Urban planning
5 years- You study
- City planning, Land use
- Jobs
- Urban planner, Spatial analyst
- Average for the engineering field · Age 25–29
- 11,200SAR
Average monthly pay in the engineering field for Saudi bachelor’s holders, GASTAT Labour Force Survey 2024 (1445–1446 AH)3; many earn less. Pay in a first job is usually lower.
Forecasts published in other countries for the occupation Urban and land use planners: leaning to growth (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH); Employment and Social Development Canada, June 2025 · Dhu al-Hijjah 1446 – Muharram 1447 AH)1,2. They are not a forecast for the Saudi market, nor by DataPulse.
Where is Urban planning taught?
Taught at 4 universities: 4 government and 0 private.
Riyadh
- King Saud UniversityGovernment · men and women
Makkah
- King Abdulaziz UniversityGovernment
Eastern Province
From university pages, admission guides and the Ministry’s Study in Saudi platform4. Gender is tagged where the university publishes it per programme.
Compare with…
A side-by-side view, not a judgement that one major is better. Figures are for the broad field, so two majors in one field share the same figures. Figures: bachelor’s, both sexes, 2024 (1445–1446 AH)35
| Urban planning | Construction management | Civil engineering |
|---|---|---|
| Field in the survey | ||
| Engineering, manufacturing and construction | Engineering, manufacturing and construction | Engineering, manufacturing and construction |
| Length of study | ||
| 5 years | 5 years | 5 years |
| Taught at | ||
| 4 universities | List not checked | 35 universities |
| Men | ||
| Offered | Offered | Offered |
| Women | ||
| Offered | Not confirmed | Offered |
| Holders of the field working | ||
| 95.4% | 95.4% | 95.4% |
| Unemployment in the field | ||
| 4.6% | 4.6% | 4.6% |
| Average wage in the field (SAR) | ||
| 16,042 | 16,042 | 16,042 |
| An occupation of its graduates and generative AI | ||
| minimal exposure | minimal exposure | not exposed |
Availability for men and women from university pages and the Ministry’s programmes platform; last checked 24 October 2026 (13 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH).
What do Urban planning students learn?
Studies how cities, neighbourhoods, services and roads are organised for residents.
- City planning
- Land use
- Urban transport
- Geographic information systems
In Arabic: التخطيط العمراني
How many years is Urban planning?
5 years. The length may differ between universities depending on the foundation year.
What jobs do Urban planning graduates do?
Examples of graduates’ jobs, not a full or ranked list. A job is an occupation; the major is one route to it:
- Urban planner
- Spatial analyst
- Municipal specialist
- Urban designer
Office work in a municipality or firm, with field visits.
- Some travel
What do Urban planning graduates earn?
GASTAT does not publish pay for each major; this is the average for the “Engineering, manufacturing and construction” field among Saudi bachelor’s holders, 2024 (1445–1446 AH)3.
What is unemployment in the engineering field?
Unemployment among Saudi graduates of the field (bachelor’s, all ages)3:
For the whole field, not this major alone. Past measurement, not a forecast.
References
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment projections for “Urban and regional planners” (BLS 19-3051), 2025–2035 (1446–1457 AH).
- Employment and Social Development Canada, Canadian Occupational Projection System, “Urban and land use planners” (COPS 21202), 2024–2033 (1445–1455 AH).
- General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), Labour Force Survey: Saudi bachelor’s holders in “Engineering, manufacturing and construction”, 2024 (1445–1446 AH).
- Programme pages on university websites, last checked 26 October 2026 (15 Jumada al-Ula 1448 AH).
- International Labour Organization, global index of occupational exposure to generative AI, May 2025 (Dhu al-Qa'dah – Dhu al-Hijjah 1446 AH).
- International Labour Organization · occupation code 2164, May 2025 (Dhu al-Qa'dah – Dhu al-Hijjah 1446 AH).
- Saudi Vision 2030, 6 June 2024 (29 Dhu al-Qa'dah 1445 AH).