2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 72,122 people earned their degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the 15th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,823 and had an average of $24,576 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 11,357 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,588 and $23,018 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 3,542 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,451 and $19,634 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california associate degree parks & rec students.

Top 5 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in California

#1

Cabrillo College

Aptos, California

#1 in overall quality

$8,487 Average Net Price

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Cabrillo College landed the #1 spot on the list. Cabrillo College is a medium-sized school located in Aptos, California that handed out 120 associates’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Cabrillo College also took the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,487 for California Associate Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend Cabrillo College.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Cabrillo College

#2

Riverside City College

Riverside, California

#2 in overall quality

$4,620 Average Net Price

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Riverside City College landed the #2 spot on the list. Riverside City College is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 178 associates’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Riverside City College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Riverside City College is $4,620 for California Associate Degree Parks & Rec students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Riverside City College

#3

Mt. San Antonio College

Walnut, California

#3 in overall quality

$1,729 Average Net Price

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Mt. San Antonio College landed the #3 spot on the list. Mt. SAC is a large school located in Walnut, California that handed out 474 associates’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mt. SAC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $1,729 for california associate degree parks & rec students per year to attend Mt. SAC.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Mt. SAC

#4

International Sports Sciences Association

Carpinteria, California

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend International Sports Sciences Association. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California list. Located in Carpinteria, California, this small private for-profit school awarded 121 diplomas to qualified associates’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

ISSA also took the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

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

#5

Norco College

Norco, California

#5 in overall quality

$5,099 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Norco College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California. Norco College is a public institution located in Norco, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 39 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Norco College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $5,099 for California Associate Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend Norco College.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Norco College

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

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.

Credits

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

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