Master's · New York, New York

Is City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning at Columbia University in the City of New York 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 slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 8.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $92,067; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $100,339; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $137,955; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $146k (likely $146k – $146k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $31k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in NY; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 8.1 years (likely 5.1–15.9); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$81k (likely −$253k – $132k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $298k (likely −$76k – $720k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.