Economists
Median $124,720
Occupation · SOC 19-3051
Urban and Regional Planners: pay and where the jobs are
What urban and regional planners earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$89,320 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $94,750
- Median hourly wage
- $42.94
- Mean hourly wage
- $45.55
- Employment
- 44,230
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 19-3051.
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See where your pay falls among urban and regional planners nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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How much do urban and regional planners make?
The median annual wage for urban and regional planners was $89,320 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $60,010 and the highest-paid 10% more than $134,490. As an hourly rate, the median is $42.94. About 44,230 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in District of Columbia ($137,000), California ($109,610) and Oregon ($103,070). District of Columbia also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for urban and regional planners looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $60,010 | $28.85 | $5,001 | $4,200 |
| 25th percentile | $72,020 | $34.63 | $6,002 | $4,958 |
| Median | $89,320 | $42.94 | $7,443 | $5,972 |
| 75th percentile | $110,030 | $52.90 | $9,169 | $7,186 |
| 90th percentile | $134,490 | $64.66 | $11,208 | $8,599 |
Urban and Regional Planners: pay by state
53 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$87,560 take-home in national prices
2
$79,225 take-home in national prices
3
$78,173 take-home in national prices
Where a median urban and regional planner paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 120 | $137,000 | $98,410 | $170,980 | $96,229 | $87,560 |
| California | 7,460 | $109,610 | $77,430 | $166,950 | $78,567 | $70,960 |
| Oregon | 1,010 | $103,070 | $68,630 | $132,290 | $73,042 | $70,667 |
| Arizona | 1,330 | $102,400 | $62,670 | $127,660 | $78,702 | $78,173 |
| Colorado | 1,300 | $101,340 | $69,670 | $140,750 | $75,926 | $73,678 |
| Washington | 3,180 | $100,990 | $77,190 | $126,340 | $78,476 | $73,333 |
| Nevada | 270 | $100,040 | $65,530 | $168,740 | $79,208 | $79,225 |
| Connecticut | 350 | $99,880 | $72,300 | $140,090 | $73,853 | $71,280 |
| Massachusetts | 1,540 | $99,780 | $69,150 | $134,310 | $73,797 | $69,780 |
| Minnesota | 860 | $97,060 | $63,460 | $127,620 | $71,608 | $72,609 |
| Alaska | 230 | $93,860 | $60,420 | $112,930 | $74,590 | $72,870 |
| Illinois | 1,140 | $91,360 | $56,190 | $145,660 | $68,724 | $68,753 |
| Rhode Island | 160 | $90,210 | $59,990 | $115,160 | $68,534 | $67,007 |
| New York | 2,420 | $89,630 | $61,460 | $138,330 | $67,218 | $62,285 |
| Guam | 60 | $88,610 | $49,730 | $115,920 | — | — |
| Maryland | 900 | $88,570 | $62,920 | $140,980 | $67,298 | $64,118 |
| New Jersey | 790 | $86,280 | $60,990 | $137,790 | $65,669 | $60,355 |
| Virginia | 1,740 | $86,030 | $61,790 | $133,520 | $65,219 | $64,507 |
| Hawaii | 450 | $85,590 | $59,990 | $115,350 | $63,951 | $58,164 |
| Vermont | 100 | $84,750 | $61,400 | $103,540 | $65,362 | $66,725 |
| Utah | 500 | $84,360 | $56,730 | $125,070 | $64,529 | $65,271 |
| Wisconsin | 1,100 | $84,290 | $50,230 | $116,240 | $64,633 | $68,689 |
| Texas | 2,190 | $82,830 | $59,510 | $121,780 | $67,101 | $69,136 |
| Kansas | 250 | $82,330 | $58,930 | $128,320 | $62,955 | $69,897 |
| Oklahoma | 350 | $81,520 | $53,510 | $120,120 | $63,056 | $71,783 |
| North Carolina | 1,630 | $81,230 | $58,830 | $112,110 | $63,243 | $67,047 |
| Pennsylvania | 860 | $80,810 | $52,010 | $111,070 | $63,142 | $64,714 |
| Montana | 270 | $80,770 | $57,310 | $109,970 | $62,449 | $65,982 |
| Florida | 2,620 | $80,720 | $52,930 | $129,350 | $65,617 | $63,450 |
| Missouri | 440 | $80,720 | $52,710 | $128,250 | $62,760 | $69,106 |
| Georgia | 1,150 | $80,030 | $53,970 | $125,940 | $61,886 | $64,269 |
| Ohio | 760 | $79,950 | $53,800 | $113,020 | $63,320 | $68,252 |
| Maine | 190 | $79,120 | $56,480 | $112,810 | $60,433 | $62,269 |
| Iowa | 300 | $79,100 | $55,550 | $107,370 | $62,123 | $70,786 |
| Tennessee | 310 | $78,970 | $59,990 | $105,700 | $64,385 | $70,083 |
| Michigan | 1,380 | $78,510 | $52,060 | $109,930 | $60,976 | $63,373 |
| North Dakota | 210 | $78,500 | $61,070 | $129,930 | $63,783 | $71,700 |
| New Mexico | 270 | $77,710 | $57,750 | $104,730 | $61,012 | $66,165 |
| Idaho | 350 | $76,500 | $48,990 | $105,540 | $59,702 | $62,519 |
| South Carolina | 530 | $75,810 | $52,530 | $112,400 | $59,451 | $63,415 |
| Nebraska | 360 | $74,830 | $53,770 | $99,820 | $58,948 | $65,423 |
| Louisiana | 240 | $74,500 | $52,510 | $115,980 | $59,392 | $67,333 |
| New Hampshire | 260 | $73,860 | $55,900 | $109,240 | $60,791 | $58,360 |
| South Dakota | 210 | $71,180 | $51,670 | $92,760 | $58,905 | $66,495 |
| Indiana | 620 | $70,760 | $47,110 | $101,480 | $56,552 | $60,594 |
| Alabama | 520 | $70,710 | $46,650 | $124,040 | $55,615 | $62,614 |
| Wyoming | 110 | $70,190 | $52,230 | $110,170 | $58,209 | $62,799 |
| Delaware | 290 | $67,110 | $52,120 | $101,680 | $52,685 | $52,787 |
| Kentucky | 180 | $65,000 | $49,690 | $106,330 | $52,250 | $57,953 |
| Arkansas | 80 | $63,530 | $42,990 | $95,960 | $51,363 | $59,081 |
| West Virginia | 160 | $61,390 | $47,250 | $96,110 | $49,582 | $55,401 |
| Mississippi | 200 | $60,300 | $43,370 | $110,410 | $48,951 | $56,296 |
| Puerto Rico | 90 | $51,600 | $34,500 | $81,720 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 19-3051. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.