City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning: is it worth it?
A 0–100 score blending this major’s national earnings, ROI and typical debt. How it’s scored.
National picture across 55 college programs, at a typical net price.
Graduate earnings clearly outpace the cost and debt — this degree pays back quickly.
What City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning pays
Career outlook for City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning graduates
The job market for the occupations City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning graduates typically enter, projected through 2034 — from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This is the demand side, complementing the IRS-verified graduate earnings above.
Top jobs for this major
| Occupation | U.S. jobs | Growth to 2034 | Median pay | Typical entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architectural and engineering managers | 212,500 | +3.8% | $167,740 | Bachelor's degree |
| Urban and regional planners | 44,700 | +3.4% | $83,720 | Master's degree |
| Social sciences teachers, postsecondary, all other | 20,700 | +1.7% | $75,040 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Architecture teachers, postsecondary | 11,600 | +2.0% | $101,480 | Doctoral or professional degree |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections (2024–34) & the NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupation pay is the national median wage for the role — not the same as graduate earnings, which we draw from IRS records.
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning vs similar majors
How City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning stacks up against the closest fields in Architecture on pay, debt, ROI and the DR Rating. The best figure in each row is highlighted.
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning Architecture · this major | Real Estate Development | Architectural Sciences and Technology | Architecture | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DR Rating | 75 B | 80 A | 71 B | 67 B |
| ROI verdict | Strong return | Strong return | Strong return | Strong return |
| Median earnings (5 yr) | $76,705 | $138,981 | $73,875 | $70,561 |
| Median earnings (1 yr) | $56,633 | $98,810 | $53,845 | $49,985 |
| ROI vs cost | +273% | +851% | +239% | +208% |
| Typical debt | $35,890 | $73,699 | $36,519 | $30,247 |
| Colleges offering it | 55 | 4 | 14 | 167 |
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning earnings over time
National median earnings one year after graduating, by cohort year — the consistent measure available across the federal data’s history.
Best colleges for City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning
Ranked by the ROI of this major at each college — its graduate earnings against the cost.
| # | College | Credential | Earnings (5 yr) | Median debt | 10-yr ROI | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA | Certificate | $99,084 | — | +903% | Strong return |
| 2 | University of Arizona Tucson, AZ | Associate's | $85,914 | $24,863 | +865% | Strong return |
| 3 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA | Associate's | $71,392 | $15,000 | +825% | Strong return |
| 4 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | Associate's | $70,447 | — | +803% | Strong return |
| 5 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA | Certificate | $93,943 | $40,998 | +780% | Strong return |
| 6 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA | Certificate | $91,624 | — | +747% | Strong return |
| 7 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA | Certificate | $99,106 | — | +712% | Strong return |
| 8 | Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL | Associate's | $65,382 | $21,114 | +709% | Strong return |
| 9 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | Associate's | $68,158 | — | +707% | Strong return |
| 10 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | Master's | $76,157 | — | +685% | Strong return |
| 11 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | Certificate | $76,806 | $41,000 | +674% | Strong return |
| 12 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC | Certificate | $88,251 | $34,940 | +629% | Strong return |
| 13 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | Associate's | $91,200 | — | +606% | Strong return |
| 14 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | Certificate | $93,943 | $40,998 | +586% | Strong return |
| 15 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA | Certificate | $109,410 | $40,833 | +576% | Strong return |
| 16 | University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA | Certificate | $90,536 | $51,793 | +559% | Strong return |
| 17 | Portland State University Portland, OR | Certificate | $79,384 | $39,229 | +555% | Strong return |
| 18 | University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA | Certificate | $90,716 | $41,000 | +535% | Strong return |
| 19 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | Certificate | $77,182 | — | +512% | Strong return |
| 20 | Florida State University Tallahassee, FL | Certificate | $75,207 | $27,783 | +446% | Strong return |
| 21 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL | Certificate | $74,274 | $33,645 | +421% | Strong return |
| 22 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO | Certificate | $80,172 | $63,368 | +398% | Strong return |
| 23 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA | Certificate | $89,211 | $41,000 | +385% | Strong return |
| 24 | Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ | Certificate | $82,702 | — | +378% | Strong return |
| 25 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI | Certificate | $71,348 | — | +339% | Strong return |
Related majors
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. ROI is computed by Degree Return — see how. Read the methodology. Data as of 2024.