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The differences between urban planners and regional 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 regional planner. Additionally, a regional planner has an average salary of $65,450, which is higher than the $65,316 average annual salary of an urban planner.
The top three skills for an urban planner include GIS, infrastructure and visualization. The most important skills for a regional planner are regional planning, transportation planning, and GIS.
| Urban Planner | Regional Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $65,316 | $65,450 |
| Hourly rate | $31.40 | $31.47 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 13,883 | 31,876 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
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.
Urban planners and regional planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Urban Planner | Regional Planner | |
| Average salary | $65,316 | $65,450 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $89,000 | Between $47,000 And $89,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Mapbox | City of Detroit |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an urban planner and a regional planner in terms of educational background:
| Urban Planner | Regional Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Urban Planning | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between urban planners' and regional planners' demographics:
| Urban Planner | Regional Planner | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4% | Male, 64.0% Female, 36.0% |
| 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, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |