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2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k

67 Ranked Colleges
7,822 Degrees Awarded
$17,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k” ranking.

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 the Southwest region, there were 9,967 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,090 and $22,308 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 7,822 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,896 and $23,899 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k” ranking, we looked at 67 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness 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, & Fitness Studies Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

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Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income Over $110k) in the Southwest Region

#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern Oklahoma State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k list. NWOSU is a public institution located in Alva, Oklahoma. The school has a small population, and it awarded 33 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

NWOSU also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #7. The yearly cost to attend NWOSU is $9,791 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k.

Full NWOSU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#21 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k list. Edinburg, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 305 students in 2019-2020.

UT Rio Grande Valley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #21 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $4,514 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at UT Rio Grande Valley

#17 in overall quality

Out of the 67 schools in the Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas of the Permian Basin landed the #3 spot on the list. The University of Texas of the Permian Basin is a medium-sized school located in Odessa, Texas that handed out 46 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Permian Basin also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #17. It costs about $10,092 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend UT Permian Basin.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin

Out of the 67 schools in the Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas A&M International University landed the #4 spot on the list. Texas A&M International University is a medium-sized school located in Laredo, Texas that handed out 62 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $3,074 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend Texas A&M International University.

Full Texas A&M International University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

Out of the 67 schools in the Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southeastern Oklahoma State University landed the #5 spot on the list. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Durant, Oklahoma. It awarded 26 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Southeastern Oklahoma State University is $8,237 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Southeastern Oklahoma State University

#1 in overall quality

The University of Texas at Austin came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. The University of Texas at Austin is a public institution located in Austin, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 247 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k list, UT Austin has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UT Austin is $18,023 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UT Austin Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#7

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, Texas
#5 in overall quality

Texas Tech University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. Located in Lubbock, Texas, this large public school awarded 349 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

Texas Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $17,571 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend Texas Tech University.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

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

#15 in overall quality

The University of Texas at San Antonio ranked #8 on this year’s Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k list. The University of Texas at San Antonio is a public institution located in San Antonio, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 355 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UTSA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UTSA is $13,853 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k.

Full The University of Texas at San Antonio Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#20 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, Texas Woman’s University did quite well on the 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k list. Located in Denton, Texas, this fairly large public school handed out 126 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

TWU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #20 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Texas Woman’s University is $9,617 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at TWU

#10

Northeastern State University

Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Northeastern State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. NSU is a medium-sized public school situated in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. It awarded 69 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Northeastern State University is $9,994 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k.

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

#11

East Central University

Ada, Oklahoma

East Central University landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. East Central University is a small school located in Ada, Oklahoma that handed out 48 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend ECU is $10,334 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k.

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

#12

University of Houston

Houston, Texas
#9 in overall quality

University of Houston did quite well in the 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking, coming in at #12. Located in Houston, Texas, this large public school awarded 439 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

UH also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend University of Houston is $12,838 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UH Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#13

Texas State University

San Marcos, Texas
#6 in overall quality

Texas State University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. This large school is located in San Marcos, Texas, and it awarded 551 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Texas State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Texas State University is $15,230 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k.

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

#14

University of North Texas

Denton, Texas
#10 in overall quality

University of North Texas landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. UNT is a large school located in Denton, Texas that handed out 308 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k list, UNT has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of North Texas is $15,086 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Texas

Southwestern Oklahoma State University landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. Weatherford, Oklahoma is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 67 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $12,891 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend SWOSU.

Full SWOSU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#16

Cameron University

Lawton, Oklahoma

Cameron University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. Cameron University is a small public school situated in Lawton, Oklahoma. It awarded 45 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Cameron University is $7,952 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k.

Full Cameron University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#12 in overall quality

The University of Texas at Arlington ranked #17 on this year’s Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k list. This large school is located in Arlington, Texas, and it awarded 235 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Arlington not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at Arlington is $14,246 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k.

Full UT Arlington Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

The University of Texas at El Paso ranked #18 on this year’s Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k list. El Paso, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 169 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $8,920 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend UTEP.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at The University of Texas at El Paso

#23 in overall quality

With a ranking of #19, The University of Texas at Tyler did quite well on the 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k list. The University of Texas at Tyler is a medium-sized public school situated in Tyler, Texas. It awarded 91 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Tyler not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #23 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $10,974 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend UT Tyler.

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

#20

Texas A&M University - College Station

College Station, Texas
#4 in overall quality

Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. College Station, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 453 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k list, Texas A&M College Station has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $19,057 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend Texas A&M University - College Station.

The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas A&M University - College Station

#18 in overall quality

Stephen F Austin State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking, coming in at #21. SFASU is located in Nacogdoches, Texas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 146 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

SFASU also took the #18 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Stephen F Austin State University is $13,723 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k.

Full SFASU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

Oklahoma Panhandle State University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k list. Oklahoma Panhandle State University is located in Goodwell, Oklahoma and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

The estimated yearly cost for OPSU is $10,537 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make more than $110k.

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

#23

Sam Houston State University

Huntsville, Texas
#16 in overall quality

Sam Houston State University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. Sam Houston State University is a public institution located in Huntsville, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 141 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SHSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #16 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Sam Houston State University is $14,617 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k.

Full SHSU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

New Mexico State University - Main Campus landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. Located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, this fairly large public school awarded 57 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend NMSU Main Campus is $8,659 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k.

Full New Mexico State University - Main Campus Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#25

Tarleton State University

Stephenville, Texas
#11 in overall quality

Tarleton State University landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Vallue Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making Over $110k ranking. Tarleton is a fairly large school located in Stephenville, Texas that handed out 222 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Tarleton also took the #11 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Tarleton is $18,979 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make more than $110k.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Tarleton 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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