Urban & regional planners

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

28.6k

Average Age

42.8

Estimated Job Growth

11.1%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$80,611

Average Male Salary

$85,481

Average Female Salary

$74,718

About

Urban & regional planners are most often employed by the Administration of environmental quality & housing programs industry. The average yearly wage for Urban & regional planners was $80,611 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Urban & regional planners by wage are Real estate brokers & sales agents, Emergency management directors, and Landscape architects.

Urban & regional planners are part of the Life, physical, & social science occupations, along with Agricultural & food scientists, Biological scientists, Conservation scientists & foresters, Medical scientists, & life scientists, all other, Astronomers & physicists, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Urban & regional planners are West Palm Beach City (Southeast) & Palm Beach Town PUMA, FL, McLean & Idylwood PUMA, VA, and Orlando City (East Downtown) & Azalea Park PUMA, FL. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Urban & regional planners are McLean & Idylwood PUMA, VA, West Palm Beach City (Southeast) & Palm Beach Town PUMA, FL, and Visalia City PUMA, CA.

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Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Urban & regional planners and on wages and locations for those in the field. Administration of environmental quality & housing programs is the industry that employs the most Urban & regional planners, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Urban & regional planners, by average wage, is General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals. Urban & regional planners are paid most in South Miami City, Westchester & Coral Terrace PUMA, FL but are relatively concentrated in McLean & Idylwood PUMA, VA.

Yearly Wage

$80,611

AVERAGE SALARY

± $6,985

In 2020, Urban & regional planners earned an average of $80,611, $24,657 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Real estate brokers & sales agents make somewhat more than Urban & regional planners while Landscape architects make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Urban & regional planners as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.281

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Urban & regional planners had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.281, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Urban & regional planners (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Urban & regional planners.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Urban & regional planners

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Urban & regional planners.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Urban & regional planners, by number of employees, are Administration of environmental quality & housing programs, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Architectural, engineering & related services, Administration of economic programs & space research, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, National security & international affairs, Civic, social, advocacy organizations, & grantmaking & giving services, Bus service & urban transit, Construction, Museums, art galleries, historical sites, & similar institutions, and Services incidental to transportation.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Urban & regional planners, by average wage, are General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Advertising, public relations & related services, and National security & international affairs.

Industries by Share

28.6k

2020 Workforce

± 4,151

13.4%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 18.7%

The number of people employed as Urban & regional planners has been growing at a rate of 13.4%, from 25,212 people in 2019 to 28,596 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Urban & regional planners employed by various industries. Administration of environmental quality & housing programs employs the largest share of Urban & regional planners at 45.9%, followed by Executive offices & legislative bodies with 17.5% and Architectural, engineering & related services with 11.4%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Urban & regional planners in the US. The average age of male Urban & regional planners in the workforce is 44.5 and of female Urban & regional planners is 40.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Urban & regional planners is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

15.7k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 3,072

12.9k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,793

54.7% of Urban & regional planners are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Urban & regional planners.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Urban & regional planners

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

75.9% of Urban & regional planners are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 7.27% of Urban & regional planners, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Urban & regional planners.

Age by Sex

44.5

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 2.53

40.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.7

The median age of Urban & regional planners is 42.8, and Male employees are generally 3.83 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Urban & regional planners from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Urban & regional planners is Social Sciences but a relatively high number of Urban & regional planners hold a major in Architecture and Related Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Urban & regional planners from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Urban & regional planners need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and Judgment and Decision Making. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Urban & regional planners need more than the average amount of Operations Analysis, Management of Financial Resources, and Programming.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Urban and Regional Planners from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Urban and Regional Planners are expected to see a growth of 11.1% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow more than the national average.

Job Growth

For growth projections, the closest comparible industry reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Urban and Regional Planners.

11.1%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Urban and Regional Planners. This profession is expected to grow more than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.