UNC Wilmington Recreation Management (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management
- Public university
- Wilmington, NC
- About 32 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UNC Wilmington recreation management graduates earn about what recreation management graduates earn nationally, $31,873 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. One other North Carolina program reports higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The North Carolina and national columns are the medians across all recreation management bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UNC Wilmington graduates earn less than the national figure but about $1,400 more than the North Carolina median.
Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina recreation management program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the North Carolina medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 39% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned more in their first year than other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $28,000 against $21,500.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $244 a month, or 9.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 19 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $30,319.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
83% of graduates (48 of 58) were working in North Carolina one year after graduating. Prices in the Wilmington area are about 4% below the national average, so a $31,873 salary here buys what about $33,056 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to recreation management, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
General and Operations Managers
$101,950Median pay in North Carolina. 63,740 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 285,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
$37,910Median pay in North Carolina. 32,730 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 149,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: no formal educational credential.
Facilities Managers
$108,130Median pay in North Carolina. 4,810 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers
$56,930Median pay in North Carolina. 4,300 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 23,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
About UNC Wilmington
Recreation Management ranks 16th of 31 bachelor's programs at UNC Wilmington by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($74,463), Computer Science ($66,977), and Other Health Professions ($56,924).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,873 one year after graduating and $44,415 five years after. The median across recreation management bachelor's programs in North Carolina is $30,485.
The median federal loan balance is $23,000, which ranks 4th lowest of 5 recreation management bachelor's programs in North Carolina. That works out to about $244 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 72% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 71%. Compare the cost with other North Carolina programs before deciding.
Most do. 83% (48 of 58) were working in North Carolina one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of North Carolina comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the recreation management program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024