Urban and Regional Planners
In short: today's best AI models could do about 32% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 76% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 22% of the time, stays with people.
Develop comprehensive plans and programs for use of land and physical facilities of jurisdictions, such as towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas.
44,230 people do this job in the US. $89,320 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on13 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet18 h
- Stays with people9 h
Urban and Regional Planners, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 13 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 18 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 9 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Determine the effects of regulatory limitations on land use projects (about 2 h); Create, prepare, or requisition graphic or narrative reports on land use data, including land area maps overlaid with geographic variables, such as population density (about 2 h); Design, promote, or administer government plans or policies affecting land use, zoning, public utilities, community facilities, housing, or transportation (about 2 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 78%
- 11%
- 11%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 4%. Today's estimate: 33%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 414th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 25 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.17% to 0.12% (released February and March 2025); 0.38% to 0.13% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.011% to 0.011% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.17% | 105 of 708 | 7 of 25 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.12% | 136 of 703 | 9 of 25 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.38% | 46 of 655 | 3 of 25 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.094% | 161 of 672 | 6 of 25 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.13% | 130 of 677 | 4 of 25 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 400 of 434 | 1 of 25 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 414 of 447 | 1 of 25 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 3% of this job's working time as physical work. For 3% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 3% in any setting. 0.08 of 3, the 541st highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 97%
- In any setting 3%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 25 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design, promote, or administer government plans or policies affecting land use, zoning, public utilities, community facilities, housing, or transportation.Done daily by most who do it. | 23% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | 18%Half by Jun 2027 | |
| Develop plans for public or alternative transportation systems for urban or regional locations to reduce carbon output associated with transportation.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 10% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.3 work weeks | 5%Half by Apr 2028 | |
| Conduct field investigations, surveys, impact studies, or other research to compile and analyze data on economic, social, regulatory, or physical factors affecting land use.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 9% | 2.1 work days6.7 h to 1 work week | Stays with people | |
| Assess the feasibility of land use proposals and identify necessary changes.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | 55%Half by now | |
| Determine the effects of regulatory limitations on land use projects.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 80%Half by now | |
| Create, prepare, or requisition graphic or narrative reports on land use data, including land area maps overlaid with geographic variables, such as population density.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 2.5 work days | 69%Half by now | |
| Supervise or coordinate the work of urban planning technicians or technologists.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Identify opportunities or develop plans for sustainability projects or programs to improve energy efficiency, minimize pollution or waste, or restore natural systems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.1 work days5 h to 1.7 work weeks | 19%Half by Jul 2027 | |
| Evaluate proposals for infrastructure projects or other development for environmental impact or sustainability.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 44%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Advise planning officials on project feasibility, cost-effectiveness, regulatory conformance, or possible alternatives.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Prepare reports, using statistics, charts, and graphs, to illustrate planning studies in areas such as population, land use, or zoning. | 3% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 3.8 work days | 47%Half by Nov 2026 | |
| Review and evaluate environmental impact reports pertaining to private or public planning projects or programs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 1 work day2.5 h to 4.2 work days | 43%Half by Dec 2026 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Transportation Planners24% now, 78% by 2028
- Project Management Specialists58% now, 65% by 2028
- Chief Sustainability Officers29% now, 82% by 2028
- Sustainability Specialists61% now, 89% by 2028
- Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers18% now, 61% by 2028
- Climate Change Policy Analysts43% now, 98% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Urban and Regional Planners is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 33% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 76% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (64% to 78% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Urban and Regional Planners come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Determine the effects of regulatory limitations on land use projects (80% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Create, prepare, or requisition graphic or narrative reports on land use data, including land area maps overlaid with geographic variables, such as population density (69% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Design, promote, or administer government plans or policies affecting land use, zoning, public utilities, community facilities, housing, or transportation (18% of the task's time now, 99% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Urban and Regional Planners stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Conduct field investigations, surveys, impact studies, or other research to compile and analyze data on economic, social, regulatory, or physical factors affecting land use; Supervise or coordinate the work of urban planning technicians or technologists; and Advise planning officials on project feasibility, cost-effectiveness, regulatory conformance, or possible alternatives. Together such tasks are about 22% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Urban and Regional Planners?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks, the 414th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 25 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 10%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Urban and Regional Planners?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 3% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 3% of the working time, 3% in any setting. Its index is 0.08 of 3. One example: Skydio 3D Scan (Skydio 2 / X2 / X10) for "conduct interviews, surveys and site inspections concerning factors that affect land usage, such as zoning, traffic flow and housing". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 25 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
This occupation has not been reviewed task by task yet, so the full personal report is not offered for it; 402 of 923 occupations are reviewed so far, largest first.