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The differences between planners and urban 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 an urban planner. Additionally, an urban planner has an average salary of $65,316, 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 an urban planner are GIS, infrastructure, and visualization.
| Planner | Urban Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $63,161 | $65,316 |
| Hourly rate | $30.37 | $31.40 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 15,269 | 13,883 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| 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.
An urban planner is responsible for evaluating land use and condition and providing comprehensive plans and programs that would be beneficial for the entire community. Urban planners' tasks also cover conducting field investigations and collect environmental studies, performing market research and creating proposals for approval of the officials, reviewing recommendations and addressing issues which concern the land and resources, and strategizing comprehensive area plans. An urban planner must consider the community's best interest that would promote growth and development.
Planners and urban planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Planner | Urban Planner | |
| Average salary | $63,161 | $65,316 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $88,000 | Between $47,000 And $89,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Mapbox |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Construction |
There are a few differences between a planner and an urban planner in terms of educational background:
| Planner | Urban Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Urban Planning |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between planners' and urban planners' demographics:
| Planner | Urban Planner | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.4% Female, 45.6% | Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4% |
| 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, 4.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 9.3% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |