BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Best Urban Planning Schools Near Alton, IL (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Alton, Illinois is home to about 25,430 residents. Median household income is $53,005 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 21.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area, the top-earning urban planning-related role is Managers, All Other at a median $130,590 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Urban Planning Schools to Alton
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer urban planning programs near Alton, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Alton city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
No school data available.
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Illinois schools on the Illinois urban planning page.
Urban Planning Wages Near Alton
Alton is part of the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area (BLS area code 41180). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Illinois statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Urban and Regional Planners
$80,270
St. Louis, MO-IL
$84,406
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
$61,050
St. Louis, MO-IL
$64,196
Surveyors
$65,560
St. Louis, MO-IL
$68,938
Geographers
$92,640
IL statewide
$97,413
Social and Community Service Managers
$73,980
St. Louis, MO-IL
$77,792
Management Analysts
$101,100
St. Louis, MO-IL
$106,309
Cartographers and Photogrammetrists
$76,950
St. Louis, MO-IL
$80,915
Managers, All Other
$130,590
St. Louis, MO-IL
$137,319
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Alton at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
25,430
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$53,005
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
21.2%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
95.1 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Alton-Area Cities With Urban Planning Programs
What are the highest-paying urban planning roles near Alton?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying urban planning-related roles near Alton are: Managers, All Other ($130,590), Management Analysts ($101,100), Geographers ($92,640). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Illinois statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Edwardsville instead of Alton?
Edwardsville, IL is 11.7 miles from Alton and has its own set of local urban planning programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Alton an affordable place to study urban planning?
Alton’s median household income of $53,005 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Alton while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Illinois public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.