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2024 Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools

59 Colleges in the United States
2,419 Urban Planning Degrees Awarded
$51,745 Avg Early-Career Salary
Urban & Regional Planning is about average in terms of popularity for degree programs. That is, it ranks #183 out of the 395 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

College Factual reviewed 59 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of urban & regional planning. Combined, these schools handed out 2,419 degrees in urban & regional planning to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Urban & Regional Planning School

Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools The urban planning program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Urban & Regional Planning rankings. For our Best Overall Urban & Regional Planning School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Urban & Regional Planning Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Urban Planning
Master's Degrees in Urban Planning
Doctor's Degrees in Urban Planning

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Urban & Regional Planning in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of urban planning degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Schools in Urban Planning

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
59 Urban Planning Degrees Awarded
$69,345 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in urban & regional planning has to take a look at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge. A Best Colleges rank of #1 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means MIT is a great school overall.

There were roughly 59 urban & regional planning students who graduated with this degree at MIT in the most recent data year. Urban & Regional Planning degree recipients from Massachusetts Institute of Technology get an earnings boost of about $17,600 above the typical income of urban & regional planning majors.

More information about a degree in urban & regional planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 Urban Planning Degrees Awarded
$52,868 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in urban & regional planning needs to look into University of Southern California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 61 urban & regional planning students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, urban planning degree recipients typically earn about $52,868 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in urban & regional planning from University of Southern California

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Urban Planning Degrees Awarded
$65,467 Median Starting Salary

Columbia University in the City of New York is a good decision for students pursuing a degree in urban & regional planning. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were about 55 urban & regional planning students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. Urban & Regional Planning degree recipients from Columbia University in the City of New York get an earnings boost of around $13,722 above the typical earnings of urban & regional planning majors.

More information about a degree in urban & regional planning from Columbia University in the City of New York

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
62 Urban Planning Degrees Awarded
$59,669 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Los Angeles is a great choice for students interested in a degree in urban & regional planning. UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 62 urban & regional planning students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the urban & regional planning major at University of California - Los Angeles get $7,924 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in urban & regional planning from University of California - Los Angeles

5
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$64,828 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.

There were roughly 26 urban & regional planning students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the urban & regional planning program at Harvard University earn $13,083 above the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in urban & regional planning from Harvard University

6
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CT

Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of New Haven. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.

There were roughly 5 urban & regional planning students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in urban & regional planning from Yale University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
59 Urban Planning Degrees Awarded
$46,682 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.

There were approximately 59 urban & regional planning students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the urban planning program report average early career income of $46,682.

More information about a degree in urban & regional planning from Cornell University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
41 Urban Planning Degrees Awarded
$58,367 Median Starting Salary

Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #24 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.

There were roughly 41 urban & regional planning students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent data year. Urban & Regional Planning degree recipients from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of about $6,622 over the typical income of urban & regional planning majors.

More information about a degree in urban & regional planning from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

9

Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 7 urban & regional planning students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the urban & regional planning major at University of California - Berkeley make $27,248 above the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in urban & regional planning from University of California - Berkeley

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
46 Urban Planning Degrees Awarded
30.4% Growth in Graduates

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo. This university ranks 17th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 46 urban & regional planning students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the urban planning program state that they receive average early career income of $53,484.

More information about a degree in urban & regional planning from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

Urban & Regional Planning by Region

View the Best Urban & Regional Planning Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Urban & Regional Planning is one of 8 different types of Architecture & Related Services programs to choose from.

Urban Planning Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Urban & Regional Planning, General 2,419

View All Urban Planning Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Architectural Sciences & Technology 6,781
General Architecture 4,982
Landscape Architecture 905
Environmental Design 741
Interior Architecture 728
Real Estate Development 420
Architecture (Other) 202
Architectural History 147

View All Urban Planning Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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