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Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California

112 Colleges
$26,246 Avg Salary
$15,794 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 112 schools in California to see which associate degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Mt. San Antonio College the most popular school in California for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. Located in the large suburb of Walnut, Mt. SAC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 500 students majoring in parks and rec at Mt. SAC, 34% are male and 66% are female.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Mt. San Antonio College Report

#2

College of the Canyons

Santa Clarita, CA

The in-demand associate degree programs at College of the Canyons helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in California. Located in the large suburb of Santa Clarita, College of the Canyons is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 77% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 23% are male.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at College of the Canyons

#3

Riverside City College

Riverside, CA

The in-demand associate degree programs at Riverside City College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in California. Located in the city of Riverside, Riverside City College is a public school with a large student population.

Of the 170 students majoring in parks and rec at Riverside City College, 54% are male and 46% are female.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Riverside City College Report

#4

Cabrillo College

Aptos, CA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Cabrillo College is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Aptos, Cabrillo College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 78% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Cabrillo College

Out of the 112 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, International Sports Sciences Association landed the # 5 spot on the list. ISSA is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the midsize suburb of Carpinteria.

About 22% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 78% are male.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at International Sports Sciences Association

#6

Pasadena City College

Pasadena, CA

Pasadena City College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Pasadena City College is a very large public school located in the city of Pasadena.

Of the 103 students majoring in parks and rec at Pasadena City College, 65% are male and 35% are female.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Pasadena City College

#7

Fresno City College

Fresno, CA

Fresno City College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Fresno City College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.

About 34% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 66% are male.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Fresno City College

#8

Diablo Valley College

Pleasant Hill, CA

Diablo Valley College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Pleasant Hill, Diablo Valley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 87 students majoring in parks and rec at Diablo Valley, 25% are male and 75% are female.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Diablo Valley College

#9

Citrus College

Glendora, CA

Citrus College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a associate degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Citrus College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Glendora.

Women make up 41% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

Read More…

#10

Long Beach City College

Long Beach, CA

Long Beach City College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Long Beach City College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

Of the 74 students majoring in parks and rec at Long Beach City College, 54% are male and 46% are female.

Read More…

#11

Moorpark College

Moorpark, CA

Moorpark College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a associate degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Moorpark College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Moorpark.

About 50% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 50% are male.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Moorpark College Report

Clovis Community College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Fresno, Clovis Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 55% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Clovis Community College

#13

East Los Angeles College

Monterey Park, CA

East Los Angeles College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. East Los Angeles College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Monterey Park.

Women make up 51% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at East Los Angeles College Report

#14

De Anza College

Cupertino, CA

De Anza College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the small city of Cupertino, De Anza College is a public school with a large student population.

Of the 46 students majoring in parks and rec at De Anza College, 54% are male and 46% are female.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at De Anza College

#14

Norco College

Norco, CA

With a ranking of #14, Norco College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. Norco College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Norco.

Women make up 59% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Norco College

#16

Shasta College

Redding, CA

Shasta College ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Redding, Shasta College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 44 students majoring in parks and rec at Shasta College, 32% are male and 68% are female.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Shasta College

#16

College of the Desert

Palm Desert, CA

College of the Desert ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California list. Located in the small city of Palm Desert, College of the Desert is a public school with a large student population.

Of the 44 students majoring in parks and rec at College of the Desert, 59% are male and 41% are female.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at College of the Desert Report

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness students in the state of California that almost earned our Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
18 Santiago Canyon College Orange, CA
19 El Camino College Torrance, CA
20 Professional Golfers Career College Temecula, CA
20 Hartnell College Salinas, CA
20 Allan Hancock College Santa Maria, CA

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

Explore all the Most Popular 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 26 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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