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2023 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $30-$48k) in California

10 Ranked Colleges
678 Degrees Awarded
$10,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the 166th most popular major in the country with 3,106 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,801 and had an average of $23,333 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 678 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,222 and $17,096 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent parks, recreation and leisure studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

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 in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california parks & rec students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $30-$48k) in California

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. CSULB is located in Long Beach, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 91 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

CSULB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in California” list. It costs about $7,573 for California Parks & Rec students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California State University - Long Beach.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, 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 undergraduate students.

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

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Fresno, California, this large public school awarded 37 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

Fresno State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $4,655 for california parks & rec students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, 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 - Fresno

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Sacramento. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Sacramento, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 100 students in 2020-2021.

Sac State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Sac State is $9,055 for California Parks & Rec students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, 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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Chico. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Chico, California, this fairly large public school handed out 99 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Chico State, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Chico State is $13,040 for California Parks & Rec students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Chico State Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

5
San Jose State crest
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 40 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

San Jose State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in California” list. It costs about $13,378 for california parks & rec students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend San Jose State University.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

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

6

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #6. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 119 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california parks & rec students whose families make $30-$48k list, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $13,194 for California Parks & Rec students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

7
SDSU crest
San Diego State University
San Diego, California

San Diego State University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. SDSU is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 32 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for San Diego State University is $9,274 for california parks & rec students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full SDSU Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

8

California State University - East Bay came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Hayward, California, and it awarded 31 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Cal State East Bay did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in California” list. It costs about $11,025 for california parks & rec students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California State University - East Bay.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%.

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

9
SFSU crest
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California

With a ranking of #9, San Francisco State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in San Francisco, California, this large public school handed out 46 degrees to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california parks & rec students whose families make $30-$48k list, SFSU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Francisco State University is $11,862 for California Parks & Rec students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at SFSU

10
Humboldt State University crest
Humboldt State University
Arcata, California

Humboldt State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #10. Humboldt State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Arcata, California. It awarded 31 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Humboldt State University, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Humboldt State University is $12,298 for california parks & rec students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Humboldt State University

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