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

McNeese State reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,014, with first-year pay of $27,193.

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

The median across 7 Louisiana kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's programs is $28,009 in the first year after graduating and $47,067 five years after.

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

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

7 Louisiana programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 7 of them also report federal debt.

7 programs report first-year pay
7 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 Louisiana kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's program pays its graduates $28,009 in their first year, $2,477 less than the national median. LSU reports the highest first-year pay ($31,956), and McNeese State the lowest median debt ($19,014).

Median first-year pay$28,009National $30,486

Median pay after 5 years$47,067National $52,393

Median federal debt$24,375National $25,954

Debt-to-earnings82%National 80%

All 7 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	LSUBaton Rouge · public	$31,956	$57,216	$23,000	72%
2	Louisiana Tech UniversityRuston · public	$31,802	$51,059	$24,750	78%
3	Southeastern Louisiana UniversityHammond · public	$30,315	$45,147	$25,000	82%
4	Northwestern State University of LouisianaNatchitoches · public	$28,009	$49,518	$24,000	86%
5	McNeese StateLake Charles · public	$27,193	$44,155	$19,014	70%
6	UL MonroeMonroe · public	$26,286	$46,679	$21,500	82%
7	University of New OrleansNew Orleans · public	$25,262	$43,365	$25,000	99%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 7 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

LSU$31,956
Louisiana Tech University$31,802
Southeastern Louisiana University$30,315
Northwestern State University of Louisiana$28,009
McNeese State$27,193

Lowest median debt

McNeese State$19,014
UL Monroe$21,500
LSU$23,000
Northwestern State University of Louisiana$24,000
Louisiana Tech University$24,750

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

$44,410

Median pay in Louisiana. 2,290 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $21,190Top 10%: $60,180

Coaches and Scouts

$60,960

Median pay in Louisiana. 2,550 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $23,310Top 10%: $194,130

Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling

$62,390

Median pay in Louisiana. 90 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $45,230Top 10%: $101,660

Athletic Trainers

$62,760

Median pay in Louisiana. 810 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $50,120Top 10%: $78,880

Common questions

LSU in Baton Rouge reports the highest median first-year pay, $31,956. Its median federal debt is $23,000.

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 Louisiana 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