Parks at Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS · Public · Bachelor's Degree · Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management

DegreeOutlook Score (Base Case) — assumes in-state tuition

Optimistic

Base Case

Pessimistic

Earnings $37,083/yr (10% vs median)

AI Risk Moderate (34% exposed)

Job Market Very Large (508,800 openings/yr)

ROI 10.6x earnings multiple (4.2x out-of-state)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Parks graduates.

	Optimistic No Disruption	Base Case Gradual AI	Pessimistic Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings	$465K	$466K	$441K
Earnings Multiple (In-State)	10.6x	10.6x	10.1x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State)	4.2x	4.2x	4.0x
Probability of Field Employment	42%	40%	32%
DegreeOutlook Score	50	50	46

*Year 1 uses actual reported earnings. Scenarios diverge as AI impact compounds over time.

4-Year Tuition, In-State (Sticker)

$43,768

Out-of-state: $111,264 (4.2x ROI)

4-Year Net Price (After Aid)

$71,532

-63% less than sticker · See by income

Median Debt at Graduation

$21,500

7.0 months of Year 1 earnings

Kansas State University accepts 79% of applicants — an open-access institution by design, serving 14,835 students in Manhattan, KS.

Facilities managers $104,690/yr

General and operations managers $102,950/yr

Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling $77,180/yr

For students who prefer applied learning, trade programs can deliver strong earnings with significantly less debt and shorter time to employment.

How does Kansas State University's Parks program score?

This program scores 50/100, reflecting respectable but not exceptional financial outcomes for Parks graduates.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →