Best Cities for Urban and Regional Plannerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where urban and regional plannerss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	District of ColumbiaState	1.34	$137,000	$119,860	18%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.30	$139,360	$115,940	27%
3	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.17	$103,970	$104,492	17%
4	ArizonaState	1.14	$102,400	$101,487	18%
5	NevadaState	1.12	$100,040	$99,840	17%
6	OregonState	1.12	$103,070	$100,068	19%
7	CaliforniaState	1.11	$109,610	$99,015	25%
8	MinnesotaState	1.11	$97,060	$99,041	16%
9	ColoradoState	1.08	$101,340	$96,148	22%
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.07	$111,380	$95,605	24%
11	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.07	$103,070	$95,612	21%
12	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.06	$108,040	$94,523	24%
13	IllinoisState	1.05	$91,360	$93,799	17%
14	WashingtonState	1.05	$100,990	$94,119	23%
15	ConnecticutState	1.04	$99,880	$92,825	19%
16	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.04	$104,770	$92,881	23%
17	MassachusettsState	1.03	$99,780	$91,963	27%
18	OklahomaState	1.03	$81,520	$92,113	14%
19	KansasState	1.02	$82,330	$91,478	15%
20	MissouriState	1.02	$80,720	$91,106	15%
21	WisconsinState	1.02	$84,290	$91,322	15%
22	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.02	$103,460	$91,154	30%
23	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$84,520	$91,078	18%
24	AlaskaState	1.01	$93,860	$89,990	17%
25	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.01	$82,080	$90,000	18%
26	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$90,210	$89,761	20%
27	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	1.00	$97,160	$89,548	25%
28	IowaState	0.99	$79,100	$88,677	14%
29	OhioState	0.99	$79,950	$88,440	16%
30	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.98	$84,350	$87,682	22%
31	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.98	$80,620	$87,630	19%
32	TennesseeState	0.97	$78,970	$86,306	19%
33	TexasState	0.97	$82,830	$86,642	20%
34	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$83,170	$86,816	22%
35	GeorgiaState	0.96	$80,030	$85,685	21%
36	North CarolinaState	0.96	$81,230	$86,049	19%
37	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.96	$83,520	$85,926	23%
38	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.96	$79,690	$86,151	18%
39	MichiganState	0.95	$78,510	$85,060	17%
40	New MexicoState	0.95	$77,710	$84,467	16%
41	North DakotaState	0.95	$78,500	$84,773	15%
42	MontanaState	0.94	$80,770	$83,786	17%
43	UtahState	0.94	$84,360	$84,192	21%
44	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.94	$81,240	$83,926	24%
45	Columbus, OHMetro	0.94	$78,750	$84,225	20%
46	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.94	$82,330	$83,584	25%
47	LouisianaState	0.93	$74,500	$82,686	17%
48	PennsylvaniaState	0.93	$80,810	$83,309	19%
49	VermontState	0.93	$84,750	$82,683	20%
50	VirginiaState	0.93	$86,030	$83,121	22%
51	NebraskaState	0.92	$74,830	$81,781	17%
52	South CarolinaState	0.92	$75,810	$82,402	20%
53	AlabamaState	0.91	$70,710	$81,183	16%
54	MarylandState	0.91	$88,570	$81,108	23%
55	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.91	$83,750	$80,918	23%
56	FloridaState	0.89	$80,720	$79,527	26%
57	IdahoState	0.89	$76,500	$79,275	19%
58	MaineState	0.89	$79,120	$79,279	20%
59	New JerseyState	0.89	$86,280	$79,301	25%
60	New YorkState	0.89	$89,630	$79,671	25%
61	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.89	$84,000	$79,395	24%
62	IndianaState	0.88	$70,760	$78,188	18%
63	South DakotaState	0.88	$71,180	$78,392	16%
64	HawaiiState	0.87	$85,590	$77,809	33%
65	WyomingState	0.84	$70,190	$75,473	17%
66	ArkansasState	0.82	$63,530	$73,615	17%
67	KentuckyState	0.82	$65,000	$73,446	18%
68	West VirginiaState	0.82	$61,390	$72,910	16%
69	MississippiState	0.80	$60,300	$71,108	18%
70	New HampshireState	0.78	$73,860	$69,679	26%
71	DelawareState	0.74	$67,110	$66,446	24%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).