MASTER'S DEGREE · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES
Is a master's degree in City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning worth it?
Compare cost, debt and earnings across 36 college programs with reportable data.
Personal baseline needed
$81,958 in median year-4 earnings
A credible return for this credential must start with what the student would otherwise earn. The federal data does not provide that personal baseline.
$81,958Median year-4 earnings
$19,108Average institution net-price context
Not availableMedian federal debt
Start with your decision
What do you need to compare?
Outcomes at a glance
$81,958Typical earnings four years after completion
$85,124Average earnings five years after completion
Not availableTypical federal student debt
56thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
3Degrees awarded in 2024–25
36College programs reporting earnings
Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 1 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.
Four useful answers about City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning
How much do City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning master's degree graduates earn?
The national median is $81,958 four years after completion across reportable master's degree programs in this federal field.
How much federal debt do graduates have?
A national median federal-debt figure is not reportable for this degree in the current release.
Does the college matter for City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning?
Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $76,795 to $86,756 in observed year-4 earnings.
What careers are related to City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning?
DegreeVerdict links this field to 4 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.
More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.
Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.
OPEN PROFILE
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma
- Year-4 earnings
- $59,514
- Federal debt
- $21,375
- Programs in the comparison
- 2
Bachelor's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $68,163
- Federal debt
- $25,237
- Programs in the comparison
- 19
Master's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $81,958
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 36
First Professional Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $102,303
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 1
Where the middle half of programs lands
Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.
Median
25th percentile$76,795National median$81,95875th percentile$86,756
36 programs report year‑4 earnings.BEFORE YOU CHOOSE
Compare price, debt and earnings together
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION
Three useful places to start
Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.
PRICE × EARNINGS MAP
Where colleges sit for this exact degree
Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.
$100,130Observed year-4 earnings$76,505
New York University$37,050 price · $106,674 earningsHarvard University$19,066 price · $102,979 earningsMassachusetts Institute of Technology$20,111 price · $100,130 earningsColumbia University in the City of New York$21,590 price · $93,415 earningsUniversity of California, Los Angeles$12,548 price · $90,541 earningsCalifornia State Polytechnic University-Pomona$11,531 price · $90,339 earningsCalifornia Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$16,665 price · $89,909 earningsUniversity of Southern California$32,740 price · $88,656 earningsUniversity of California, Irvine$14,251 price · $87,944 earningsCornell University$28,690 price · $86,756 earningsVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University$24,953 price · $86,237 earningsGeorgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus$12,116 price · $85,806 earningsUniversity of Washington-Seattle Campus$14,091 price · $85,467 earningsUniversity of Washington-Tacoma Campus$10,163 price · $85,467 earningsUniversity of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus$11,900 price · $84,407 earningsUniversity of Florida$6,541 price · $84,226 earningsUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill$11,655 price · $82,613 earningsUniversity of Virginia-Main Campus$21,565 price · $82,553 earningsWayne State University$12,766 price · $81,363 earningsGeorgetown University$40,815 price · $80,847 earningsBoston University$24,402 price · $80,594 earningsPortland State University$9,552 price · $80,453 earningsUniversity of South Florida$9,812 price · $79,536 earningsIowa State University$18,589 price · $79,527 earningsThe University of Texas at Austin$19,857 price · $79,383 earningsFlorida State University$11,297 price · $78,175 earningsUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison$17,354 price · $77,299 earningsUniversity of Oregon$22,182 price · $76,795 earningsUniversity of Illinois Chicago$10,974 price · $76,505 earningsUniversity of Minnesota-Twin Cities$16,778 price · $74,818 earnings
$9,552Annual college-wide average net price$32,740
Choose colleges offering this exact degree
Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.
30 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 25 shown
Search every reporting program →
See the spread, not just the national number.
1New York University$106,6742Harvard University$102,9793Massachusetts Institute of Technology$100,1304Columbia University in the City of New York$93,4155University of California, Los Angeles$90,5416California State Polytechnic University-Pomona$90,3397California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$89,9098University of Southern California$88,6569University of California, Irvine$87,94410Cornell University$86,756Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking
Jobs this degree may lead to
Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.
Pay and projected demand
Related careers do not share one outlook
Bubble size = annual openings2025–35 national projection
Higher median wage ↑
-7%Projected employment growth →12%
Occupation wages describe workers in these jobs, not graduates of this degree. BLS projections are national estimates and do not guarantee hiring.
Architectural and Engineering Managers$171,270 median wage220,260 jobs nationwide+5.5% projected growth through 2035 · 14,900 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$120,810–$262,760 typical wage rangeArchitecture Teachers, Postsecondary$96,870 median wage7,700 jobs nationwide+2.6% projected growth through 2035 · 700 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$58,430–$159,030 typical wage rangeUrban and Regional Planners$89,320 median wage44,230 jobs nationwide+3.9% projected growth through 2035 · 3,200 openings a yearTypical entry education: Master's degree$60,010–$134,490 typical wage rangeSocial Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, All Other$72,990 median wage16,580 jobs nationwide+1.6% projected growth through 2035 · 1,300 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$40,670–$164,420 typical wage range
BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.
Where this degree has enough data to compare
State pages are published only when at least five operating colleges report year-4 earnings for this exact field and credential.
This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.