College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 15 colleges (15 of 15 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$39,952

Graduates only, early career.$37,928 two years out.

Median federal debt

$23,444

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.55×

55% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning report early-career pay between $38,007 and $43,762 — a spread of $5,755 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $38,007 median $39,952 75th pct $43,762

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 15 colleges $39,952 $23,444 0.55×

Master's 39 colleges $53,446 $41,000 0.77×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo CA $53,484 $19,334 debt

California State Polytechnic University-Pomona CA $50,497 $15,000 debt

Florida Atlantic University FL $44,273 $21,114 debt

University of Southern California CA $44,115 —

University of Cincinnati-Main Campus OH $43,408 $25,464 debt

Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ $42,323 $23,444 debt

Arizona State University Digital Immersion AZ $42,323 $23,444 debt

University of Arizona AZ $39,952 $24,863 debt

University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA $39,577 —

Iowa State University IA $39,426 $24,250 debt

Ohio State University-Main Campus OH $38,233 $24,000 debt

Cornell University NY $37,781 $12,952 debt

Westfield State University MA $37,435 $23,628 debt

Texas A&M University-College Station TX $36,967 $17,720 debt

Texas State University TX $36,774 $20,792 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard