Plans bus and rail routes, schedules and stops for a public transit agency, using ridership data and community input to decide where service goes. BLS does not publish separate figures for urban and regional planners; it counts them within urban and regional planner (SOC 19-3051), whose median pay is $89,320 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Master's degree.
- SOC 19-3051
- Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Transit Planner in four numbers
- Median pay
- $89,320a year, or $42.94/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $60KTop 10% $134K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +3.9%About as fast as averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+3.9%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +3.9% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 3,20045,800 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 202545.8K
- Projected 203547.6K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 45.8K Projected 2035 47.6K - Typical education
- Master'sneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
- Bachelor's40%
- Master's56%
- Professional degree4%
Highest education held by urban and regional planners Segment Value Bachelor's 40% Master's 56% Professional degree 4%
Also advertised as: Service Planner, Transit Service Planner, Public Transportation Planner, Bus Network Planner, Transit Scheduling Planner.
Pay
How much do Urban and Regional Planners make?
Every transit planner in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$89,320
Middle half earn $72,020 to $110,030
- 10th
- $60,010
- 25th
- $72,020
- 75th
- $110,030
- 90th
- $134,490
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $60,010 |
| 25th | $72,020 |
| Median | $89,320 |
| 75th | $110,030 |
| 90th | $134,490 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $89,320
- Median hourly wage
- $42.94/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $94,750
- People employed
- 44,230
Versus all US occupations
At $89,320, Urban and Regional Planners earn 75% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $38,340 a year.
Versus life, physical, and social science occupations
Inside the Life, Physical, and Social Science group, where the middle occupation pays $82,220, this is 9% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $134,490 or more while the bottom 10% earn $60,010, a gap of 2.2×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 66% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
District of Columbia pays the most at $137,000, and still leads at $124,658 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Urban and Regional Planners the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1District of Columbia | $137,000 | $124,658 | 120 |
| 2California | $109,610 | $98,997 | 7,460 |
| 3Oregon | $103,070 | $99,718 | 1,010 |
| 4Arizona | $102,400 | $101,711 | 1,330 |
| 5Colorado | $101,340 | $98,339 | 1,300 |
| 6Washington | $100,990 | $94,372 | 3,180 |
| 7Nevada | $100,040 | $100,061 | 270 |
| 8Connecticut | $99,880 | $96,400 | 350 |
| 9Massachusetts | $99,780 | $94,348 | 1,540 |
| 10Minnesota | $97,060 | $98,417 | 860 |
Job outlook
Is Transit Planner a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
About as fast as average. +3.9% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Urban and Regional Planners | +3.9% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
About as fast as average
BLS projects employment of Urban and Regional Planners to change 3.9% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 1,800 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 3,200 openings are projected each year, 7.0% of the 45,800 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Transit Planner
Most transit planners hold a bachelor's or master's degree in urban planning, transportation planning, geography or civil engineering. Data skills, including GIS and working with schedule data in the General Transit Feed Specification format, are increasingly expected.
The American Planning Association's American Institute of Certified Planners credential is common for senior planners. The American Public Transportation Association and the Transportation Research Board run training and research, and the Federal Transit Administration publishes the planning and civil rights requirements agencies follow. Many people start as planning interns or analysts at a transit agency or regional planning organization, or in scheduling, before moving into service planning.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Master's degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
None
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Considerable preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as urban and regional planners.
- Master's Degree56%
- Bachelor's Degree40%
- First Professional Degree4%
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | 56% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 40% |
| First Professional Degree | 4% |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
The work
What does a Transit Planner do?
Transit planners decide where buses and trains go and how often. They analyze ridership counts, fare card data and travel patterns, then propose route changes, new stops, frequency increases or entire network redesigns. Every change involves trade-offs between covering more places and running frequent service where demand is highest.
Planners also look further ahead. They help plan new rail lines and bus rapid transit corridors, work with cities on bus lanes and stop design, analyze whether service changes affect low-income and minority riders fairly as federal civil rights rules require, and prepare grant applications for federal transit funding. A large part of the job is explaining proposals at public meetings and adjusting them based on what riders and drivers say.
