Life, Physical, and Social Science · Holland code IEC

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.

Also called: Community Development Planner, Planner, Planning Consultant, Planning Technician, City Planner, Community Planner, Development Technician, Housing Development Specialist.

O*NET 19-3051.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $89,320; Middle half earn $72,020 to $110,030. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Master's Degree; 56% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +3% · As fast as average; 44,700 jobs in 2024, projected 46,200. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Urban and regional planners".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Create, prepare, or requisition graphic or narrative reports on land use data, including land area maps overlaid with geographic variables, such as population density.
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.
Mediate community disputes or assist in developing alternative plans or recommendations for programs or projects.
Recommend approval, denial, or conditional approval of proposals.
Conduct field investigations, surveys, impact studies, or other research to compile and analyze data on economic, social, regulatory, or physical factors affecting land use.
Evaluate proposals for infrastructure projects or other development for environmental impact or sustainability.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.1 / 5
Speaking4.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Writing3.9 / 5
Active Learning3.3 / 5

Knowledge areas

Law and Government4.6 / 5
English Language4.4 / 5
Geography4.2 / 5
Transportation4.0 / 5
Communications and Media3.6 / 5
Administration and Management3.4 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic37
Investigative72
Artistic34
Social34
Enterprising58
Conventional49

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

airport planning engineer · DE Planungsingenieur Flughafen/Planungsingenieurin Flughafen · FR ingénieur en planification aéroportuaire/ingénieure en planification aéroportuaire
architect · DE Architekt/Architektin · FR architecte
land planner · DE Raumplaner/Raumplanerin · FR chef de projet aménagement
transport planner · DE Verkehrsplaner/Verkehrsplanerin · FR responsable des transports et déplacements
urban planner · DE Stadt- und Regionalplaner/Stadt- und Regionalplanerin · FR urbaniste
regional development policy officer · DE Referent für Regionalentwicklung/Referentin für Regionalentwicklung · FR chargé de mission développement régional/ chargée de mission développement régional

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Business, research and administrative professionals n.e.c. (2439)104,500 employed
Civil engineers (2121)94,100 employed
Chartered architectural technologists, planning officers and consultants (2452)51,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.23. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (19-3051).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test