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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $0-$30k) in California

9 Ranked Colleges
566 Degrees Awarded
$8,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the 191st most popular major in the country with 3,224 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 635 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 566 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality parks, recreation and leisure studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools

The parks & rec school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $0-$30k) in California

#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. California State University - Fresno is a large public school situated in Fresno, California. It awarded 37 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k list, Fresno State has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $3,264 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full California State University - Fresno Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Long Beach, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 87 students in 2019-2020.

CSULB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CSULB is $6,364 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at CSULB

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Sacramento landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Sacramento, California, this large public school handed out 121 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

Sac State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Sac State is $6,819 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at California State University - Sacramento

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SDSU, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,870 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend SDSU.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at San Diego State University

#5

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 31 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k list, San Jose State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State is $10,940 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full San Jose State University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#4 in overall quality

California State University - Chico did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. This fairly large school is located in Chico, California, and it awarded 87 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Chico State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Chico State is $10,260 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at California State University - Chico

#7 in overall quality

California State University - East Bay did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. California State University - East Bay is a public institution located in Hayward, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal State East Bay also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $8,036 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - East Bay.

Full California State University - East Bay Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#8

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#8 in overall quality

San Francisco State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in San Francisco, California, this large public school handed out 35 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k list, SFSU has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SFSU is $11,123 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full San Francisco State University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#9

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California
#9 in overall quality

Humboldt State University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Arcata, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

Humboldt State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $11,263 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Humboldt State University.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Humboldt State University

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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