Most planners work for local governments with limited resources and many demands for services. When communities need to cut expenditures, planning services may be cut before basic services, such as police, firefighting, and education. Budget constraints could limit job growth in government; as a result, the number of openings for consulting positions in private industry is expected to grow more rapidly than the number of openings in government.

Most new jobs for urban and regional planners will arise in affluent, rapidly expanding communities. Local governments need planners to address an array of problems associated with population growth. For example, new housing developments require roads, sewer systems, fire stations, schools, libraries, and recreation facilities that must be planned for in the midst of a consideration of budgetary constraints. Smalltown chambers of commerce, economic development authorities, and tourism bureaus may hire planners, preferably with some background in marketing and public relations.