Parks Degree
Students study the business operations of parks, recreation centers, resorts, and leisure facilities, including budgeting, facility design, staff management, and programming. Graduates typically pursue careers managing recreation centers, municipal parks departments, resort properties, fitness facilities, and sports complexes. This major develops the management skills needed to run the facilities where communities gather and play.
What Parks Graduates Do
Your career in this field often begins with your feet on the ground. Many graduates start as landscaping and groundskeeping workers, physically shaping the public spaces you'll one day manage, or as recreation assistants helping run community programs. From there, you can advance to a first-line supervisor, directing work crews and inspecting job sites, or become an entertainment and recreation manager—a fast-growing path where you’ll plan sports leagues, festivals, and summer camps.
With experience, you’ll be ready for senior positions like facilities or general manager. Your focus will shift from daily tasks to long-term strategy: overseeing large budgets, managing staff across multiple sites, and making capital improvement decisions for an entire park system. AI's impact on this career is limited. While management software will assist with administrative tasks like scheduling and budgeting, the core work of maintaining physical assets, leading people, and creating hands-on community experiences remains fundamentally human. This makes the field a resilient choice in an increasingly automated world.
Common Career Paths
Where Parks graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 508,800 combined openings per year.
| Career Path | Salary Range | Openings/yr | Growth | AI Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facilities managers | 13,200 | +3.8% | 48% | |
| General and operations managers | 308,700 | +4.4% | 48% | |
| Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling | 5,500 | +7.7% | 35% | |
| First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers | 23,200 | +2.3% | 35% | |
| Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 158,200 | +3.6% | 2% |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).
Best Schools for Parks
Top 20 of 45 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.
| # | School | DW Score | Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL |
64 59–65 |
$41,046/yr | 19.7x |
| 2 | Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT |
58 53–58 |
$46,274/yr | 8.9x |
| 3 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC |
58 53–58 |
$38,116/yr | 13.3x |
| 4 | University of West Georgia Carrollton, GA |
58 54–58 |
$31,492/yr | 21.5x |
| 5 | Kean University Union, NJ |
57 53–58 |
$37,884/yr | 10.1x |
| 6 | South Dakota State University Brookings, SD |
56 52–57 |
$38,076/yr | 12.3x |
| 7 | Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN |
56 52–56 |
$36,220/yr | 12.6x |
| 8 | University of North Texas Denton, TX |
55 51–56 |
$36,857/yr | 11.0x |
| 9 | University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO |
55 51–55 |
$35,308/yr | 10.7x |
| 10 | Southwestern Oklahoma State University Weatherford, OK |
54 49–54 |
$38,506/yr | 10.6x |
| 11 | University of Wisconsin-La Crosse La Crosse, WI |
53 49–54 |
$34,490/yr | 11.9x |
| 12 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH |
52 48–53 |
$38,201/yr | 6.3x |
| 13 | Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN |
52 48–53 |
$34,084/yr | 11.5x |
| 14 | Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC |
52 48–53 |
$30,485/yr | 22.0x |
| 15 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC |
51 47–51 |
$31,873/yr | 14.2x |
| 16 | SUNY Brockport Brockport, NY |
51 47–51 |
$30,388/yr | 13.2x |
| 17 | Kansas State University Manhattan, KS |
50 46–50 |
$37,083/yr | 7.5x |
| 18 | Arkansas Tech University Russellville, AR |
50 46–50 |
$35,073/yr | 9.3x |
| 19 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO |
50 46–50 |
$33,161/yr | 9.1x |
| 20 | Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID |
50 47–51 |
$27,961/yr | 21.8x |
Highest Earning Parks Programs
Schools where Parks graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.
| School | 1-Year Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Connecticut State University | $46,274/yr | 58 |
| University of Florida | $41,046/yr | 64 |
| Illinois State University | $39,104/yr | 49 |
| Southwestern Oklahoma State University | $38,506/yr | 54 |
| University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | $38,201/yr | 52 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | $38,116/yr | 58 |
| South Dakota State University | $38,076/yr | 56 |
| Kean University | $37,884/yr | 57 |
| Kansas State University | $37,083/yr | 50 |
| University of North Texas | $36,857/yr | 55 |
Best ROI for Parks
Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Parks.
| School | ROI Multiple | Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Carolina University | 22.0x | $30,485/yr | 52 |
| Brigham Young University-Idaho | 21.8x | $27,961/yr | 50 |
| University of West Georgia | 21.5x | $31,492/yr | 58 |
| University of Florida | 19.7x | $41,046/yr | 64 |
| Florida International University | 15.5x | $29,862/yr | 49 |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington | 14.2x | $31,873/yr | 51 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | 13.3x | $38,116/yr | 58 |
| SUNY Brockport | 13.2x | $30,388/yr | 51 |
| Minnesota State University-Mankato | 12.6x | $36,220/yr | 56 |
| North Carolina Central University | 12.6x | $28,863/yr | 44 |
Related Majors
Explore similar fields of study.
Consider the Trade Route
Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Parks offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.