Urban and Regional Planners Salary
Urban and Regional Planners in St. Louis, MO-IL make a median of $80,270 a year, or about $38.59 an hour. The range runs from $52K at the entry level to $131K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $84,415 in purchasing power. Rent on a 2-bedroom averages $1,218/month, or 24% of estimated take-home pay.
So what does $80K get you in St. Louis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About urban and regional planners
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What this looks like in St. Louis
Urban and regional planners pay in St. Louis tracks closely to the national median, $80K locally vs. $89K nationwide, a 10% difference. Housing is manageable: a 2-bedroom at the HUD median costs $1,218/month, 23.6% of take-home, well inside the 30% guideline. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for urban and regional planners in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | $85K | $91K |
| Springfield | $75K | $85K |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | $99K | $95K |
| Oklahoma City | $90K | $100K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level urban and regional planners (10th percentile) start around $52K. Mid-career wages sit at $80K. Top earners bring in $131K or more, a $79K spread from bottom to top.
Urban and Regional Planners pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Urban and Regional Planners salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $137K | +53% | 120 |
| California | $110K | +23% | 7,460 |
| Oregon | $103K | +15% | 1,010 |
| Arizona | $102K | +15% | 1,330 |
| Colorado | $101K | +13% | 1,300 |
| Washington | $101K | +13% | 3,180 |
| Nevada | $100K | +12% | 270 |
| Connecticut | $100K | +12% | 350 |
| Massachusetts | $100K | +12% | 1,540 |
| Minnesota | $97K | +9% | 860 |
| Alaska | $94K | +5% | 230 |
| Illinois | $91K | +2% | 1,140 |
| Rhode Island | $90K | +1% | 160 |
| New York | $90K | +0% | 2,420 |
| Maryland | $89K | -1% | 900 |
| New Jersey | $86K | -3% | 790 |
| Virginia | $86K | -4% | 1,740 |
| Hawaii | $86K | -4% | 450 |
| Vermont | $85K | -5% | 100 |
| Utah | $84K | -6% | 500 |
| Wisconsin | $84K | -6% | 1,100 |
| Texas | $83K | -7% | 2,190 |
| Kansas | $82K | -8% | 250 |
| Oklahoma | $82K | -9% | 350 |
| North Carolina | $81K | -9% | 1,630 |
| Pennsylvania | $81K | -10% | 860 |
| Montana | $81K | -10% | 270 |
| Missouri | $81K | -10% | 440 |
| Florida | $81K | -10% | 2,620 |
| Georgia | $80K | -10% | 1,150 |
| Ohio | $80K | -10% | 760 |
| Maine | $79K | -11% | 190 |
| Iowa | $79K | -11% | 300 |
| Tennessee | $79K | -12% | 310 |
| Michigan | $79K | -12% | 1,380 |
| North Dakota | $79K | -12% | 210 |
| New Mexico | $78K | -13% | 270 |
| Idaho | $77K | -14% | 350 |
| South Carolina | $76K | -15% | 530 |
| Nebraska | $75K | -16% | 360 |
| Louisiana | $75K | -17% | 240 |
| New Hampshire | $74K | -17% | 260 |
| South Dakota | $71K | -20% | 210 |
| Indiana | $71K | -21% | 620 |
| Alabama | $71K | -21% | 520 |
| Wyoming | $70K | -21% | 110 |
| Delaware | $67K | -25% | 290 |
| Kentucky | $65K | -27% | 180 |
| Arkansas | $64K | -29% | 80 |
| West Virginia | $61K | -31% | 160 |
| Mississippi | $60K | -32% | 200 |
Showing 1–10 of 51 (all 50 states + DC)
Track urban and regional planners salary changes
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Frequently asked questions
Can a urban and regional planner afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
Yes — at the median salary of $80K, rent takes 23.6% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.
What’s the entry-level salary for urban and regional planners in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new urban and regional planners typically earn — is $52K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,121/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 39% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is urban and regional planner a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $80K locally vs. $89K nationally, a 10% difference.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for urban and regional planners?
St. Louis pays $80K median vs. the U.S. average of $89K — that’s -10%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $84K — below the national median.
How much do urban and regional planners make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $80,270 a year, that works out to about $39 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $52,020, and experienced urban and regional planners can clear $131,190. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $80K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,151/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 23.6% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.
How far does a urban and regional planners salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median urban and regional planners salary is worth about $84,415 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do urban and regional planners get paid the most?
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.