What does a regional planner do?
Regional planners are professionals who draw plans for regions and develop them to accommodate population growth, create communities, and revitalize physical facilities. They meet with regional officials and debate on the designs, and come up with a final plan. Their additional responsibilities include administering government policies in regards to land use and analyzing data from market research, censuses, and economic and environmental studies.
Regional planner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real regional planner resumes:
- Guide production planning activities ranging from developing and revising production schedules, forecasting trends and customer demand, and managing logistics.
- Analyze data and create maps using GIS mapping software.
- Conduct data analyses as well as created maps using GIS software to show to working relationships.
- 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.
Regional planner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Regional Planners are proficient in Regional Planning, Transportation Planning, and GIS. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Regional Planners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Regional Planning, 21%
Assist with the Regional Planning Council which serves to promote coordinated regional planning through technical assistance and education.
- Transportation Planning, 9%
Provided excellent customer service to internal and external customers by providing information related to transportation planning in the Montgomery County.
- GIS, 8%
Used GIS (Riverside County Land Information System) information as a necessary resource for reviewing planning cases.
- Public Health, 7%
Trained public health staff in public health emergencies, incident command system, and public health emergency response.
- Environmental Planning, 7%
Land Use and Environmental Planning consultant engaged in community planning, regulatory permitting, and environmental document preparation.
- Technical Assistance, 6%
Provided technical assistance in preparing reports and maps on issues dealing with community development.
Most regional planners use their skills in "regional planning," "transportation planning," and "gis" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential regional planner responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a regional planner to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what regional planners do because "urban and regional planners analyze information and data from a variety of sources, such as market research studies, censuses, and environmental impact studies." Additionally, a regional planner resume shows how regional planners use analytical skills: "report included current inventory of infrastructure, swot analysis, demographics and strategic economic development plan for the next 5 years. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling regional planner duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "urban and regional planners must be able to communicate clearly and effectively because they interact with colleagues and stakeholders, prepare research reports, give presentations, and meet with a wide variety of audiences, including public officials, interest groups, and community members." According to a regional planner resume, here's how regional planners can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "provided operational communications support, assistance and advice to execute required c4 support for deployed usmc forces. "
Leadership skills. regional planners are also known for leadership skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to regional planner responsibilities, because "urban and regional planners must be able to manage projects, which may include overseeing tasks and planning assignments." A regional planner resume example shows how leadership skills is used in the workplace: "lead planner for executive level leadership conference, managing logistics and senior official receptions. "
The three companies that hire the most regional planners are:
- BASF2 regional planners jobs
- Bausch + Lomb1 regional planners jobs
- Department of Public Social Services1 regional planners jobs
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Compare different regional planners
Regional planner vs. Housing grant analyst
An urban design consultant is in charge of many projects, and so they have to oversee tasks and plan assignments. They are skilled in creating interior design solutions, space planning, sketching, and product selection. They have to analyze information and data gotten from market research studies and censuses. They also have to do presentations and prepare reports.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between regional planners and housing grant analyst. For instance, regional planner responsibilities require skills such as "regional planning," "transportation planning," "gis," and "public health." Whereas a housing grant analyst is skilled in "provide technical assistance," "grants management," "affordable housing," and "appeals." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Housing grant analysts really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $55,298. Comparatively, regional planners tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $73,412.The education levels that housing grant analysts earn slightly differ from regional planners. In particular, housing grant analysts are 4.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a regional planner. Additionally, they're 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Regional planner vs. Urban design consultant
When it comes to planning an internship, an intern's duties will depend on the directives of supervising staff or a manager. Typically, an intern's responsibilities will revolve around performing clerical tasks such as processing documents, producing reports and presentations, responding to calls and correspondence, and managing schedules. There are also instances where an intern must share ideas and insights, attend meetings, maintain records, update databases, and assist staff in various tasks while under more experienced colleagues' supervision.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, regional planner responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "regional planning," "transportation planning," "public health," and "environmental planning." Meanwhile, an urban design consultant has duties that require skills in areas such as "urban design," "sketch," "landscape architecture," and "design guidelines." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, urban design consultants earn a lower salary than regional planners. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, urban design consultants earn the most pay in the telecommunication industry with an average salary of $63,199. Whereas regional planners have higher pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $73,412.urban design consultants earn higher levels of education than regional planners in general. They're 21.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for regional planners in the next 3-5 years?
Scott Roper Ph.D.
Professor of Geography, Castleton University
As far as more in-depth and more specialized changes to the field, I think geographic information systems will be more prevalent in the next 3-5 years. I've already seen signs of this. A few years ago, I began to include a week-long unit in GIS in one of my introductory geography courses. About two years later, a graduate of our Political Science program came up to me and told me she had gotten a position at a local waste management company. To organize the data she was asked to manage, she began to use the GIS program I had introduced in my course. She thoroughly impressed her supervisor, who had been entirely unfamiliar with GIS. The beautiful thing about GIS is that it can be used in careers involving historical research, criminal justice, sociology, and social work, land-use planning, business, and anything. As the political science graduate showed, having just a little experience with GIS gives social science graduates an advantage over their peers.
Regional planner vs. Planning internship
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a regional planner is likely to be skilled in "public health," "environmental planning," "emergency management," and "plan development," while a typical planning internship is skilled in "arcgis," "data analysis," "project management," and "indesign."
Planning interns earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $41,003. Regional planners earn the highest pay from the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $73,412.Most planning interns achieve a lower degree level compared to regional planners. For example, they're 6.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Regional planner vs. Community development planner
Types of regional planner
Updated January 8, 2025
