H-1B Hiring for Urban and Regional Planners Surges, Led by New York and California
Explore H-1B visa filings for Urban and Regional Planners. View sponsoring employers, salary data from 100 filings, and approval rates from DOL public records.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total H-1B Petitions | 100 |
| Approval Rate | 94% |
| Average Salary | $86,916 |
| Salary Range | $56,000 - $275,000 |
| Top Sponsor | Evolve, LLC |
| Primary Location | New York |
Urban and Regional Planners is one of the H-1B visa categories with 43 filings and an average salary of $94,338. Hiring for Urban and Regional Planners shows a significant increase in recent fiscal years, particularly FY2025. The average salary offered is higher than the median, suggesting a range of compensation based on experience and location. New York and California are the top states for H-1B hiring in this role, indicating concentrated opportunities in these regions.
| Total Filings | 100 |
| Approval Rate | 94% |
| Average Salary | $86,916 |
| Median Salary | $79,602 |
| 25th Percentile | $70,000 |
| 75th Percentile | $96,133 |
| Minimum Salary | $56,000 |
| Maximum Salary | $275,000 |
| 10th Percentile | $58,240 |
| 25th Percentile | $70,000 |
| Median (50th) | $79,602 |
| 75th Percentile | $96,133 |
| 90th Percentile | $116,207 |
| Average | $86,916 |
| Sample Size | 100 |
| Visa Class | Filings |
|---|---|
| H-1B | 92 |
| E-3 AUSTRALIAN | 3 |
| H-1B1 CHILE | 3 |
| H-1B1 SINGAPORE | 2 |
| Education Level | Filings |
|---|---|
| Not Specified | 100 |
| Employer | Filings | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Evolve, LLC | 7 | $57k |
| AECOM Technical Services, Inc. | 4 | $86k |
| Sasaki Associates | 4 | $86k |
| Houston Galveston Area Council | 3 | $63k |
| WSP USA Inc. | 3 | $102k |
| Kings Celia Home and Park Improvements Corporation | 3 | $79k |
| Resilient Cities Catalyst, Inc. | 2 | $99k |
| HR&A Advisors, Inc. | 2 | $87k |
| Citizens Housing & Planning Council of New York | 2 | $84k |
| LINK LAB, LLC | 2 | $64k |
| State | Filings |
|---|---|
| New York | 23 |
| California | 17 |
| Texas | 11 |
| Pennsylvania | 9 |
| Massachusetts | 8 |
| Georgia | 5 |
| Florida | 5 |
| New Jersey | 4 |
| Arizona | 3 |
| District of Columbia | 2 |
Focus your H-1B job search on New York and California, and highlight experience that justifies a salary above the median to align with higher-paying opportunities.
The average H-1B salary for Urban and Regional Planners is $94,338, with a median of $85,800. The 25th-75th percentile range is $71,744 to $112,077.
Top H-1B sponsors for Urban and Regional Planners include WSP USA Inc., Houston Galveston Area Council, Kings Celia Home and Park Improvements Corporation, Citizens Housing & Planning Council of New York, CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO. A total of 34 employers have filed for this role.
There are 43 H-1B filings on record for Urban and Regional Planners positions. 90.7% were certified.
The top states for H-1B Urban and Regional Planners positions are New York (13), California (6), Texas (4), Florida (3), Georgia (2).
Yes, Urban and Regional Planners is a qualifying occupation for H-1B visa sponsorship. There are 43 approved H-1B petitions for this role in the database.
H-1B Urban and Regional Planners salaries range from $60,000 to $155,000. The median salary is $85,800.
The approval rate for Urban and Regional Planners H-1B petitions is 90.7%. The number of H-1B petitions for Urban and Regional Planners has dramatically increased from 1 in FY2022 to 39 in FY2025.
The average salary (SA) of $94,338 is notably higher than the median salary (SM) of $85,800.
Focus your H-1B job search on New York and California, and highlight experience that justifies a salary above the median to align with higher-paying opportunities.
The lowest salary (SN) reported is $60,000, while the highest (SX) reaches $155,000, showing a wide salary spectrum.
The Urban and Regional Planners occupation (SOC code 19-305100) is classified under the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The SOC system groups workers into occupational categories based on the type of work performed, providing a standardized framework for comparing wages, employment levels, and workforce trends across the United States.
Urban and Regional Planners positions fall within the specialty occupation category required for H-1B visa sponsorship, meaning they typically require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and at minimum a bachelor's degree or its equivalent in the specific specialty. Based on H-1B filing data, the most common education requirement for Urban and Regional Planners positions is Not Specified (100 filings), followed by other degree levels.
Across 100 LCA filings tracked by H1BSalaryCheck, Urban and Regional Planners positions show an average offered salary of $86,916, with a range from $56,000 at the entry level to $275,000 for senior positions. The largest concentration of H-1B filings for this role is in New York (23 filings) and California (17 filings).
Career outlook for Urban and Regional Planners professionals is closely tied to industry demand for specialized skills. Employers sponsoring H-1B workers for this role are demonstrating that they could not find sufficient qualified U.S. workers to fill these positions, which often signals strong demand and competitive compensation. Workers in this occupation may also be eligible for other visa categories including L-1 intracompany transfers, O-1 extraordinary ability visas, or employment-based green card sponsorship through the PERM process.
To sponsor a foreign worker for an H-1B visa in a Urban and Regional Planners role, U.S. employers must satisfy several requirements established by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and enforced by both the Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS):
The position must qualify as a "specialty occupation," meaning it requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and at minimum a bachelor's degree or its equivalent in a specific specialty directly related to the position. For Urban and Regional Planners roles, H-1B filings indicate that employers most commonly require a Not Specified degree. USCIS evaluates whether the position itself, not just the employer's preference, genuinely requires specialized education.
Employers must pay H-1B workers at least the prevailing wage for the occupation in the geographic area of employment, as determined by the DOL. The prevailing wage is based on four skill levels (Level 1 through Level 4) that reflect the complexity of the job duties and required experience. For Urban and Regional Planners positions, the average offered salary of $86,916 exceeds prevailing wages by an average of 13.9%, with 82% of filings offering above the prevailing wage.
Before filing the H-1B petition, employers must obtain a certified LCA from the DOL. The LCA requires employers to attest to four conditions: (1) paying at least the prevailing wage or actual wage, whichever is higher; (2) providing working conditions that do not adversely affect similarly employed U.S. workers; (3) no strike or lockout at the worksite; and (4) proper notice of the filing to workers. The overall LCA approval rate for Urban and Regional Planners positions is 94%.
The annual H-1B cap is set at 65,000 regular visas plus 20,000 for beneficiaries with U.S. master's degrees or higher (the "master's cap"). Certain employers, including institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations, are exempt from the cap. Urban and Regional Planners positions at cap-exempt employers can be filed at any time during the year, while cap-subject employers must participate in the annual H-1B lottery, typically held in March for the following fiscal year.
H-1B visas are initially granted for up to three years and can be extended for a maximum of six years total. Workers who have an approved I-140 immigrant petition (part of the green card process) may be eligible for extensions beyond the six-year limit under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21). The average contract duration for Urban and Regional Planners H-1B filings is approximately 35 months.
Cities with the most H-1B filings for Urban and Regional Planners positions.
| City | State | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| New York | New York | 15 |
| Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 8 |
| Boston | Massachusetts | 6 |
| Houston | Texas | 4 |
| Albany | New York | 4 |
| Brooklyn | New York | 3 |
| Atlanta | Georgia | 3 |
| Austin | Texas | 3 |
| PHOENIX | Arizona | 2 |
| SAN FRANCISCO | California | 2 |