Urban and Regional Planner salary in Boston, MA

Based on 44 certified H-1B filings in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Cambridge, Lowell, Somerville, Quincy.

Also listed as: Urban Designer, Urban Planner

Median salary$80,829
Middle 50%$75k–$90k
vs. national median−3%comparison median $83,000
Filings44FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $69,270 and $120,000.
PercentileSalary
10th$72,300
25th$75,000
50th (median)$80,829
75th$90,000
90th$109,822

Salary by year

Median salary

$60k $75k $90k FY2020: median $70,956 (10 filings) FY2022: median $73,640 (16 filings) FY2023: median $72,363 (15 filings) FY2024: median $73,440 (21 filings) FY2025: median $80,415 (26 filings) FY2026: median $82,240 (18 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 10 filings FY20 FY2021: 8 filings FY21 FY2022: 16 filings FY22 FY2023: 15 filings FY23 FY2024: 21 filings FY24 FY2025: 26 filings FY25 FY2026: 18 filings FY26 26
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$70,956$64,250$88,50010
FY2021–––8
FY2022$73,640$65,333$91,25016
FY2023$72,363$68,500$79,68015
FY2024$73,440$66,560$87,00021
FY2025$80,415$75,000$87,63226
FY2026$82,240$76,078$92,15418

Cost of living

Boston's median Urban and Regional Planner salary of $80,829 is worth about $74,700 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Boston = 108.3).

Compared with all workers here

All Urban and Regional Planners in the Boston, MA area earned a median of $103,460 in May 2025 (1,100 employed). The H-1B median here is $80,829, 22% lower.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Top employers filing

EmployerMedianFilings
Sasaki Associates$82,24017
Metropolitan Area Planning Counciltoo few7
Massachusetts Institute of Technologytoo few4
CBT-Childs Bertman Tseckarestoo few2
City of Boston Treasury Divisiontoo few2

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $76,666 18
Mid-level · Level II $79,415 16
Senior · Level III too few 2
Expert · Level IV – 0

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$69,014$76,66618
Mid-level · Level II$73,611$79,41516

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.