How To Become A Land Planner: What It Is and Career Path

What is a land planner and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Katsuya Hirano Ph.D.

Land planners fall under the category of urban and regional planners. They are specialists who determine how plots of land should best be used within a community. Their roles focus on community creation and revitalization, as well as the accommodation of population growth.

As a land manager, you have to create plans for construction, process approvals for zoning, and draw up logistics for land use. You work directly with landowners, politicians, and members of the city.

You require a bachelor's or master's degree in environmental design and strategic planning and a working background with property managers to be a land planner. In May 2018, the BLS announced a medium annual salary for the occupation as $73,050.

What general advice would you give to a land planner?

Katsuya Hirano Ph.D.

Associate Professor Vice Chair for Undergraduate Affairs, UCLA

The study of history helps you develop the ability to read, think, and write analytically by providing you with insight into the future, as well as the present, through close examinations of the past. These abilities are essential for any work you perform, as they enable you to grasp and address issues from a much deeper and broader perspective. I think that history is one of the most foundational humanistic disciplines that have become all that much more important in the times of crisis in which we live.

ScoreLand PlannerUS Average

Salary

5.0

Avg. Salary $64,353

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.95%

Asian 9.30%

Black or African American 4.78%

Hispanic or Latino 12.58%

Unknown 5.19%

White 67.19%

Gender

female 31.35%

male 68.65%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a land planner

Explore land planner education requirements

Most common land planner degrees

Bachelor's

71.1 %

Master's

20.5 %

Associate

5.5 %

Start to develop specific land planner skills

Skills	Percentages
GIS	13.78%
Real Estate	10.03%
Regional Planning	9.60%
Photoshop	8.75%
Natural Resources	4.80%

Research land planner duties and responsibilities

Guide production planning activities ranging from developing and revising production schedules, forecasting trends and customer demand, and managing logistics.
Devise GIS tools to conduct impact analysis on both current planning and area plans for local communities.
Direct inbound or outbound logistics operations, such as transportation or warehouse activities, safety performance, or logistics quality management.
Create PowerPoint presentations for meetings in business plans and meetings at executive levels.

Prepare your land planner resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your land planner resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a land planner resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable land planner resume templates

Build a professional land planner resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your land planner resume.