Day-to-day tasks
- Analyze ridership, fare and travel pattern data
- Design route changes and frequency adjustments
- Plan new transit corridors and bus rapid transit projects
- Conduct equity analyses of proposed service changes
- Present service proposals at public meetings
- Coordinate stop placement and bus lanes with cities
- Prepare federal transit grant applications
- Work with schedulers to turn plans into timetables
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Transit planners work in transit agency and planning consultant offices, with field visits to ride routes, check stops and count passengers. Hours are mostly regular, with evening and weekend public meetings around major service changes.
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayOutdoors in all weather
NeverEvery day
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeSeated for more than half the working day.
Standing
NeverAlmost all the timeBending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the time
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantFace-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayFace-to-face discussions every day.
Dealing with the public
Not importantExtremely importantDealing with customers or the public is very important.
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayConflict situations
NeverEvery dayCost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely seriousMistakes are not usually serious.
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lot
Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Active Listening4.1
- Speaking4.1
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Writing3.9
- Active Learning3.3
- Mathematics3.0
- Learning Strategies3.0
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Active Listening | 4.1 |
| Speaking | 4.1 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.0 |
| Writing | 3.9 |
| Active Learning | 3.3 |
| Mathematics | 3.0 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.0 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Judgment and Decision Making4.1
- Systems Analysis4.0
- Complex Problem Solving3.8
- Systems Evaluation3.8
- Social Perceptiveness3.6
- Negotiation3.4
- Coordination3.3
- Service Orientation3.3
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Judgment and Decision Making | 4.1 |
| Systems Analysis | 4.0 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.8 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.8 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.6 |
| Negotiation | 3.4 |
| Coordination | 3.3 |
| Service Orientation | 3.3 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Computer aided design CAD software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Desktop publishing software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Enterprise application integration software · in demand
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software · in demand
- Geographic information system · in demand
- Graphics or photo imaging software · in demand
- Object or component oriented development software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Transit Planner?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code IEC) built on O*NET's Urban and Regional Planner profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Transit Planner |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 3 |
| Investigative | 6 |
| Artistic | 3 |
| Social | 3 |
| Enterprising | 5 |
| Conventional | 4 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data, combined with leading, persuading, selling and making decisions.
- Investigative5.5
- Enterprising4.7
- Conventional4.2
- Realistic3.2
- Artistic3.1
- Social3.0
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Transit Planner
O*NET related occupations
- Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Business and Financial Operations
- Management
- Business and Financial Operations
- Management
Brownfield Redevelopment Specialist and Site Manager
$141,900median a year
Most earn $74K to $238K
+4.9%Bachelor's
More life, physical, and social science careers
Median annual pay, with urban and regional planners highlighted
- Industrial-Organizational Psychologist$193,950
- Physicist$172,250
- Medical Scientist, Except Epidemiologists$103,410
- Chemist$91,240
- Transit Planner$89,320
- Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health$82,220
- Conservation Scientist$73,010
- Chemical Technician$60,390
- Biological Technician$57,510
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Industrial-Organizational Psychologist | $193,950 |
| Physicist | $172,250 |
| Medical Scientist, Except Epidemiologists | $103,410 |
| Chemist | $91,240 |
| Transit Planner | $89,320 |
| Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health | $82,220 |
| Conservation Scientist | $73,010 |
| Chemical Technician | $60,390 |
| Biological Technician | $57,510 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Transit Planner appears on
Questions
Transit Planner: frequently asked questions
How much do Urban and Regional Planners make?
BLS does not publish a separate wage for urban and regional planners. It counts them within urban and regional planner, whose median pay is $89,320 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $72,020 and $110,030, and the top 10% earn $134,490 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Transit Planner?
Yes. BLS reports a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for Urban and Regional Planners, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as considerable preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 56.0% hold master's degree.
Is Transit Planner a growing career?
It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 3.9% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 3,200 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Transit Planner do?
Transit planners decide where buses and trains go and how often. A typical task: analyze ridership, fare and travel pattern data. Employers most often ask for Computer aided design CAD software, Data base user interface and query software, Desktop publishing software.
Which states pay Urban and Regional Planners the most?
The highest state medians for Urban and Regional Planners are District of Columbia ($137,000), California ($109,610), Oregon ($103,070) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Transit Planner?
O*NET scores Urban and Regional Planners highest on the Investigative, Enterprising and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data with leading, persuading, selling and making decisions. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are INTJ, ENTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.