Urban and Regional Planners in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,199
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$17,611
21.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,819
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$80,810
Kept after tax
$63,199
Worth in national money
$64,819
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 26 of 51 states for urban and regional planners, with a middle wage of $80,810. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Pennsylvania. It ranks 112 out of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $80,810 the take-home is $63,199, which is worth about $64,819 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $81,790, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania ranks 26 of 51 for urban and regional planners at $80,810. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Pennsylvania, urban and regional planners ranks 112 of 492 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for urban and regional planners on its $80,810 median: $63,199 retained after tax becomes $64,819 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $81,790 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 | $52,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $111,070 |
| This salary | $80,810 |
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 Pennsylvania | $63,199 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,680 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,770 |
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 | $77,284 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,826 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $80,810. The published range is $52,010 up to $111,070, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $63,199, from $80,810, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 112 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $64,819, the adjusted value of that $80,810 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 112 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for urban and regional planners in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $52,010 to $111,070. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $63,199 from $80,810. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 112 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $64,819 — the adjusted value of that $80,810 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 112 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $52,010, the highest tenth $111,070, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $64,819 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; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $63,199.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($52,010) and the ninetieth ($111,070) 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?
Pennsylvania'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 $64,819 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 $63,199 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.