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Best Schools for Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies in 2026

59 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies graduate earns $33,732/yr across 59 schools.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$33,732/yr

Avg DW Score

33/100

AI Risk

Very High

59% task exposure

All Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

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

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, Brigham Young University ranks #1 for Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies with a score of 54/100 and graduate earnings of $47,596/yr.

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/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $47,596/yr.

Is Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies a good major for AI resistance?

Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies has an average AI task exposure of 59%, rated "Very High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.