi | 200 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $60k |
| Maine | 190 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $79k |
| Kentucky | 180 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $65k |
| Rhode Island | 160 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $90k |
| West Virginia | 160 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $61k |
| Washington DC | 120 | 0.2 | 0.6× | $137k |
| Wyoming | 110 | 0.4 | 1.4× | $70k |
| Vermont | 100 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $85k |
| Arkansas | 80 | 0.1 | 0.2× | $64k |
Top metro areas
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA1,920 jobs · $111k median
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ1,570 jobs · $99k median
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA1,430 jobs · $108k median
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA1,250 jobs · $136k median
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV1,250 jobs · $105k median
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH1,100 jobs · $103k median
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA1,020 jobs · $97k median
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ1,000 jobs · $107k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Urban & Regional Planners interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.