← All careers

Science

Transportation Planners

Prepare studies for proposed transportation projects. Gather, compile, and analyze data. Study the use and operation of transportation systems. Develop transportation models or simulations.

Median salary

$100,340

Typical range

$63k – $161k

Job outlook

See national outlook

AI exposure

Plan a path to Transportation Planners

Education

Typical entry: Bachelor's degree

Plan my path to this →

Typical progression

  1. Transportation Planners Intern

    Internship

    $36,000

    ~4 mos to advance

  2. Junior Transportation Planners

    Entry / Junior

    $62,570

    ~2 yrs to advance

  3. Transportation Planners

    Established

    $100,340

    ~3 yrs to advance

  4. Senior Transportation Planners

    Senior

    $130,575

Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.

Key skills

A typical day

  • Define regional or local transportation planning problems or priorities.
  • 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.
  • Prepare reports or recommendations on transportation planning.
  • Collaborate with engineers to research, analyze, or resolve complex transportation design issues.
  • Recommend transportation system improvements or projects, based on economic, population, land-use, or traffic projections.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Science

Explore all

Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.