Arizona·Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations·SOC 29-1128

Best Exercise Physiologist programs in Arizona, ranked by enrollment

Assess, plan, or implement fitness programs that include exercise or physical activities such as those designed to improve cardiorespiratory function, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, or.

12 schools in Arizona run programs that feed this job, graduating 645 people a year. The job pays a median of $62,350 in Arizona across about 220 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledExercise SpecialistExercise PhysiologistClinical Exercise PhysiologistLifestyle and Weight Management ConsultantExercise PlannerKinesiotherapistExercise ScientistFitness Specialist
Graduates / yr
645
in Arizona
Median pay · Arizona
$62,350
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
220
people employed
Schools
12
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
29%
across those schools
Median net price
$34,373
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Arizona that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

2 programs in Arizona that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Arizona (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Arizona page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 31.0505In Arizona
421
65.3%
12$30,426$25,643
2
CIP 26.0908In Arizona
224
34.7%
1$31,146$23,384

Top 12 schools in Arizona

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 12 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ Public · 2 feeder programs
301Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology68%90%
2Grand Canyon University
Phoenix, AZ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
139Exercise Science and Kinesiology$34,72343%$21,53579%
3Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
93Exercise Science and Kinesiology$28,76961%90%
4Ottawa University - Surprise
Surprise, AZ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
33Exercise Science and Kinesiology$30,42618%$34,37378%
5Mesa Community College
Mesa, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
21Exercise Science and Kinesiology16%
6Glendale Community College
Glendale, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
15Exercise Science and Kinesiology16%
7South Mountain Community College
Phoenix, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
12Exercise Science and Kinesiology16%
8Chandler - Gilbert Community College
Chandler, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
8Exercise Science and Kinesiology30%
9Paradise Valley Community College
Phoenix, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
8Exercise Science and Kinesiology19%
10Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
8Exercise Science and Kinesiology17%
11Estrella Mountain Community College
Avondale, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
4Exercise Science and Kinesiology32%
12Rio Salado College
Tempe, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs
3Exercise Science and Kinesiology9%

All 12 schools in Arizona

Every school in Arizona with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Arizona that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempePublic3012
Grand Canyon UniversityPhoenixPrivate not-for-profit1391
Northern Arizona UniversityFlagstaffPublic931
Ottawa University - SurpriseSurprisePrivate not-for-profit331
Mesa Community CollegeMesaPublic211
Glendale Community CollegeGlendalePublic151
South Mountain Community CollegePhoenixPublic121
Chandler - Gilbert Community CollegeChandlerPublic81
Paradise Valley Community CollegePhoenixPublic81
Scottsdale Community CollegeScottsdalePublic81
Estrella Mountain Community CollegeAvondalePublic41
Rio Salado CollegeTempePublic31

What exercise physiologists earn in Arizona

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Arizona
$62,350
Mean annual
$66,200
Jobs in state
220
What the range looks like
10th pct$51,950Median$62,35090th pct$77,630
Versus the national median
+4.9%

U.S. median $59,460. Arizona pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.24×

Concentrated here: Arizona employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Arizona

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
$66,210median
180 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+9.5%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
1,700
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
2,300
23,900 → 26,100
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Exercise Physiologists page.

How to become a Exercise Physiologist

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningCritical ThinkingSpeakingWritingMonitoring

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Arizona

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 3 majors mapped to Exercise Physiologists3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 26.0908Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology
  • 31.0505Exercise Science and Kinesiology
  • 51.2311Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist

Common questions

Answers for people weighing exercise physiologists programs in Arizona.

What degree do you need to become an Exercise Physiologist?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Exercise Science and Kinesiology, which awarded 421 degrees in Arizona in 2024-25, 65.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Exercise Physiologist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Sports, Physiology. Together they graduate about 645 people a year in Arizona.

How much do exercise physiologists earn in Arizona?+

The median is $62,350 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.9% above the U.S. median of $59,460. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for exercise physiologists growing?+

BLS projects a +9.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 1,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Arizona?+

12 institutions in Arizona reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do exercise physiologists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Exercise Specialist, Exercise Physiologist, Clinical Exercise Physiologist, Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-1128.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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