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2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k

9 Ranked Colleges
1,015 Degrees Awarded
$29,675 Avg Salary
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 72,122 people earned their degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the 15th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,823 and had an average of $24,576 in loans still to pay off.

Across Colorado, there were 1,205 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,553 and $20,903 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,015 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,261 and $25,672 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs that also have a lower cost than 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, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

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 for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $48-$75k) in Colorado

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado State University - Fort Collins landed the #1 spot on the list. Colorado State University - Fort Collins is located in Fort Collins, Colorado and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 335 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Colorado State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list. It costs about $15,927 for Colorado Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Colorado State.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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 more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado State University - Fort Collins

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Colorado. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Northern Colorado is a public institution located in Greeley, Colorado. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 162 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Northern Colorado also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for University of Northern Colorado is $14,403 for Colorado Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full University of Northern Colorado Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado State University - Pueblo landed the #3 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Pueblo, Colorado, and it awarded 40 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Colorado State University - Pueblo also took the #6 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” ranking. It costs about $15,799 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Colorado State University - Pueblo.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado State University - Pueblo

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Metropolitan State University of Denver. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k. Located in Denver, Colorado, this fairly large public school awarded 122 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

MSU Denver also took the #5 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Metropolitan State University of Denver is $13,849 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Metropolitan State University of Denver Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#5

Western Colorado University

Gunnison, Colorado
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Colorado University landed the #5 spot on the list. Western is a small public school situated in Gunnison, Colorado. It awarded 54 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Western also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $15,866 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Western Colorado University.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Western

#6

Adams State University

Alamosa, Colorado
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Adams State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k list. Adams State is a small school located in Alamosa, Colorado that handed out 50 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Adams State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list. The yearly cost to attend Adams State University is $14,424 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Adams State Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#7

Colorado Mesa University

Grand Junction, Colorado
#7 in overall quality

Colorado Mesa University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Colorado Mesa University is a public institution located in Grand Junction, Colorado. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 131 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Colorado Mesa also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for Colorado Mesa is $15,136 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Colorado Mesa Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#8

Fort Lewis College

Durango, Colorado
#9 in overall quality

Fort Lewis College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k list. FLC is located in Durango, Colorado and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 72 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

FLC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list. It costs about $15,040 for Colorado Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend FLC.

Full Fort Lewis College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#2 in overall quality

Johnson & Wales University - Denver did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Denver, Colorado, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 16 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

JWU Denver did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list. The estimated yearly cost for Johnson & Wales University - Denver is $25,331 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at JWU Denver

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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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