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Best Urban Planning Schools Near Lafayette, LA (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Lafayette, Louisiana is home to about 121,537 residents. Median household income is $61,454 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 40.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Lafayette, LA metro area, the top-earning urban planning-related role is Managers, All Other at a median $88,370 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Urban Planning Schools to Lafayette
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer urban planning programs near Lafayette, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Lafayette city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Lafayette.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Lafayette is part of the Lafayette, LA metro area (BLS area code 29180). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Louisiana statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Urban and Regional Planners
$74,500
LA statewide
$85,436
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
$70,070
Lafayette, LA
$80,356
Surveyors
$49,820
Lafayette, LA
$57,133
Geographers
N/A
LA statewide
–
Social and Community Service Managers
$75,010
Lafayette, LA
$86,021
Management Analysts
$81,730
Lafayette, LA
$93,727
Cartographers and Photogrammetrists
$59,990
LA statewide
$68,796
Managers, All Other
$88,370
Lafayette, LA
$101,342
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.
Lafayette at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
121,537
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$61,454
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
40.6%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
87.2 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Lafayette-Area Cities With Urban Planning Programs
What are the highest-paying urban planning roles near Lafayette?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying urban planning-related roles near Lafayette are: Managers, All Other ($88,370), Management Analysts ($81,730), Social and Community Service Managers ($75,010). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Louisiana statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Abbeville instead of Lafayette?
Abbeville, LA is 17.2 miles from Lafayette 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 Lafayette an affordable place to study urban planning?
Lafayette’s median household income of $61,454 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Lafayette while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Louisiana 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.
