Urban and Regional Planners in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,447
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$17,053
22.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,022
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$76,500
Kept after tax
$59,447
Worth in national money
$65,022
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is among the lower-paying states for urban and regional planners. The middle earner takes $76,500, ranking 38 of 51 states — about 14.35% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 476 occupations Idaho reports, urban and regional planners comes in at 115 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $76,500 you keep $59,447, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $65,022 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $77,270, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Idaho ranks 38 of 51 for urban and regional planners, with a median of $76,500 — about 14.35% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Urban and regional planners ranks 115 of 476 occupations by median in Idaho, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for urban and regional planners on $76,500 is $59,447. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $65,022 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $77,270 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Urban and Regional Planners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $105,540 |
| This salary | $76,500 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Idaho | $59,447 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,648 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$553 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $71,950 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$764 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $76,500 as a midpoint for Idaho, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $48,990 and the ninetieth is $105,540 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $59,447 take-home in Idaho comes from $76,500. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 115 of 476.
- One number stands for prices across all of Idaho, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $65,022, the adjusted value of that $76,500 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 115 of 476 in the state.
- The Idaho median of $76,500 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $48,990 to $105,540. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $59,447, from $76,500, assumes a single Idaho filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 115 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 38 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Idaho, so $65,022 — the adjusted value of that $76,500 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 115 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $48,990 at the bottom tenth to $105,540 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Idaho sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $65,022 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $59,447.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($48,990) and the ninetieth ($105,540) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $65,022 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $59,447 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.