Which Kentucky kinesiology and exercise science program has the lowest debt?

University of Louisville reports the lowest median federal debt, $22,053, with first-year pay of $33,241.

How much do kinesiology and exercise science graduates earn in Kentucky?

The median across 8 Kentucky kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's programs is $31,049 in the first year after graduating and $48,206 five years after.

Kinesiology and Exercise Science (Bachelor's) Programs in Kentucky, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's programs are in Kentucky?

8 Kentucky programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

8 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Kentucky kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's program pays its graduates $31,049 in their first year, $563 more than the national median. Northern Kentucky University reports the highest first-year pay ($42,725), and University of Louisville the lowest median debt ($22,053).

Median first-year pay$31,049National $30,486

Median pay after 5 years$48,206National $52,393

Median federal debt$25,472National $25,954

Debt-to-earnings78%National 80%

All 8 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Northern Kentucky UniversityHighland Heights · public	$42,725	$56,835	$23,500	55%
2	Georgetown CollegeGeorgetown · private nonprofit	$37,620	$39,190	$27,000	72%
3	University of LouisvilleLouisville · public	$33,241	$52,717	$22,053	66%
4	University of the CumberlandsWilliamsburg · private nonprofit	$31,401	$37,610	$22,630	72%
5	Morehead StateMorehead · public	$30,696	$50,745	$25,946	85%
6	Bellarmine UniversityLouisville · private nonprofit	$30,236	$47,289	$25,944	86%
7	Eastern Kentucky UniversityRichmond · public	$29,632	Not reported	$27,000	91%
8	Western Kentucky UniversityBowling Green · public	$25,858	$49,122	$24,593	95%

6 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky kinesiology and exercise science program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Kentucky medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to kinesiology and exercise science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

$45,280

Median pay in Kentucky. 1,990 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 68,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $23,720Top 10%: $70,790

Coaches and Scouts

$35,570

Median pay in Kentucky. 2,800 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 36,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $21,810Top 10%: $75,710

Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling

$80,130

Median pay in Kentucky. 300 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $40,300Top 10%: $137,890

Athletic Trainers

$60,680

Median pay in Kentucky. 720 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $45,500Top 10%: $82,480

Common questions

Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights reports the highest median first-year pay, $42,725. Its median federal debt is $23,500.

Kinesiology and Exercise Science (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked524 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 Kentucky rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024