Is a Urban Studies/Affairs degree worth it?
Across 25 schools, graduates of Urban Studies/Affairs earn a median $60,709 five years out on $20,125 of debt — most often working as Managers, All Other. Every figure is a real, published federal number.
Median 5-yr pay
$60,709
Median debt
$20,125
Years to pay off
3.5
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
49%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
+4.4%
BLS 2024–2034
Gender pay gap
-16.5%
$53,394 vs $62,195
Net price
$18,745/yr
Debt-test failures
0%
of programs
'Real' premium
−$4,991
vs avg, adjusted
See where this degree leads, who's hiring, and whether the pay covers the rent.
Explore Urban Studies/Affairs in full →Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, O*NET, AI-exposure measures (Eloundou/AIOE), Zillow. Earnings reflect federally-aided graduates; see the full story for methodology and limitations.