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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

33 Colleges
$12,069 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$28,979 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree School for You

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #14 most popular major in California with 11,237 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 33 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for parks and rec students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named San Jose State University the best value school in California for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose State are $7,852 per year.

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in California. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also did well on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

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Out of the 33 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - East Bay landed the # 3 spot on the list. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 per year.

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Out of the 33 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the # 4 spot on the list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year.

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Out of the 33 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.

Cal State Fullerton undergraduate students pay an average of $6,976 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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California State University - Long Beach landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California State University - Long Beach Report

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California State University - Sacramento ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year.

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California State University - San Marcos came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. CSUSM is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of San Marcos.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUSM are $7,727 a year.

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California State University - Northridge did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the city of Northridge.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUN are $7,043 a year.

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California State University - Dominguez Hills ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public college with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUDH are $7,060 per year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California State University - Dominguez Hills

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

Explore all the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 673
Oregon 629
Hawaii 171
Nevada 273
Alaska 35

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 67,146
Recreation Administration 3,122
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 3,106
Outdoor Education 265
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 174

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 142,610
Public Administration & Social Service 98,583
Legal Professions 61,055
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 4,477

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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