---
title: Is a Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management degree worth the debt?
cip: 3103
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **54** colleges (54 of 54 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $32,018 ($31,662 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,883 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.72× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $29,378–$33,475 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $32,018 | $22,883 | 0.72× | 54 | 54/54 |
| Master's | $41,564 | $36,000 | 0.82× | 9 | 9/9 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (CA) | $39,393 | — |
| Saint Cloud State University (MN) | $36,965 | $21,500 |
| Minnesota State University-Mankato (MN) | $36,914 | $25,500 |
| Southwestern Oklahoma State University (OK) | $36,232 | $16,500 |
| St. Joseph's University-New York (NY) | $36,149 | $20,000 |
| University of Northern Colorado (CO) | $35,985 | $23,875 |
| Illinois State University (IL) | $34,835 | $19,236 |
| University of New Hampshire-Main Campus (NH) | $33,992 | $27,000 |
| University of Florida (FL) | $33,795 | $16,172 |
| University of Florida-Online (FL) | $33,795 | $16,172 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (PA) | $33,729 | $23,000 |
| Pennsylvania State University-World Campus (PA) | $33,729 | $23,000 |
| Clemson University (SC) | $33,548 | $19,500 |
| Eastern Illinois University (IL) | $33,478 | $21,500 |
| Kansas State University (KS) | $33,465 | $21,500 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/parks-recreation-and-leisure-facilities-management.jsonld` · `/education/fields/parks-recreation-and-leisure-facilities-management.json`