Annual Salary

• The BLS reported the median annual salary for urban and regional planners was $63,040 in 2010. The lowest-paid 10th percentile earned $40,410 or less, while the lowest-paid 25th percentile earned $49,960 or less. The highest-paid 75th percentile earned an annual salary of $78,890 or more, while the highest-paid 90th percentile earned an annual salary of $96,420 or more. Senior planner salaries typically fall in the top 75th or 90th percentiles based on their extensive experience, though salaries vary by employer.
  
  

Industry

• Senior planner salaries vary by industry. Local government held the highest level of employment for urban and regional planners in 2010, with an estimated 25,400 jobs that year. Urban and regional planners employed in this industry earned an annual mean salary of $63,430, according to the BLS. The management of companies and enterprises industry was the top-paying industry for this occupation in 2010, with an annual mean salary of $89,500. The federal executive branch was also a top-paying industry for this occupation, with an annual mean salary of $88,740. Those employed in the architectural, engineering and related services industry earned an annual mean wage of $72,410.
  
  

Region

• Senior planner salaries vary by region. California held the highest level of employment for urban and regional planners in 2010, with an estimated 8,930 jobs that year, according to the BLS. Urban and regional planners employed in California earned an annual mean salary of $79,920. Planners employed in Washington, D.C., earned the highest annual mean salaries by region, at $88,690 per year. Top-paying states for this occupation include New Jersey, with an annual mean salary of $75,820, and Wisconsin, with an annual mean salary of $72,720.
  
  

Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas

• Senior planner salaries also vary by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California metropolitan division held the highest level of employment for urban and regional planners, with an estimated 1,760 jobs in 2010, according to the BLS. Urban and regional planners employed in this metropolitan area earned an annual mean salary of $77,630. The top-paying metropolitan area for this occupation in 2010 was Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin, with an annual mean salary of $106,800. The top-paying nonmetropolitan area was Southeast Alaska, with an annual mean salary of $69,450.