Urban and Regional Planners
Urban and Regional Planners develop comprehensive plans and programs for use of land and physical facilities of jurisdictions, such as towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas.
Table of Contents
Job description
Urban and Regional Planners develop comprehensive plans and programs for use of land and physical facilities of jurisdictions, such as towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas.
- 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.
- 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.
- Recommend approval, denial, or conditional approval of proposals.
Salary
Urban and Regional Planners with little to no experience tend to make between $45180 and $56970 while the more experienced ones can earn over $92180 per year.
Top 5 paying states | Hourly | Annual |
---|---|---|
DC | $53 | $110,100 |
CA | $45 | $93,790 |
AK | $40 | $83,630 |
MA | $39 | $81,660 |
OR | $39 | $81,590 |
One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as an Urban and Regional Planner is to move to a higher paying state like DC. Right now, the highest paying states for Urban and Regional Planners are DC, CA, AK, MA and OR.
However, a higher pay at DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at DC might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.
Three other factors that can increase your salary as an Urban and Regional Planner is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.
Requirements
We asked other Urban and Regional Planners what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Master’s Degree followed by a Bachelor’s Degree.
Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.
City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning |
Real Estate Development |
Urban Studies/Affairs |
Pros and Cons
Here are some of the pros and cons of being an Urban and Regional Planner.
PROS |
---|
Suitable for people who likes to solve problems mentally |
Suitable for people who values relationships between co-workers and customers and wants to work in a friendly non-competitive environment |
This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors. |
Very good salary |
CONS |
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Not suitable for people who likes to help and teach others |
It is very hard to get into this career. Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience is required for this career. |
Long working hours (More than 40 hours per week) |
What is the job like
75% of Urban and Regional Planners said they were satisfied with their job and 68% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.
Is this right for me
You can read more about these career personality types here.
People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally..
They also like starting up and carrying out projects. They like leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
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