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Planning and Analysis

Planning and Analysis | Regional Planner

Regional Planner

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Regional Planner plans and designs projects that maintain or improve the quality of life in a region. Addresses specific transportation, economic development, housing and environmental issues. Develops plans that address aesthetic as well as technical concerns. Identifies regional goals and anticipates the future impact of development.

Job Outlook

There were 267 Regional Planner job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 5996 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Urban / Transportation Planner industry, which includes the Regional Planner career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:

Salary

Many new Regional Planner jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $85,453.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $82,813.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Regional Planner postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $66,856.

Education and Experience

Posted Regional Planner jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree62.64%
Master's Degree21.03%
Doctoral Degree2.55%
Other11.52%

Posted Regional Planner jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years34.22%
3 to 5 years47.18%
6 to 8 years11.53%
9+ years7.06%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Regional Planner positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

  • Planning (70.61%)
  • Communication (44.51%)
  • Research (38.56%)
  • Management (34.67%)
  • Writing (26.03%)
  • Coordinating (23.98%)
  • Presentations (23.32%)
  • Detail Oriented (21.81%)
  • Operations (21.5%)
  • Microsoft Office (18.15%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Land Use (28.26%)
  • Land Development (25.3%)
  • Land-Use Planning (23.25%)
  • Land Acquisitions (9.43%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Project Management (21.8%)
  • Urban Planning (22.24%)
  • Land Zoning (19.52%)
  • Due Diligence (18.69%)
  • Land Tenure (17.43%)
  • Public Administration (14.08%)
  • Comprehensive Planning (12.55%)
  • Regional Planning (12.57%)
  • Legal Hearings (13.13%)
  • Landscape Architecture (13.36%)
  • Community Development (12.91%)
  • Geographic Information Systems (13.54%)
  • Construction (12.69%)
  • Project Planning (11.4%)
  • Finance (11.48%)
  • Economics (9.21%)
  • Civil Engineering (11.02%)
  • Ordinances (9.83%)
  • Purchasing (9.09%)
  • Land Management (10.07%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

  • Land Use Policy (2.75%)
  • Land-Use Planning (55.47%)
  • Land Use (67.41%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Regional Planner skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • Planner
  • Land Acquisition Manager
  • Land Use Planner
  • Planning Technician
  • Estate Planner
  • Director of Land Acquisition
  • Land Acquisition Analyst
  • Land Use Specialist
  • Event Planner
  • Land Planner

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Regional Planner jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • D.R. Horton (156)
  • Lennar (111)
  • Toll Brothers (73)
  • The Nature Conservancy (59)
  • KB Home (57)
  • Leidos (51)
  • Interwest Consulting Group (50)
  • Loudoun County Government (45)
  • Wiverse (44)
  • PulteGroup (38)

North Carolina

  • KB Home (14)
  • Lennar (8)
  • Concord Hospitality Enterprises (7)
  • D.R. Horton (6)
  • Toll Brothers (5)
  • FTS International (5)
  • ManpowerGroup (5)
  • Pender County - North Carolina (4)
  • Delta Oaks Group (4)
  • Tri Pointe Homes Holdings (3)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!