Urban planner vs community development planner

The differences between urban planners and community development planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an urban planner and a community development planner. Additionally, an urban planner has an average salary of $65,316, which is higher than the $57,723 average annual salary of a community development planner.

The top three skills for an urban planner include GIS, infrastructure and visualization. The most important skills for a community development planner are regional planning, GIS, and technical assistance.

Urban planner vs community development planner overview

	Urban Planner	Community Development Planner
Yearly salary	$65,316	$57,723
Hourly rate	$31.40	$27.75
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	13,883	69,822
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	2	2

Urban planner vs community development planner salary

Urban planners and community development planners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Urban Planner	Community Development Planner
Average salary	$65,316	$57,723
Salary range	Between $47,000 And $89,000	Between $31,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Brookline, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Mapbox	Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Inc.
Best paying industry	Construction	-

Differences between urban planner and community development planner education

There are a few differences between an urban planner and a community development planner in terms of educational background:

	Urban Planner	Community Development Planner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Urban Planning	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Urban planner vs community development planner demographics

Here are the differences between urban planners' and community development planners' demographics:

	Urban Planner	Community Development Planner
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4%	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.3% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between urban planner and community development planner duties and responsibilities

Urban planner example responsibilities.

Manage all aspects of production plan in direct compliance with MRP and master schedule.
Guide production planning activities ranging from developing and revising production schedules, forecasting trends and customer demand, and managing logistics.
Coordinate allocation of CDBG funds for community development and maintenance including demolition and asbestos abatement.
Assess compliance with NIST and DoD policies and procedures.
Prepare conceptual and design lot layouts and site plans using freehand and AutoCAD.
Coordinate with the FAA on all obstructions to airspace and for temporary crane waivers.

Community development planner example responsibilities.

Guide production planning activities ranging from developing and revising production schedules, forecasting trends and customer demand, and managing logistics.
Monitor CDBG fund economic development programs.
Used GIS to identify complete, fund, and propose routes.
Conduct research and create zoning database and GIS layers for regional analysis.
Direct inbound or outbound logistics operations, such as transportation or warehouse activities, safety performance, or logistics quality management.
Review of monthly agency programmatic reports, IDIS updates.

Urban planner vs community development planner skills

Common urban planner skills

GIS, 11%
Infrastructure, 6%
Visualization, 5%
ArcGIS, 5%
Sketch, 5%
Community Development, 4%

Common community development planner skills

Regional Planning, 21%
GIS, 15%
Technical Assistance, 9%
Site Development, 8%
CDBG, 6%
HUD, 5%

Urban Planner vs. similar jobs

Urban Planner related careers

Urban Planner related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Urban Planner
Urban Planner vs Community Development Planner

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs