Urban and Regional Planners Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $74K, rent takes 30.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,528/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,500/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new urban and regional planners typically earn — is $56K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,354/month. At HUD’s $1,528/month FMR, rent would take 46% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 17% below the national median — $74K here vs. $89K nationally.

New Hampshire pays $74K median vs. the U.S. average of $89K — that’s -17%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 105.66), the purchasing-power equivalent is $70K — below the national median.

The median is $73,860 a year, that works out to about $36 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $55,900, and experienced urban and regional planners can clear $109,240. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,029/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,528/month, which eats 30.4% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

New Hampshire has a Regional Price Parity of 105.66 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median urban and regional planners salary is worth about $69,903 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.