Parks, Recreation, & Leisure

Contains Stem Majors

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Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2022
72,741
declining 1.45%
Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$7,239
growing 1.04%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$32,000
growing 2.18%
Average Wage
$71,984
growing 8.96%
People in Workforce
735,654
growing 6.52%
Average Employee Age
35.9
growing 0.0929%

About

In 2022, the locations with the highest concentration of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure degree recipients are Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, and Charles Town, WV. The most common degree awarded to students studying Parks, Recreation, & Leisure is a bachelors degree.

Photo by Torrey Wiley

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure and the types of students that study this field. American Public University System awards the most degrees in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure in the US, but Focus Personal Training Institute and National Personal Training Institute-Orlando Campus have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.

Tuition costs for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors are, on average, $7,239 for in-state public colleges, and $32,000 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Parks, Recreation, & Leisure programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (621 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (47,110 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure (2022)
  1. American Public University System
    698 degrees awarded
  2. University of Iowa
    624 degrees awarded
  3. Texas A & M University-College Station
    607 degrees awarded

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure, is Public, 4-year or above (47,110 completions in 2022).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Parks, Recreation, & Leisure programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$7,239
Median In-State Public
$32,000
Median Out of State Private

American Public University System has the most Parks, Recreation, & Leisure degree recipients, with 698 degrees awarded in 2022.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.

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Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution
  1. Focus Personal Training Institute
    100%
  2. National Personal Training Institute-Orlando Campus
    100%
  3. National Personal Training Institute-Tampa
    100%

Out of all institutions that offer Parks, Recreation, & Leisure programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Focus Personal Training Institute has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure, with 100%.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure
  1. Los Angeles County, CA
    3,376 degrees awarded
  2. Orange County, CA
    1,283 degrees awarded
  3. Maricopa County, AZ
    1,073 degrees awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure by year.

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Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded
  1. Lorain County, OH
    1.1k%
  2. Washington County, MD
    800%
  3. Woodbury County, IA
    667%

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.

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Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Parks, Recreation, & Leisure graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors is $71,984 and the most common occupations are Physical therapists, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Other managers.

The industry that employs the most Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Recyclable material merchant wholesalers.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

$71,984
Average Wage in Workforce
± $2,058
8.96%
1 Year Growth
± 3.78%

The average salary for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors is $71,984 and the most common occupations are Physical therapists, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Other managers.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors.

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Highest Paying Locations

Highest Paying Pumas
  1. Los Angeles County (Southwest)--Palos Verdes Peninsula PUMA, CA
    $277,018
  2. San Mateo County (East Central)--Redwood City, San Carlos & Belmont Cities PUMA, CA
    $264,956
  3. Sandoval County New Mexico PUMA, NM
    $254,149

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Most Common

The most common occupations Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors, by number of employees, are Physical therapists, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Other managers.

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Most Specialized

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors working as Physical therapists, Physical therapist assistants & aides, and Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors.

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Highest Paid

The highest paid occupations by median income for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors are Surgeons, Nurse anesthetists, and Skincare specialists.

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Occupations by Share

735,654
2022 Workforce
± 21,007
6.52%
1 Year Growth
± 3.85%

The number of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 6.52%, from 690,637 in 2021 to 735,654 in 2022.

The largest single share of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure graduates go on to work as Physical therapists (5.06%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure by share of the total number of graduates.

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Most Common

The most common industries that employ Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, and Amusement & Recreation.

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Highest Paid

The highest paying industries of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors, by average wage, are Recyclable material merchant wholesalers, Wholesale electronic markets & agents & brokers, and Book stores & news dealers.

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Industries by Share

735,654
2022 Workforce
± 21,007
6.52%
1 Year Growth
± 3.85%

The number of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 6.52%, from 690,637 in 2021 to 735,654 in 2022.

The industry which employs the most Parks, Recreation, & Leisure graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.

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Specialty Locations

PUMAS with a relatively high number of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors
  1. East Texas COG (Central)--Smith County (Outside Tyler City) PUMA, TX
    3.32
  2. Greensboro City (South) PUMA, NC
    3.26
  3. Marion County--Washington Township (South & East) & Indianapolis City (North) PUMA, IN
    3.2

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure is 35.9.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Parks, Recreation, & Leisure degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure (40,069 students).

Workforce Age

35.9
Average Age in 2022
± 0.306 Years
0.0929%
1 Year Change
± 1.23%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure. The most common ages of employees with this major are 28 and 26 years old, which represent 5% and 4.93% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

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Workforce Degrees

The most common degree types held by the working population in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

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Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (51.5%)
Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity
  1. White
    40,069 degrees awarded
  2. Hispanic or Latino
    12,543 degrees awarded
  3. Black or African American
    9,037 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination
  1. White Female
    15,432 degrees awarded
  2. White Male
    15,242 degrees awarded
  3. Hispanic or Latino Female
    4,271 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.

White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

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Global Diversity

Most Common Countries of Origin
  1. India
    5,078 degree recipients
  2. Mexico
    4,661 degree recipients
  3. Philippines
    3,586 degree recipients
High Relative Number of Students
  1. Latvia
    6.25 times more than expected
  2. England
    4.78 times more than expected
  3. Azerbaijan
    4.34 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Latvia that hold Parks, Recreation, & Leisure degrees (6.25 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (5,078 degree recipients).

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Parks, Recreation, & Leisure field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors need many skills, but most especially Active Listening. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources, Management of Material Resources, and Management of Personnel Resources.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Parks, Recreation, & Leisure majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Management of Financial Resources is very distinctive for majors, but the Active Listening, Speaking, and Monitoring are the three most important skills for people in the field.

Radar Distribution

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Bar Chart

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