Best Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies Degrees in the US by ROI

Top colleges ranked by estimated 20-year net return on investment across all active states. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Programs Analyzed

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

-$177,842

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$24,669

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	San Jose State University Grad rate: 66.2%	CA	+$125,380	$53,408	$25,695	N/A	Full ROI →
2	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Grad rate: 27.4%	AZ	+$15,365	$44,280	N/A	$22,396	Full ROI →
3	University of Arkansas Grad rate: 69.6%	AR	-$1,432	$48,734	$26,161	$23,310	Full ROI →
4	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Grad rate: 18.0%	OH	-$4,652	$43,820	$10,263	N/A	Full ROI →
5	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Grad rate: 13.1%	OH	-$4,668	$43,820	$10,267	N/A	Full ROI →
6	Ohio University-Southern Campus Grad rate: 20.4%	OH	-$5,188	$43,820	$10,397	N/A	Full ROI →
7	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Grad rate: 15.4%	OH	-$7,104	$43,820	$10,876	N/A	Full ROI →
8	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Grad rate: 18.2%	OH	-$7,440	$43,820	$10,960	N/A	Full ROI →
9	Metropolitan State University of Denver Grad rate: 29.5%	CO	-$21,700	$45,480	$22,825	N/A	Full ROI →
10	California State University-Sacramento Grad rate: 55.1%	CA	-$39,648	$45,912	$22,714	$20,024	Full ROI →
11	San Francisco State University Grad rate: 52.2%	CA	-$46,027	$45,884	$25,258	$16,797	Full ROI →
12	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grad rate: 84.8%	IL	-$68,149	$46,602	$32,134	$23,447	Full ROI →
13	Ohio University-Main Campus Grad rate: 65.7%	OH	-$77,716	$43,820	$28,529	N/A	Full ROI →
14	California State University-Chico Grad rate: 63.9%	CA	-$80,961	$44,297	$25,590	$18,179	Full ROI →
15	Southern Oregon University Grad rate: 45.2%	OR	-$85,940	$42,893	$25,950	N/A	Full ROI →
16	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Grad rate: 67.4%	AZ	-$96,822	$44,280	$28,047	$22,396	Full ROI →
17	Brigham Young University Grad rate: 80.4%	UT	-$113,736	$41,299	$20,879	$12,000	Full ROI →
18	Texas A&M University-College Station Grad rate: 83.7%	TX	-$115,800	$42,627	$32,085	N/A	Full ROI →
19	Southern Utah University Grad rate: 58.5%	UT	-$128,788	$39,463	$19,512	N/A	Full ROI →
20	University of Missouri-Columbia Grad rate: 75.7%	MO	-$131,957	$42,643	$28,948	$21,500	Full ROI →
21	San Diego State University Grad rate: 78.1%	CA	-$132,236	$41,872	$27,357	$14,999	Full ROI →
22	University of Nebraska at Kearney Grad rate: 56.8%	NE	-$133,993	$41,777	$24,452	$23,500	Full ROI →
23	University of Northern Iowa Grad rate: 66.3%	IA	-$134,802	$41,199	$21,627	$23,907	Full ROI →
24	California State University-Long Beach Grad rate: 71.3%	CA	-$140,175	$40,032	$20,310	$14,500	Full ROI →
25	Indiana University-Bloomington Grad rate: 81.2%	IN	-$153,326	$41,139	$27,361	$19,750	Full ROI →
26	University of Iowa Grad rate: 73.4%	IA	-$153,954	$41,413	$26,883	$25,691	Full ROI →
27	Winona State University Grad rate: 60.7%	MN	-$156,941	$40,255	$23,373	$21,148	Full ROI →
28	Shepherd University Grad rate: 48.7%	WV	-$167,854	$39,264	$19,863	$24,950	Full ROI →
29	University of South Dakota Grad rate: 59.4%	SD	-$182,976	$37,560	$23,544	N/A	Full ROI →
30	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Grad rate: 55.3%	PA	-$215,674	$38,814	$28,876	$27,000	Full ROI →
31	Utah State University Grad rate: 55.8%	UT	-$216,420	$35,389	$21,050	N/A	Full ROI →
32	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Grad rate: 84.6%	MN	-$226,280	$38,201	$29,013	$25,369	Full ROI →
33	California State University-Fresno Grad rate: 55.5%	CA	-$227,282	$35,315	$18,650	$14,061	Full ROI →
34	Midwestern State University Grad rate: 41.1%	TX	-$240,144	$34,475	$22,411	N/A	Full ROI →
35	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Grad rate: 53.7%	OR	-$255,639	$36,229	$27,461	$22,500	Full ROI →
36	Western Michigan University Grad rate: 56.5%	MI	-$257,620	$34,850	$28,655	N/A	Full ROI →
37	Radford University Grad rate: 51.7%	VA	-$258,864	$36,148	$26,681	$26,000	Full ROI →
38	Georgia Southern University Grad rate: 52.4%	GA	-$260,555	$35,568	$24,563	$24,936	Full ROI →
39	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Grad rate: 62.1%	OH	-$263,712	$36,417	$29,238	$26,000	Full ROI →
40	Missouri State University-Springfield Grad rate: 57.8%	MO	-$263,894	$35,463	$24,022	$27,457	Full ROI →
41	Oregon State University Grad rate: 70.3%	OR	-$265,499	$36,229	$29,926	$22,500	Full ROI →
42	California State University-East Bay Grad rate: 45.5%	CA	-$271,325	$34,365	$22,803	$20,306	Full ROI →
43	Northern Arizona University Grad rate: 58.0%	AZ	-$274,685	$35,616	$29,495	$21,500	Full ROI →
44	University of Utah Grad rate: 64.2%	UT	-$279,441	$33,939	$21,799	$22,982	Full ROI →
45	East Carolina University Grad rate: 63.6%	NC	-$290,018	$33,559	$23,689	$19,587	Full ROI →
46	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Grad rate: 52.5%	IL	-$292,560	$34,611	$29,268	$20,525	Full ROI →
47	Western Washington University Grad rate: 65.5%	WA	-$308,100	$33,464	$28,305	$17,897	Full ROI →
48	Western Colorado University Grad rate: 48.8%	CO	-$323,418	$32,231	$25,426	$19,507	Full ROI →
49	Central Michigan University Grad rate: 61.8%	MI	-$365,860	$29,001	$26,470	N/A	Full ROI →
50	Virginia Wesleyan University Grad rate: 46.7%	VA	-$383,348	$33,071	$51,192	N/A	Full ROI →

How ROI is calculated

20-Year Net ROI = Gross Earnings (salary × 20) − Total Degree Cost − Debt Payoff (×1.35) − Baseline Opportunity Cost ($42,000 × 20). Data from the U.S. College Scorecard.

Find Best Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies Degrees by State

Browse Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.