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Role hub · Transportation Planners

Transportation Planner: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

BLS does not publish pay for transportation planners separately. Every pay figure on this page is for the BLS occupation “Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other” (SOC 19-3099), which includes transportation planners and other jobs; it is not a figure for transportation planners alone.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
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Median percentile pay

Half of workers in the BLS occupation “Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other” earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$101,110
Hourly
$48.61
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Transportation Planners prepare studies for proposed transportation projects. The median pay is $101,110 a year ($48.61 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (55% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$101,110
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
37,100
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 4 of 5
considerable preparation
Most common education
Bachelor's Degree
55% of workers
Key facts

Transportation Planners at a glance

  • Workers in the BLS occupation “Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other” (which includes transportation planners) in the United States earned a median annual wage of $101,110 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for transportation planners in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 37,100 people were employed as transportation planners in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Transportation Planners

SalaryTransportation Planner salary

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The work

What transportation planners do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Define regional or local transportation planning problems or priorities.
  2. Participate in public meetings or hearings to explain planning proposals, to gather feedback from those affected by projects, or to achieve consensus on project designs.
  3. Prepare reports or recommendations on transportation planning.
  4. Collaborate with engineers to research, analyze, or resolve complex transportation design issues.
  5. Recommend transportation system improvements or projects, based on economic, population, land-use, or traffic projections.
  6. Develop computer models to address transportation planning issues.
  7. Analyze information related to transportation, such as land use policies, environmental impact of projects, or long-range planning needs.
  8. Interpret data from traffic modeling software, geographic information systems, or associated databases.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all transportation planner jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix). Figures cover all social scientists and related workers, all other (SOC 19-3099), the broader occupation.

  1. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals61.0% of all jobs in this occupation · -4.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $107,700
  2. Educational services; state, local, and private15.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $95,540
  3. Professional, scientific, and technical services13.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +9.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $119,090
  4. Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations1.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +9.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $86,820
  5. Management of companies and enterprises1.7% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $184,110
  6. Social assistance1.5% of all jobs in this occupation · +6.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $76,040

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Complex Problem SolvingcoreReading ComprehensioncoreActive ListeningcoreWritingSpeakingCritical ThinkingJudgment and Decision MakingSystems EvaluationActive Learning

Knowledge areas: Transportation, English Language, Mathematics, Geography, Law and Government, Computers and Electronics.

Tools and technology

Software transportation planners use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • ESRI ArcGIS softwareGeographic information systemIn demand
  • Geographic information system GIS systemsGeographic information systemIn demand
  • Transportation management system TMS softwareMobile location based services softwareIn demand
  • Adobe IllustratorGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Adobe InDesignDesktop publishing softwareHot technology
  • Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Autodesk AutoCADComputer aided design CAD softwareHot technology
  • Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3DComputer aided design CAD softwareHot technology
  • Bentley MicroStationComputer aided design CAD softwareHot technology
  • IBM SPSS StatisticsAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • SASAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • Caliper TransCADComputer aided design CAD software

Also called: Planner, Program Officer, Transportation Analyst, Transportation Data Programs Manager.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.