CollegeCostWise

Bachelor's · Ames, Iowa

Is City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning at Iowa State University worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating
$53,233
Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating
$65,707
Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation
$24,375
NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families
$79k (likely $79k – $101k)
AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4
$26k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in IA
2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback
5 years (likely 3.7–7.5)
Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return
−$19k (likely −$124k – $83k)
Today's dollars
20-year net return
$303k (likely $87k – $531k)
Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide)
77%
Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26

Change income, residency or loans Compare City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning at other schools

🏗️ Getting ready in high school

Students heading toward engineering & architecture majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.

AP classes

  • AP Calculus AB or BC
  • AP Physics 1
  • AP Physics C: Mechanics
  • AP Chemistry

IB Higher Level

  • Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches HL
  • Physics HL

Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.

Other majors at Iowa State University