Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies Degree — Salary, ROI & AI Risk at 59 Schools

Best Schools for Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies

Top 59 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	AI Risk	ROI
1	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	61 55–65	$47,596/yr	Very High	24.3x
2	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA	57 51–59	$43,700/yr	Very High	14.5x
3	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY	55 49–56	$41,484/yr	Very High	13.0x
4	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	55 48–59	$40,338/yr	Very High	18.8x
5	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Saint Clairsville, OH	54 47–58	$36,850/yr	Very High	23.2x
6	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Chillicothe, OH	54 47–58	$36,850/yr	Very High	23.2x
7	Ohio University-Southern Campus Ironton, OH	54 47–58	$36,850/yr	Very High	23.2x
8	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Lancaster, OH	54 47–58	$36,850/yr	Very High	23.2x
9	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Zanesville, OH	54 47–58	$36,850/yr	Very High	23.2x
10	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	50 44–53	$43,149/yr	Very High	10.8x
11	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	50 45–53	$42,886/yr	Very High	11.1x
12	Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO	50 46–52	$42,389/yr	Very High	9.4x
13	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	50 44–53	$35,532/yr	Very High	15.9x
14	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	48 41–51	$37,009/yr	Very High	12.5x
15	East Carolina University Greenville, NC	48 42–52	$34,751/yr	Very High	14.7x
16	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	48 40–53	$33,920/yr	Very High	16.6x
17	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	48 39–54	$33,692/yr	Very High	17.9x
18	Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA	48 41–52	$31,086/yr	Very High	19.0x
19	University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA	47 41–50	$37,233/yr	Very High	11.6x
20	Pittsburg State University Pittsburg, KS	47 42–48	$35,587/yr	Very High	10.1x
21	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA	47 40–51	$32,697/yr	Very High	15.5x
22	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	46 41–47	$39,157/yr	Very High	7.8x
23	Shepherd University Shepherdstown, WV	46 39–51	$34,287/yr	Very High	13.7x
24	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	45 40–47	$37,393/yr	Very High	8.1x
25	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	45 39–49	$37,103/yr	Very High	10.8x
26	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	44 37–48	$38,725/yr	Very High	8.8x
27	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA	44 38–49	$36,363/yr	Very High	10.9x
28	Utah State University Logan, UT	44 39–45	$35,079/yr	Very High	8.5x
29	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	44 34–52	$31,567/yr	Very High	15.9x
30	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ	43 37–47	$43,149/yr	Very High	—
31	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH	43 36–48	$36,850/yr	Very High	9.9x
32	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	43 34–49	$28,427/yr	Very High	15.8x
33	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	42 36–46	$35,429/yr	Very High	9.7x
34	Winona State University Winona, MN	42 37–45	$35,062/yr	Very High	9.3x
35	University of South Alabama Mobile, AL	42 36–44	$33,557/yr	Very High	9.9x
36	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC	42 38–44	$31,561/yr	Very High	9.4x
37	University of Nebraska at Kearney Kearney, NE	42 32–50	$28,241/yr	Very High	16.5x
38	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	40 32–46	$34,742/yr	Very High	9.0x
39	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	40 33–44	$34,451/yr	Very High	8.4x
40	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR	40 34–45	$34,451/yr	Very High	9.1x
41	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	39 33–42	$35,999/yr	Very High	5.8x
42	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO	39 31–45	$28,345/yr	Very High	11.8x
43	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL	38 31–41	$32,357/yr	Very High	7.7x
44	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ	38 31–43	$31,672/yr	Very High	9.3x
45	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH	37 31–41	$32,709/yr	Very High	7.3x
46	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	37 30–42	$27,558/yr	Very High	10.4x
47	Jacksonville State University Jacksonville, AL	36 31–39	$31,303/yr	Very High	5.3x
48	Radford University Radford, VA	36 30–41	$30,145/yr	Very High	8.8x
49	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA	36 31–38	$26,224/yr	Very High	7.3x
50	Shaw University Raleigh, NC	35 29–37	$32,241/yr	Very High	3.6x
51	Grambling State University Grambling, LA	34 26–41	$19,830/yr	Very High	10.9x
52	Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI	33 28–36	$28,890/yr	Very High	4.4x
53	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI	33 26–37	$27,511/yr	Very High	6.7x
54	University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS	33 28–36	$25,354/yr	Very High	5.6x
55	Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO	32 27–36	$25,903/yr	Very High	6.0x
56	Southern Oregon University Ashland, OR	28 22–31	$19,139/yr	Very High	3.0x
57	University of Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC	27 22–30	$27,219/yr	Very High	1.6x
58	Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science Paul Smiths, NY	26 21–29	$27,543/yr	Very High	1.1x
59	Benedict College Columbia, SC	24 19–27	$17,324/yr	Very High	1.4x

Highest Earning Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies Programs

Schools where Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score	AI Risk
Brigham Young University	$47,596/yr	61	Very High
California State University-East Bay	$43,700/yr	57	Very High
Arizona State University Campus Immersion	$43,149/yr	50	Very High
Arizona State University Digital Immersion	$43,149/yr	43	Very High
Metropolitan State University of Denver	$42,886/yr	50	Very High
Northwest Missouri State University	$42,389/yr	50	Very High
CUNY Lehman College	$41,484/yr	55	Very High
California State University-Sacramento	$40,338/yr	55	Very High
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	$39,157/yr	46	Very High
University of Missouri-Columbia	$38,725/yr	44	Very High

Best ROI for Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Brigham Young University	24.3x	$47,596/yr	61
Ohio University-Eastern Campus	23.2x	$36,850/yr	54
Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus	23.2x	$36,850/yr	54
Ohio University-Southern Campus	23.2x	$36,850/yr	54
Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	23.2x	$36,850/yr	54
Ohio University-Zanesville Campus	23.2x	$36,850/yr	54
Georgia Southern University	19.0x	$31,086/yr	48
California State University-Sacramento	18.8x	$40,338/yr	55
San Diego State University	17.9x	$33,692/yr	48
California State University-Chico	16.6x	$33,920/yr	48

Related Majors

Explore similar fields of study.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies graduates earn?

Across 59 schools, Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies graduates earn an average of $33,732 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $17,324 to $47,596 depending on the school.

What is the AI automation risk for Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies?

Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies is rated "Very High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 59% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means most career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies program?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), Brigham Young University ranks #1 for Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies with a score of 61/100 and graduate earnings of $47,596/yr.

Is a Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies degree worth it?

On average, Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies graduates earn 11.4x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a strong return on investment.

About This Data

This page aggregates Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies programs across 59 schools using earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034), and AI automation risk research from OpenAI and academic institutions.

The DegreeWorth Score (0–100) combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and return on investment. Each school's program page includes three AI scenarios (optimistic, base case, pessimistic) showing how automation could affect 10-year earnings.