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Browse all of the tabs below for info about Urban And Regional Planners:
Career information and college search tools for urban and regional planners and those interested in pursing careers in related fields.
The Top Cities tab shows employment statistics for Urban And Regional Planners by major metro area.
The Top Industries tab shows which industries have the most jobs for Urban And Regional Planners, along with salary data by industry.
The Find Schools tab lets you search for schools by field of study, degree level, and location.
The map below shows some metro areas where the profession is more popular, compared to the size of the population, than in the rest of the country. A table below the map shows job popularity and salaries across the US.
(Also see our complete career descriptions list.)
Listed below are metro areas ranked by the popularity of jobs for Urban And Regional Planners relative to the population of the city, as of 2007.
A Relative Popularity of 1.0 means that the city has an average number of the particular job, for its population, compared to the rest of the US. Higher numbers mean proportionally more jobs of that type.Clicking on each city's name takes you to a detailed career profile for that city, providing the number of jobs, salaries, amount of training required, and more, for hundreds of job types.
| Metro Area | Jobs | Salary (2007) | Relative Popularity |
|---|---|---|---|
ALABAMA | |||
| Birmingham | 50 | $54,900 | 0.4 |
ALASKA | |||
| Anchorage | 80 | $62,130 | 2.2 |
ARIZONA | |||
| Yuma | 30 | $42,700 | 2.4 |
| Phoenix | 620 | $59,850 | 1.4 |
| Tucson | 90 | $51,950 | 1 |
CALIFORNIA | |||
| Yuba City | 40 | $60,510 | 4.8 |
| San Luis Obispo | 80 | $62,700 | 3.5 |
| Napa | 40 | $84,470 | 3 |
| Sacramento | 630 | $67,550 | 2.9 |
| Salinas | 90 | $59,030 | 2.6 |
| Visalia | 80 | $53,500 | 2.6 |
| Fresno | 200 | $64,590 | 2.6 |
| Oakland | 470 | $75,860 | 1.9 |
| Santa Ana | 650 | $65,650 | 1.8 |
| San Diego | 540 | $66,970 | 1.7 |
| Santa Barbara | 50 | $65,780 | 1.3 |
| San Francisco | 300 | $90,060 | 1.3 |
| Oxnard | 90 | $71,910 | 1.3 |
| Riverside | 360 | $65,830 | 1.2 |
| Los Angeles | 1,140 | $66,020 | 1.1 |
| Santa Rosa | 50 | $81,760 | 1.1 |
| Vallejo | 30 | $72,050 | 1.1 |
| Stockton | 50 | $65,810 | 1 |
| Modesto | 30 | $63,140 | 0.8 |
| San Jose | 150 | $85,610 | 0.7 |
COLORADO | |||
| Grand Junction | 40 | $61,180 | 3.3 |
| Boulder | 110 | $68,090 | 3.1 |
| Fort Collins | 80 | $64,570 | 2.9 |
| Colorado Springs | 90 | $64,800 | 1.5 |
| Denver | 340 | $65,470 | 1.2 |
CONNECTICUT | |||
| Hartford | 160 | $72,240 | 1.2 |
| New Haven | 50 | $61,630 | 0.8 |
| Bridgeport | 50 | $68,720 | 0.5 |
DELAWARE | |||
| Dover | 100 | $57,860 | 8.5 |
| Wilmington | 60 | $56,630 | 0.8 |
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | |||
| Washington | 910 | $70,200 | 1.6 |
FLORIDA | |||
| Tallahassee | 150 | $55,340 | 4 |
| Cape Coral | 150 | $60,530 | 3 |
| Naples | 70 | $64,390 | 2.4 |
| Port St. Lucie | 60 | $61,570 | 2 |
| Orlando | 470 | $58,270 | 1.9 |
| Tampa | 530 | $62,130 | 1.8 |
| Pensacola | 60 | $45,480 | 1.7 |
| Sarasota | 100 | $63,270 | 1.5 |
| West Palm Beach | 200 | $63,360 | 1.5 |
| Deltona | 50 | $58,600 | 1.4 |
| Fort Lauderdale | 200 | $64,360 | 1.1 |
| Lakeland | 50 | $55,690 | 1.1 |
| Jacksonville | 130 | $59,100 | 0.9 |
| Palm Bay | 40 | $47,320 | 0.9 |
GEORGIA | |||
| Atlanta | 400 | $57,390 | 0.7 |
HAWAII | |||
| Honolulu | 320 | $76,150 | 3.2 |
IDAHO | |||
| Boise | 150 | $59,320 | 2.4 |
ILLINOIS | |||
| Chicago | 520 | $79,030 | 0.6 |
INDIANA | |||
| Fort Wayne | 100 | $63,630 | 2 |
| Gary | 110 | $47,180 | 1.7 |
| Indianapolis | 140 | $44,690 | 0.7 |
IOWA | |||
| Cedar Rapids | 40 | $54,700 | 1.3 |
| Davenport | 50 | $51,630 | 1.2 |
| Des Moines | 60 | $62,100 | 0.8 |
KENTUCKY | |||
