City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning at University of Maryland-College Park

A bachelor's in urban planning from UMD likely positions graduates near the middle of what this field offers nationally. Based on comparable planning programs across the country, first-year earnings around $44,000 paired with roughly $25,000 in debt creates a manageable 0.57 debt-to-earnings ratio—meaning your child would owe about seven months of their starting salary. For a public policy-adjacent field where many professionals pursue graduate degrees, these numbers suggest solid preparation without being financially locked in.

The uncertainty here matters, though. With only three Maryland schools offering undergraduate planning degrees and no reported outcomes data for any of them, we're relying entirely on national patterns. Planning careers vary significantly by specialization—transportation planners, economic development specialists, and environmental planners can see quite different trajectories. The national data showing relatively tight clustering (the 75th percentile is only $2,800 higher than the median) suggests this is a field with fairly predictable early outcomes, but that doesn't tell us whether UMD's specific program leads students toward higher-paying government positions in the DC metro area or other paths.

The practical takeaway: if your child is committed to planning or urban policy work, the estimated debt burden appears reasonable enough not to foreclose future options, including graduate school. But given UMD's competitive admissions profile, verify whether graduates actually secure planning positions quickly or whether many need additional credentials to launch their careers.