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The differences between planners and senior planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a planner and a senior planner. Additionally, a senior planner has an average salary of $73,327, which is higher than the $63,161 average annual salary of a planner.
The top three skills for a planner include customer service, exceptional client and logistics. The most important skills for a senior planner are project management, customer service, and autocad.
| Planner | Senior Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $63,161 | $73,327 |
| Hourly rate | $30.37 | $35.25 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 18% |
| Number of jobs | 15,269 | 14,351 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
As the name entails, planners assist in creating a broad vision for a community. They conduct research, design, and advanced programs. Some of them focus on a few roles, such as planning transportation, while some will most likely work at different planning types throughout their profession. They develop a plan through data analysis, determine the project's goals or the community, and form a specific vision. They also identify the strategies to help the city realized its goals and vision.
A senior planner is responsible for administering business proposals and strategizing techniques for clients' specifications and requirements, ensuring high-quality deliverables and satisfaction. Depending on the project, senior planners coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors for essential materials to support business operations. They also delegate tasks to the staff and create progress update reports to discuss with the client and the management. A senior planner should have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on handling budgets and adhering to agreed timetables.
Planners and senior planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Planner | Senior Planner | |
| Average salary | $63,161 | $73,327 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $88,000 | Between $48,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | PVH |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a planner and a senior planner in terms of educational background:
| Planner | Senior Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between planners' and senior planners' demographics:
| Planner | Senior Planner | |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.4% Female, 45.6% | Male, 63.7% Female, 36.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 9.6% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 6.0% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 16% |