| Lexington | 40 | $51,850 | 0.7 |
| Louisville | 90 | $43,670 | 0.6 |
LOUISIANA | |||
| New Orleans | 130 | $48,210 | 1.1 |
MARYLAND | |||
| Baltimore | 410 | $59,030 | 1.3 |
| Bethesda | 140 | $63,950 | 1.1 |
MASSACHUSETTS | |||
| Haverhill | 60 | $59,330 | 3.6 |
| Boston | 800 | $70,800 | 2 |
| Lowell | 40 | $60,510 | 1.5 |
| Worcester | 50 | $60,340 | 0.9 |
| Springfield | 60 | $62,670 | 0.9 |
MICHIGAN | |||
| Lansing | 160 | $63,440 | 3.5 |
| Ann Arbor | 40 | $55,340 | 1 |
MINNESOTA | |||
| Duluth | 50 | $53,330 | 1.8 |
| Minneapolis | 760 | $63,180 | 1.8 |
MISSOURI | |||
| Jefferson City | 80 | $47,860 | 5.4 |
| St. Louis | 310 | $61,470 | 1 |
| Kansas City | 190 | $57,540 | 0.8 |
NEBRASKA | |||
| Omaha | 70 | $59,160 | 0.7 |
NEVADA | |||
| Reno | 110 | $87,640 | 2.2 |
| Las Vegas | 140 | $72,620 | 0.6 |
NEW HAMPSHIRE | |||
| Manchester | 30 | $55,280 | 1.4 |
NEW JERSEY | |||
| Trenton | 90 | $72,470 | 1.8 |
| Newark | 160 | $63,610 | 0.7 |
| Camden | 70 | $75,880 | 0.6 |
| Edison | 120 | $72,730 | 0.5 |
NEW MEXICO | |||
| Santa Fe | 50 | $54,350 | 4.5 |
| Albuquerque | 90 | $54,040 | 1 |
NEW YORK | |||
| Albany | 140 | $50,060 | 1.4 |
| Poughkeepsie | 50 | $55,770 | 0.9 |
| New York | 890 | $68,350 | 0.7 |
| Syracuse | 40 | $44,830 | 0.6 |
| Buffalo | 70 | $54,970 | 0.6 |
| Nassau | 160 | $73,240 | 0.5 |
| Rochester | 50 | $59,910 | 0.4 |
NORTH CAROLINA | |||
| Raleigh | 250 | $52,210 | 2.1 |
| Greenville | 30 | $59,170 | 2 |
| Wilmington | 60 | $47,260 | 1.9 |
| Charlotte | 380 | $56,800 | 1.8 |
| Durham | 110 | $55,230 | 1.8 |
| Asheville | 70 | $46,670 | 1.7 |
| Fayetteville | 40 | $50,750 | 1.5 |
| Greensboro | 70 | $53,970 | 0.8 |
NORTH DAKOTA | |||
| Fargo | 30 | $55,050 | 1.2 |
OHIO | |||
| Columbus | 190 | $56,310 | 0.9 |
| Akron | 60 | $58,910 | 0.8 |
| Cleveland | 170 | $55,540 | 0.7 |
| Dayton | 50 | $58,390 | 0.5 |
| Cincinnati | 80 | $58,490 | 0.3 |
OKLAHOMA | |||
| Oklahoma City | 120 | $66,770 | 0.9 |
| Tulsa | 70 | $45,330 | 0.7 |
OREGON | |||
| Portland | 890 | $63,670 | 3.6 |
| Bend | 50 | $61,890 | 3.4 |
| Salem | 100 | $57,490 | 3 |
| Medford | 50 | $52,160 | 2.8 |
| Eugene | 70 | $61,560 | 2.1 |
PENNSYLVANIA | |||
| Erie | 100 | $38,030 | 3.5 |
| Pittsburgh | 350 | $51,100 | 1.3 |
| Reading | 40 | $32,600 | 1.1 |
| Harrisburg | 60 | $51,330 | 0.9 |
| Allentown | 60 | $44,940 | 0.8 |
| Scranton | 30 | $51,970 | 0.5 |
| Philadelphia | 210 | $59,460 | 0.5 |
RHODE ISLAND | |||
| Providence | 150 | $65,980 | 1.1 |
TENNESSEE | |||
| Memphis | 120 | $58,690 | 0.8 |
| Chattanooga | 40 | $44,320 | 0.8 |
| Knoxville | 40 | $57,070 | 0.5 |
TEXAS | |||
| Austin | 170 | $53,440 | 1 |
| McAllen | 40 | $41,930 | 0.8 |
| Houston | 460 | $58,360 | 0.8 |
| San Antonio | 130 | $49,430 | 0.7 |
| Fort Worth | 130 | $54,010 | 0.7 |
| Dallas | 280 | $58,770 | 0.6 |
UTAH | |||
| Provo | 40 | $53,750 | 1.1 |
| Salt Lake City | 150 | $55,910 | 1 |
VIRGINIA | |||
| Charlottesville | 40 | $43,740 | 2 |
| Virginia Beach | 280 | $54,540 | 1.6 |
| Richmond | 220 | $54,300 | 1.5 |
| Roanoke | 50 | $50,020 | 1.4 |
WASHINGTON | |||
| Olympia | 390 | $64,220 | 19 |
| Bellingham | 70 | $54,640 | 4.1 |
| Bremerton | 70 | $64,210 | 4.1 |
| Seattle | 1,280 | $68,300 | 3.8 |
| Mount Vernon | 30 | $59,730 | 3.4 |
| Yakima | 50 | $53,530 | 2.9 |
| Tacoma | 140 | $63,110 | 2.3 |
| Kennewick | 40 | $67,930 | 2.1 |
| Spokane | 100 | $58,270 | 2.1 |
WEST VIRGINIA | |||
| Charleston | 50 | 1.5 | |
WISCONSIN | |||
| Madison | 100 | $69,440 | 1.3 |
| Milwaukee | 130 | $59,570 | 0.6 |
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Job Title: Associate Planner For Rural Cities
Education: MS in Community and Regional Planning, University of Texas at Austin
