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2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Far Western US Region

7 Ranked Colleges
3,613 Degrees Awarded
$6,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the 15th most popular major in the country with 72,122 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Far Western US region, there were 13,292 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,601 and $24,679 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 3,613 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,689 and $18,419 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs and 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region.

Top 7 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Far Western US Region

#1

Cabrillo College

Aptos, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cabrillo College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region. Aptos, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s parks and rec degrees to 120 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region associate degree parks & rec students list, Cabrillo College has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Cabrillo College is $8,487 for far western us region associate degree parks & rec students.

Full Cabrillo College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#2

Riverside City College

Riverside, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Riverside City College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region. Riverside City College is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 178 associates’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Riverside City College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Riverside City College is $4,620 for far western us region associate degree parks & rec students.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Riverside City College

#3

Mt. San Antonio College

Walnut, California
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Mt. San Antonio College landed the #3 spot on the list. Mt. SAC is a large school located in Walnut, California that handed out 474 associates’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Mt. SAC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Mt. San Antonio College is $1,729 for far western us region associate degree parks & rec students.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Mt. SAC

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend International Sports Sciences Association. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region. This small school is located in Carpinteria, California, and it awarded 121 associates’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region associate degree parks & rec students list, ISSA has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at International Sports Sciences Association

#5

Portland Community College

Portland, Oregon
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Portland Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region list. Portland Community College is located in Portland, Oregon and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 associates’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our far western us region associate degree parks & rec students list, Portland Community College has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Portland Community College is $8,914 for Far Western US Region Associate Degree Parks & Rec students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Portland Community College

#6

Norco College

Norco, California
#5 in overall quality

Norco College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #6. Norco College is located in Norco, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 39 associates’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Norco College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Norco College is $5,099 for Far Western US Region Associate Degree Parks & Rec students.

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

#7

Lane Community College

Eugene, Oregon
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Lane Community College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Far Western US Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Eugene, Oregon, and it awarded 1 associates’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Lane Community College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $8,553 for far western us region associate degree parks & rec students per year to attend Lane Community College.

Full Lane Community College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness 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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