Highest-paying Cities for Urban and Regional Planners

The top 100 highest paying cities for urban and regional planners (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of urban and regional planners in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $127,760, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California is the highest paying city for urban and regional planners. It is followed by Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area, New York (average annual salary $124,800). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of urban and regional planners in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Urban and Regional Planners

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$127,760	$82,140	400
2	Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$124,800	$60,010	200
3	Bend, Oregon	$122,840	$73,570	80
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$122,240	$82,430	1,230
5	Central East New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$108,470	$60,010	100
6	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$108,460	$76,280	90
7	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$106,400	$80,250	130
8	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$104,670	$69,290	520
9	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$104,560	$71,200	70
10	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$103,780	$63,490	140
11	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$103,620	$78,710	1,220
12	Salinas, California	$103,310	$77,450	120
13	Napa, California	$102,550	$87,280	50
14	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$102,060	$64,190	1,890
15	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$101,870	$63,910	120
16	Chico, California	$101,710	$61,280	50
17	Redding, California	$101,570	$75,500	90
18	Modesto, California	$100,710	$66,900	90
19	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$98,990	$62,970	880
20	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$97,700	$64,030	540
21	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$97,670	$63,230	70
22	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$97,450	$60,700	30
23	Reno-Sparks, Nevada	$96,740	$58,810	40
24	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$96,640	$68,000	140
25	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$95,820	$59,220	690
26	Madera-Chowchilla, California	$94,870	$60,500	30
27	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$93,740	$72,160	560
28	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$91,520	$63,450	100
29	Salem, Oregon	$91,440	$59,170	90
30	Visalia-Porterville, California	$91,120	$63,680	50
31	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$91,030	$60,990	1,380
32	Boulder, Colorado	$90,310	$52,140	150
33	College Station-Bryan, Texas	$89,120	$49,720	50
34	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$87,480	$55,680	1,050
35	Stockton, California	$87,420	$63,260	130
36	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, California	$87,200	$66,850	140
37	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$87,010	$64,730	1,030
38	Yuba City, California	$86,550	$68,560	90
39	Olympia, Washington	$86,470	$69,260	550
40	Anchorage, Alaska	$85,960	$64,520	120
41	Rochester, Minnesota	$85,830	$64,680	30
42	Huntsville, Alabama	$85,500	$40,480	30
43	Greeley, Colorado	$85,480	$54,330	50
44	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$84,950	$67,810	890
45	Fresno, California	$84,880	$52,250	200
46	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$84,690	$56,890	850
47	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$84,490	$59,150	160
48	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$84,350	$61,930	1,060
49	Colorado Springs, Colorado	$84,210	$46,770	80
50	Spokane, Washington	$84,100	$62,800	120
51	Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$84,080	$45,660	30
52	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$83,940	$56,150	620
53	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington	$83,900	$64,220	50
54	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$83,870	$50,510	50
55	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$83,800	$66,080	430
56	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$83,770	$57,050	650
57	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$83,750	$61,930	920
58	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$83,720	$59,600	50
59	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$83,710	$51,470	30
60	Eugene-Springfield, Oregon	$83,490	$62,480	90
61	Madison, Wisconsin	$83,250	$59,870	90
62	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$83,200	$61,200	90
63	Fargo, North Dakota	$83,160	$61,340	40
64	Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$83,030	$50,960	120
65	Peoria, Illinois	$83,020	$46,810	50
66	Nevada nonmetropolitan area, Nevada	$82,770	$55,620	30
67	Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii	$82,540	$62,130	50
68	Rochester, New York	$82,530	$58,360	90
69	North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$82,430	$54,430	180
70	Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$82,430	$60,840	60
71	Capital-Northern New York nonmetropolitan area, New York	$81,990	$60,010	40
72	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$81,930	$59,470	640
73	Tacoma, Washington	$81,890	$54,580	140
74	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$81,870	$59,500	630
75	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$81,570	$62,570	490
76	Dayton, Ohio	$81,150	$52,160	80
77	New Haven, Connecticut	$81,020	$59,650	50
78	Charleston, West Virginia	$80,850	$48,850	110
79	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$80,620	$58,100	100
80	Yakima, Washington	$80,290	$63,360	60
81	Springfield, Massachusetts	$80,180	$59,630	110
82	Merced, California	$80,150	$62,440	40
83	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$79,870	$47,860	100
84	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$79,810	$44,460	350
85	Worcester, Massachusetts	$79,800	$59,940	90
86	Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa	$79,610	$60,120	70
87	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$79,600	$58,220	80
88	Bellingham, Washington	$79,520	$64,280	60
89	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$79,490	$54,970	620
90	Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan	$79,460	$51,790	100
91	Western Central Nevada nonmetropolitan area, Nevada	$79,390	$56,650	40
92	Railbelt-Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$79,260	$36,540	40
93	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$79,180	$64,490	60
94	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$79,040	$59,140	410
95	Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$78,960	$57,690	50
96	Fort Wayne, Indiana	$78,940	$57,210	40
97	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa	$78,870	$47,180	30
98	Fairbanks, Alaska	$78,830	$61,070	30
99	Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida	$78,780	$58,660	120
100	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$78,710	$49,160	660

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for urban and regional planners.