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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $75-$110k) in California

9 Ranked Colleges
566 Degrees Awarded
$17,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $75-$110k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 3,224 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 152nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,957 and had an average of $22,487 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 635 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,886 and $18,560 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 $75-$110k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation and leisure studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation and leisure studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 $75-$110k”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $75-$110k) in California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. California State University - Fresno is a public institution located in Fresno, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 37 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Fresno State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $11,819 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend California State University - Fresno.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 87 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSULB, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Long Beach is $14,544 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, 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 - Long Beach

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Sacramento landed the #3 spot on the list. California State University - Sacramento is a large public school situated in Sacramento, California. It awarded 121 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Sac State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $15,812 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Sac State.

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 Sac State

#4

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the #4 spot on the list. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 31 students in 2019-2020.

San Jose State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $19,805 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend San Jose State University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full San Jose State Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#5

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $18,766 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend SDSU.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

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

California State University - Chico came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Chico State is a public institution located in Chico, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 87 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Chico State also took the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Chico is $19,444 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

With a ranking of #7, California State University - East Bay did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. California State University - East Bay is located in Hayward, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 32 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Cal State East Bay also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. The yearly cost to attend California State University - East Bay is $17,710 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full Cal State East Bay Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#8

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. SFSU is a public institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 35 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SFSU also took the #8 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $21,027 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend SFSU.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at SFSU

#9

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California
#9 in overall quality

Humboldt State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Humboldt State University is located in Arcata, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

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. The estimated yearly cost for Humboldt State University is $20,170 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full Humboldt State University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

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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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