Develop land use plans and programs to manage growth and revitalize communities. Median salary in Nashville: $78K/year. Data from BLS, O*NET, and H-1B disclosures.
Figures represent annual base salary in Nashville, Tennessee. Reviewed by SalaryOptics Editorial · How we calculate this →
Analysis derived from the salary, COL, tax, and labor-market figures above — specific to this role and city.
Urban Planners in Nashville earn approximately 2% lower than the US national median for this role — a $2,000 discount on annual base salary. Nashville's lower wage level partially reflects the area's cost-of-living index of 102 (US avg = 100).
Adjusted for Nashville's cost-of-living index (102), the median Urban Planner salary buys the equivalent of $76,471 in a US-average-cost city. That's $3,529 less purchasing power than the national median — the higher nominal salary doesn't fully offset local costs.
Tennessee has no state income tax, which is worth roughly $7,254 per year at this salary level compared to a California Urban Planner on the same gross pay. A Nashville Urban Planner would need to earn $85,998 in California to net the same take-home.
Based on BLS 2022–2032 Employment Projections and WEF Future of Jobs Report 2026. At current growth rates, median salary reaches $78K by 2030.
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The median Urban Planner salary in Nashville, TN is $78,000 per year as of Q1 2026. This figure represents the midpoint of all reported compensation for this role in the Nashville–TN metropolitan area, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics, H-1B visa disclosures from the Department of Labor, and O*NET occupational data.
Entry-level Urban Planners in Nashville with 0–2 years of experience typically earn between $59,000 and $78,000 annually. Mid-career professionals with 3–7 years command $78,000 to $100,000, while senior-level practitioners with 8+ years of experience regularly earn $100,000 to $127,000 or more.
Nashville has a cost of living index of 102 compared to the US national average of 100. Living costs in Nashville are close to the national average. Crucially, Tennessee has no state income tax — giving Nashville-based Urban Planners an immediate 3–5% take-home pay advantage over workers in states like California (9.3%) or New York (6.85%).
Master's in Urban Planning; AICP certification. 25% of these roles offer some remote flexibility.