Majors

Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies, by Earnings

80 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies, about 1,853 degrees a year. Across the 50 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $50,667 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$75,181	102	31.3%
2	California State University-East Bay	CA	$68,227	33	97.4%
3	Brigham Young University	UT	$63,080	123	67.8%
4	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$61,313	81	42.4%
5	University of Utah	UT	$59,855	39	86%
6	California State University-Chico	CA	$59,765	49	92.7%
7	California State University-Sacramento	CA	$59,041	56	94%
8	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	$57,810	4	98.8%
9	Indiana University	IN	$57,334	87	78.2%
10	University of Iowa	IA	$57,098	43	83.6%
11	San Diego State University	CA	$57,093	18	36.2%
12	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania	PA	$56,525	70	90.8%
13	California State University-Fresno	CA	$56,336	26	95.3%
14	University of Missouri	MO	$55,280	89	78.5%
15	San Francisco State University	CA	$55,212	18	96.4%
16	University of Nebraska at Kearney	NE	$54,563	45	89.5%
17	Winona State University	MN	$54,381	29	75.5%
18	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$53,933	46	46.3%
19	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	$53,809	37	81%
20	University of Arkansas	AR	$52,701	58	74.3%
21	Arizona State University	AZ	$52,355	12	89.9%
22	Midwestern State University	TX	$51,917	5	93.5%
23	Shepherd University	WV	$51,789	25	96.8%
24	Gordon College	MA	$51,479	2	69.2%
25	Western Washington University	WA	$50,832	43	93.3%
26	Northern Arizona University	AZ	$50,501	56	89.6%
27	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	$49,468	20	75%
28	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	$49,369	17	85%
29	Radford University	VA	$48,743	29	89.5%
30	University of Northern Iowa	IA	$48,506	26	92.7%
31	Western Colorado University	CO	$48,109	17	99.7%
32	East Carolina University	NC	$47,336	15	89.2%
33	CUNY Lehman College	NY	$47,163	11	56.6%
34	University of South Alabama	AL	$46,912	24	71%
35	Emporia State University	KS	$46,887	7	97.7%
36	Oregon State University	OR	$46,044	29	77.3%
37	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	IL	$45,623	9	86.9%
38	Grambling State University	LA	$45,159	23	44.9%
39	University of Southern Mississippi	MS	$45,056	18	99.1%
40	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	NC	$42,838	46	88.5%
41	Georgia Southern University	GA	$42,573	23	87.9%
42	Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science	NY	$41,797	11	76.5%
43	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	$41,550	16	90.5%
44	Northern Michigan University	MI	$40,825	18	84%
45	York College of Pennsylvania	PA	$40,692	5	73.7%
46	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt	CA	$40,566	11	98.2%
47	University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	$40,452	11	88.8%
48	Southeast Missouri State University	MO	$40,266	5	73.5%
49	University of Mount Olive	NC	$38,052	13	75.8%
50	Southern Oregon University	OR	$36,135	8	88.6%

30 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies graduates?

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ($75,181), California State University-East Bay ($68,227), Brigham Young University ($63,080), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($61,313), University of Utah ($59,855) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies majors make?

The median across 50 colleges is $50,667 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $36,135 to $75,181.

Which colleges have the biggest Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Brigham Young University (123), California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (102), University of Missouri (89), Indiana University (87), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (81).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.