Best colleges for City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning in California
Program-level earnings — not school prestige — rank these. Among the California programs in the federal field-of-study file, University of Southern California leads: its City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning graduates earn a median $106,094 four years after finishing, against the field's $66,874 national median. (Scorecard field-of-study, 2026.)
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Vs field median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Southern California | $106,094 | +$39,220 |
| 2 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | $80,820 | +$13,946 |
| 3 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | $72,704 | +$5,830 |
How big is the earnings gap between California City/Urban programs?
$33,390 separates the top and bottom of this list — $106,094 at University of Southern California against $72,704 at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, four years after finishing. Same field, same state, same federal measure: where you study moves pay by that much.
Do California City/Urban graduates earn more than the national median?
The state's strongest program pays $39,220 above the $66,874 national median for the field. Program-level medians come from federal tax records of graduates who received aid, so they track actual pay rather than advertised salaries.