Parks, Recreation, & Leisure Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Parks, Recreation, & Leisure maps to BLS occupations averaging about $42,397, with roughly 102,450 workers nationwide in those roles. About 8,955 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median in-state published tuition is about $9,728.
Key Statistics
Parks, Recreation, & Leisure: what the data shows
Common questions about parks, recreation, & leisure degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a parks, recreation, & leisure degree?
A Parks, Recreation, & Leisure program is classified under NCES CIP 31.0501 in the Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness field family (31.05).
A general program that focuses on activities and principles that promote physical fitness, achieve and maintain athletic prowess, and accomplish related research and service goals. Includes instruction in human movement studies, motivation studies, rules and practice of specific sports, exercise and fitness principles and techniques, basic athletic injury prevention and treatment, and organizing and leading fitness and sports programs.
IPEDS counted 8,955 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of parks, recreation, & leisure degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 31.05 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Exercise Science and Kinesiology (CIP 31.0505)
- Physical Fitness Technician (CIP 31.0507)
- Sport and Fitness Administration/Management (CIP 31.0504)
- Sports Studies (CIP 31.0508)
How long does it take to get a parks, recreation, & leisure degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 31.0501 in our file:
- 2,243 Associate (18.5% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 8,955 Bachelor's (73.8% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 936 Master's (7.7% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 4 Doctorate (0.0% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in parks, recreation, & leisure?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Speaking, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Monitoring, Coordination, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Amusement and Recreation Attendants (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 31.0501, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a parks, recreation, & leisure degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Parks, Recreation, & Leisure to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | 371,590 | $30,490 |
| Recreation Workers | 309,640 | $35,380 |
| Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 12,680 | $75,890 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a parks, recreation, & leisure degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness bachelor's program family: median debt $28,390, median earnings $54,562 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.93.
About 4.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $9,728 and median net price is $20,110.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,728 Median In-State Public
$51,404 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors are, on average, $9,728 for in-state public colleges, and $51,404 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure programs.
Institutions awarding the most Parks, Recreation, & Leisure degrees
| # | Institution | State | Completions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University-Fullerton | CA | 633 |
| 2 | San Diego State University | CA | 406 |
| 3 | Mt San Antonio College | CA | 389 |
| 4 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | 382 |
| 5 | California State University-Northridge | CA | 351 |
| 6 | College of the Canyons | CA | 323 |
| 7 | California State University-Fresno | CA | 317 |
| 8 | California State University-Sacramento | CA | 300 |
| 9 | San Jose State University | CA | 281 |
| 10 | California State University-Long Beach | CA | 278 |
IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), all award levels for this CIP in our extract.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
8,955 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
| 2 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 3 | University of Central Florida | FL | 59,095 |
| 4 | University of Maryland Global Campus | MD | 48,238 |
| 5 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | 44,617 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Parks, Recreation, & Leisure programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laney College | CA | $1,148 |
| 2 | Berkeley City College | CA | $1,148 |
| 3 | Chabot College | CA | $1,150 |
| 4 | Fullerton College | CA | $1,150 |
| 5 | Irvine Valley College | CA | $1,156 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $10 |
| 2 | West Valley College | CA | $1,842 |
| 3 | Irvine Valley College | CA | $1,886 |
| 4 | Moreno Valley College | CA | $1,996 |
| 5 | College of the Canyons | CA | $2,114 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure programs.
Graduation Rates
53.47% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
53.15% Average Graduation Rate
1,134 Institutions Reporting
41.64% - 64.91% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure is in CA (4,311 completions). That state represents about 48.1% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is GU (4.75% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 4,311 | 48.1% | 0.96% |
| NC | 623 | 7.0% | 0.50% |
| TN | 518 | 5.8% | 0.70% |
| VA | 356 | 4.0% | 0.29% |
| PA | 305 | 3.4% | 0.18% |
| TX | 259 | 2.9% | 0.09% |
| KY | 235 | 2.6% | 0.46% |
| UT | 221 | 2.5% | 0.20% |
| WV | 202 | 2.3% | 0.56% |
| OH | 150 | 1.7% | 0.11% |
| MA | 134 | 1.5% | 0.10% |
| OK | 125 | 1.4% | 0.30% |
| OR | 118 | 1.3% | 0.27% |
| GA | 113 | 1.3% | 0.10% |
| FL | 109 | 1.2% | 0.05% |
| IL | 92 | 1.0% | 0.07% |
| MI | 80 | 0.9% | 0.07% |
| LA | 74 | 0.8% | 0.16% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 31.05 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Exercise Science and Kinesiology CIP 31.0505
- Physical Fitness Technician CIP 31.0507
- Sport and Fitness Administration/Management CIP 31.0504
- Sports Studies CIP 31.0508
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 31.0501 in the survey year used in our extract (12,138 total across levels below).
- 2,243 Associate (18.5% of IPEDS total)
- 8,955 Bachelor's (73.8% of IPEDS total)
- 936 Master's (7.7% of IPEDS total)
- 4 Doctorate (0.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $42,397. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $38,504 | 371,590 |
| Recreation Workers | $43,019 | 309,640 |
| Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $141,278 | 12,680 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness CIP family (268 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Parks, Recreation, & Leisure graduate.
- $28,390 median federal loan debt among completers
- $54,562 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.93 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 4.0% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$42,551 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors is $42,551.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors.
Occupations by Share
102,450 2023 Workforce
The number of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.
Age distribution for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
8,955 Total Degrees Awarded
4,454 Male (49.74%)
4,501 Female (50.26%)
Gender distribution of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
3,653 White (40.79%)
2,532 Hispanic or Latino (28.27%)
1,021 Asian (11.40%)
874 Black or African American (9.76%)
420 Two or More Races (4.69%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Parks, Recreation, & Leisure field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors.
About
A general program that focuses on activities and principles that promote physical fitness, achieve and maintain athletic prowess, and accomplish related research and service goals. Includes instruction in human movement studies, motivation studies, rules and practice of specific sports, exercise and fitness principles and techniques, basic athletic injury prevention and treatment, and organizing and leading fitness and sports programs.
In 2023, 8,955 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.
CIP Code
31.0501 - Parks, Recreation, & Leisure
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $28,390 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $54,562, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.93. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Parks, Recreation, & Leisure graduate.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $42,397. The largest mapped role by headcount is Amusement and Recreation Attendants (371,590 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,728 in-state at public colleges and $51,404 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.