Master's · Charlottesville, Virginia

Is City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning at University of Virginia-Main Campus worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6.4 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $65,725; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $88,672; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $51,125; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $54k (likely $54k – $54k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $21k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in VA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 6.4 years (likely 3.7–15.8); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$52k (likely −$201k – $149k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $225k (likely −$111k – $678k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.