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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in California (With Aid)

9 Ranked Colleges
566 Degrees Awarded
$12,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 3,224 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 191st most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 635 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 566 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality parks, recreation and leisure studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in California (With Aid)

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Fresno, California, this large public school handed out 37 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, Fresno State has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $5,464 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Fresno State

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the #2 spot on the list. CSULB is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 87 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSULB, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSULB is $9,622 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full CSULB Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Sacramento. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California State University - Sacramento is a public institution located in Sacramento, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 121 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, Sac State has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $9,979 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid per year to attend California State University - Sacramento.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Sac State

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. SDSU is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 41 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, SDSU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid per year to attend SDSU.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at SDSU

#5

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 31 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, San Jose State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State is $14,928 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The low student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full San Jose State Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, California State University - East Bay did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Cal State East Bay is a public institution located in Hayward, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal State East Bay not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $11,116 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid per year to attend Cal State East Bay.

Full Cal State East Bay Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#4 in overall quality

California State University - Chico came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Chico State is located in Chico, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 87 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Chico State, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,017 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend California State University - Chico.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at California State University - Chico

#8

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#8 in overall quality

San Francisco State University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 35 students in 2019-2020.

SFSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $15,113 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid per year to attend SFSU.

Full San Francisco State University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#9

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California
#9 in overall quality

Humboldt State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Humboldt State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Arcata, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Humboldt State University also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend Humboldt State University is $14,692 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

Full Humboldt State University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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