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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning in California

7 Ranked Colleges
228 Degrees Awarded
$26,100 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master's in California

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 2,548 people earned their degree in urban and regional planning, making the major the 170th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, urban and regional planning graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $48,040 and had an average of $39,156 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 358 urban and regional planning graduates with average earnings and debt of $54,629 and $36,957 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 228 urban and regional planning graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in urban and regional planning. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent urban and regional planning programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the urban and regional planning program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Urban & Regional Planning Schools

The urban planning school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California.

Top 7 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Urban & Regional Planning in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. University of California - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 66 masters’s urban planning degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Urban & Regional Planning at University of California - Los Angeles

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a large school located in San Luis Obispo, California that handed out 14 masters’s urban planning degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo are $21,009, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Urban & Regional Planning Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California. UC Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 19 masters’s urban planning degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Irvine are $28,456, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UC Irvine Urban & Regional Planning Report

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #4 spot on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is located in Pomona, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 masters’s urban planning degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Poly Pomona, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Cal Poly Pomona are $18,377, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Urban & Regional Planning Report

#5

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the #5 spot on the list. San Jose State is a large school located in San Jose, California that handed out 38 masters’s urban planning degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at San Jose State, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Jose State are $18,790, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Urban & Regional Planning at San Jose State

#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. San Diego State University is a large school located in San Diego, California that handed out 8 masters’s urban planning degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SDSU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Diego State University are $18,658, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Urban & Regional Planning at SDSU

#7

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Urban Planning Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #7. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s urban planning degrees to 52 students in 2019-2020.

USC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Urban & Regional Planning Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full USC Urban & Regional Planning Report

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

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