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The differences between community planners and economic developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a community planner has an average salary of $65,352, which is higher than the $51,285 average annual salary of an economic developer.
The top three skills for a community planner include community planning, DOD and demolition. The most important skills for an economic developer are data entry, financial statements, and business community.
| Community Planner | Economic Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $65,352 | $51,285 |
| Hourly rate | $31.42 | $24.66 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 24,343 | 72,804 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
As a community planner, your job is to develop programs and plans for the utilization of land within your community. You are responsible for improving the community by achieving community goals such as the revitalization of infrastructure and physical facilities and accommodating population growth. Other duties include advising civic leaders on how to best use the land resources, working closely with other stakeholders in the development of new construction projects, and managing a team of specialists and guiding their work.
While a development specialist works on creating plans for community development, the economic developer helps implement the development strategies set forth by specialists. They help in the distribution of survey questionnaires and the collection of data, as well as the interpretation of results. The economic developer also helps in business creation, retention, and expansion. They take leads in developing a private sector-public relationship in terms of funding for project implementation. They are knowledgeable and have good communication skills.
Community planners and economic developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Community Planner | Economic Developer | |
| Average salary | $65,352 | $51,285 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $90,000 | Between $37,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | - |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | - |
| Best paying company | Department of Homeland Security | - |
| Best paying industry | Professional | - |
There are a few differences between a community planner and an economic developer in terms of educational background:
| Community Planner | Economic Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Communication | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between community planners' and economic developers' demographics:
| Community Planner | Economic Developer | |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5% | Male, 55.3% Female, 44.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 9.4% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 11.2% White, 64.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 8% |