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

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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.

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

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

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 city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 a 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.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - East Bay. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.

Cal State East Bay undergraduate students pay an average of $6,995 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California State University - Fullerton helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in California. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 per year.

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

California State University - Long Beach ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year.

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

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 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.

CSUSM undergraduate students pay an average of $7,727 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California State University - San Marcos Report

California State University - Northridge came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. CSUN is a very large public school located in the city of Northridge.

CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

With a ranking of #10, California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUDH are $7,060 a year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

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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