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

San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,852 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 Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the small 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.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - East Bay is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. 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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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the 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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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Fullerton is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. 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.

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California State University - Long Beach 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 #6 on the list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year.

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California State University - San Marcos 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 #8 on the list. CSUSM is a 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.

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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 large city of Northridge.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $7,043 per year.

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California State University - Dominguez Hills 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 #10 on the list. Located in the small 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.

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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 Schools 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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