Previous Experience: I held two internships, one as a research assistant for a study on growth management techniques and the second as a staff member of a statewide organization that supports the construction of low income housing and economic development in impoverished areas. After graduation I took a job with a transportation planning firm.
Job Tasks: My company obtains grants to fund planning and community development work in rural cities. I work on implementing the planning grants, actually creating the comprehensive plans for these cities.
A plan takes about three months to complete. It starts with the collection of data and the creation of field maps. We contact local, county, and state agencies for the data. Next I travel to the city with a coworker and drive every street to rate the condition of the housing, streets, land use, recreation, drainage, etc. It's a long day and requires a lot of focus to get everything on the map. This stage can take from one to four days. We also hold a public workshop to get input from the residents on what they think is a priority for their city. I meet with the utility director to discuss the water and sewer systems and get maps of the lines. I also rely heavily on the city manager or city secretary to get information on subdivision codes, city ordinances, and other data.
Once we've gotten the data from the field I come back to the office and assist with mapping the information and putting it in a database. I also start to pull historical data from the Census and begin to look for trends in population, housing conditions, land use, etc. I work with an engineer in the office to get the water, sewer, streets and drainage elements planned out. Then I write the plan.
Once the plan is complete I go back to the town for a public hearing in front of city council. At this point I show them the maps and explain what we found and what we recommend. The city will then pass a resolution to say that I completed my contract and I'm done.
Work on plans overlaps, and I may be helping another planner with their city. In a typical day I could be making phone calls to get data from one city, writing on the plan for a second city, and scheduling the final meeting for a third city. Most of the day is spent on essential tasks, however it may require a lot of effort to obtain the data (phone calls, online research, email requests, etc). I travel about once a month for up to 4 days.
Best and Worst Parts of the Job: The best part of the job is meeting the people in the cities and helping them make a plan so that they can improve their infrastructure and quality of life.
The worst part of the job is when you can't find the data you need and no one who may have any information is interested in helping.
Job Tips:
1. The biggest suggestion I have would be to train yourself to be a good listener. Remember that the real experts are the people in the city.
2. Get a diverse background in different subjects (English, History, Psychology, etc) so you have a greater understanding of how people are different and how you can relate to them.
3. Practice giving public presentations that also have question and answer elements so you learn to think on the fly.
4. Learn the fundamentals of land use planning, how to use the Census, and how to evaluate a local economy. Learning the technical aspects of GIS is not as important as understanding how to analyze the town's data. Learn how to use Excel - you will depend on it every day.
Additional Thoughts: This is a job for someone who is curious about how other people live, is not judgmental, and wants to feel like they are doing something good for the world. You have to be able to work in a team.
Industries representing at least 1% of total jobs for the occupation.
| Industry | Jobs | Percent | Salary (2007) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government | 27,100 | 77% | $57,370 |
| Professional And Technical Services | 7,270 | 20% | $60,590 |
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