City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning at South Dakota State University

A first-year salary around $44,000 for a planning degree with roughly $25,000 in debt puts this program squarely in the middle of the national pack—both the earnings and debt figures align almost exactly with typical outcomes from similar urban planning bachelor's programs nationwide. With a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.57, graduates would need to dedicate about 57% of their first-year salary to clear this debt in twelve months, which falls within manageable territory for a professional degree.

The challenge here is transparency: South Dakota State's planning program is small enough that the Department of Education suppresses its actual graduate outcomes, so these figures represent educated guesses based on peer programs rather than documented results from SDSU alumni. Urban planning is a specialized field where local job markets and program connections matter significantly, and South Dakota's planning employment landscape differs considerably from states with larger metropolitan areas where many planning programs operate.

For families considering this path, the estimated numbers suggest reasonable financial positioning—assuming SDSU's actual outcomes mirror those of comparable programs. However, you're essentially betting on analogy rather than evidence. If your student is committed to planning as a career and SDSU offers specific advantages (in-state tuition, particular faculty expertise, regional connections), the estimated debt load won't likely become crushing. But if they're uncertain about the field or could access a program with transparent outcomes, that additional information would be worth having.