Urban Planning & Policy
Urban and regional planners held about 32,000 jobs in 2004. About 7 out of 10 were employed by local governments. Companies involved with architectural, engineering, and related services, as well as management, scientific, and technical consulting services, employ an increasing proportion of planners in the private sector. Others are employed in State government agencies dealing with housing, transportation, or environmental protection, and a small number work for the Federal Government.
Employment of urban and regional planners is expected to grow as fast as average for all occupations through 2014. Employment growth will be driven by the need for State and local governments to provide public services such as regulation of commercial development, the environment, transportation, housing, and land use and development for an expanding population. Nongovernmental initiatives dealing with historic preservation and redevelopment will provide additional openings. Some job openings also will arise from the need to replace experienced planners who transfer to other occupations, retire, or leave the labor force for other reasons. Graduates with a master’s degree from an accredited program should have an advantage in the job market.
Most new jobs for urban and regional planners will be in local government, as planners will be needed to address an array of problems associated with population growth, especially in affluent, rapidly expanding communities. For example, new housing developments require roads, sewer systems, fire stations, schools, libraries, and recreation facilities that must be planned for in the midst of a consideration of budgetary constraints. Small-town chambers of commerce, economic development authorities, and tourism bureaus may hire planners, preferably with some background in marketing and public relations.
The fastest job growth for urban and regional planners will occur in the private sector, primarily in professional, scientific, and technical services. For example, planners may be employed by these firms to help design security measures for a building that meet a desired security level, but that also are subtle and blend in with the surrounding area. However, because the private sector employs fewer than 2 out of 10 urban and regional planners, not as many new jobs will be created in the private sector as in government.
Median annual earnings of urban and regional planners were $53,450 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $41,950 and $67,530. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $33,840, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $82,610. Median annual earnings in local government, the industry employing the largest number of urban and regional planners, were $52,520.
Urban and regional planners develop plans for the growth of urban, suburban, and rural communities. Others whose work is similar include architects, civil engineers, environmental engineers, landscape architects, and geographers.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook , 2006-07 Edition, Urban and Regional Planners, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos057.htm (visited May 02, 2007).
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