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Best Urban Planning Schools Near Vernon Hills, IL (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Vernon Hills, Illinois has 2 accredited schools offering urban planning programs. Vernon Hills has a population of about 26,772. Median household income is $120,625 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 66.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, the top-earning urban planning-related role is Managers, All Other at a median $145,370 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Urban Planning Schools to Vernon Hills
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer urban planning programs near Vernon Hills, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Vernon Hills 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 Vernon Hills
Vernon Hills is part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (BLS area code 16980). 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
$98,840
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$95,405
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
$85,310
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$82,346
Surveyors
$80,060
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$77,278
Geographers
$92,640
IL statewide
$89,421
Social and Community Service Managers
$79,150
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$76,400
Management Analysts
$105,090
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$101,438
Cartographers and Photogrammetrists
$54,680
IL statewide
$52,780
Managers, All Other
$145,370
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
$140,319
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.
Vernon Hills at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
26,772
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$120,625
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
66.6%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
103.6 (above U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Vernon Hills-Area Cities With Urban Planning Programs
How many accredited urban planning schools are near Vernon Hills, IL?
Our directory has 2 accredited schools offering urban planning programs near Vernon Hills. The closest is University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Milwaukee, WI (58.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is University of Wisconsin-Madison (93.6 miles). 2 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying urban planning roles near Vernon Hills?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying urban planning-related roles near Vernon Hills are: Managers, All Other ($145,370), Management Analysts ($105,090), Urban and Regional Planners ($98,840). 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 Mundelein instead of Vernon Hills?
Mundelein, IL is 3.5 miles from Vernon Hills 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 Vernon Hills an affordable place to study urban planning?
Vernon Hills’s median household income of $120,625 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Vernon Hills 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.