Connecticut·Management Occupations·SOC 11-9072

Best Entertainment programs in Connecticut, ranked by enrollment

Plan, direct, or coordinate entertainment and recreational activities and operations of a recreational facility, including cruise ships and.

20 schools in Connecticut run programs that feed this job, graduating 4,098 people a year. The job pays a median of $78,010 in Connecticut across about 130 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledEvents ManagerGolf Course ManagerRecreation DirectorRecreation SuperintendentClub ManagerPark ManagerPool ManagerCamp Director
Graduates / yr
4,098
in Connecticut
Median pay · Connecticut
$78,010
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
130
people employed
Schools
20
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
60%
across those schools
Median net price
$30,734
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Connecticut that lead to this job

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

5 programs in Connecticut that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Connecticut (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 Connecticut page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
13,535
86.3%
19$43,506$25,000
2335
8.2%
6$44,700$24,000
3187
4.6%
13$30,426$25,643
425
0.6%
1$33,076$25,000
516
0.4%
4$34,218$23,364

Top 20 schools in Connecticut

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 20 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Connecticut State Community College
New Britain, CT Public · 3 feeder programs
872Business Administration and Management, General$46,39324%
2Post University
Waterbury, CT Private for-profit · 3 feeder programs
742Business Administration and Management, General$61,70425%$14,659
3Yale University
New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
363Business Administration and Management, General96%$27,0254%
4University of New Haven
West Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
300Business Administration and Management, General$34,10663%$32,61460%
5University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT Public · 3 feeder programs
290Business Administration and Management, General$57,84283%52%
6University of Hartford
West Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
280Business Administration and Management, General$40,79954%$28,31196%
7Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
210Business Administration and Management, General$50,55884%$36,84533%
8Quinnipiac University
Hamden, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
187Business Administration and Management, General$47,84576%$36,13772%
9Sacred Heart University
Fairfield, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
156Business Administration and Management, General$42,05173%$42,70565%
10Albertus Magnus College
New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
118Business Administration and Management, General$57,95351%$32,57459%
11Eastern Connecticut State University
Willimantic, CT Public · 2 feeder programs
100Business Administration and Management, General58%83%
12University of Bridgeport
Bridgeport, CT Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
92Business Administration and Management, General41%$25,14983%
13Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, CT Public · 3 feeder programs
85Business Administration and Management, General$49,09848%73%
14Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven, CT Public · 4 feeder programs
84Sport and Fitness Administration/Management$24,02950%91%
15Charter Oak State College
New Britain, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
61Business Administration and Management, General$62,74267%
16Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, CT Public · 2 feeder programs
49Business Administration and Management, General52%87%
17United States Coast Guard Academy
New London, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
40Business Administration and Management, General93%22%
18University of Saint Joseph
West Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
29Business Administration and Management, General64%$25,84179%
19Mitchell College
New London, CT Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
27Sport and Fitness Administration/Management$27,00742%$30,73495%
20Goodwin University
East Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Business/Commerce, General58%$30,133

All 20 schools in Connecticut

Every school in Connecticut 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 Connecticut that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Connecticut State Community CollegeNew BritainPublic8723
Post UniversityWaterburyPrivate for-profit7423
Yale UniversityNew HavenPrivate not-for-profit3631
University of New HavenWest HavenPrivate not-for-profit3002
University of ConnecticutStorrsPublic2903
University of HartfordWest HartfordPrivate not-for-profit2802
Fairfield UniversityFairfieldPrivate not-for-profit2102
Quinnipiac UniversityHamdenPrivate not-for-profit1872
Sacred Heart UniversityFairfieldPrivate not-for-profit1561
Albertus Magnus CollegeNew HavenPrivate not-for-profit1182
Eastern Connecticut State UniversityWillimanticPublic1002
University of BridgeportBridgeportPrivate not-for-profit923
Central Connecticut State UniversityNew BritainPublic853
Southern Connecticut State UniversityNew HavenPublic844
Charter Oak State CollegeNew BritainPublic611

What entertainment and recreation managers earn in Connecticut

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

Median annual in Connecticut
$78,010
Mean annual
$84,560
Jobs in state
130
What the range looks like
10th pct$62,400Median$78,01090th pct$129,190
Versus the national median
-1.9%

U.S. median $79,520. Connecticut pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.31×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Connecticut

Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT
$81,970median
50 jobs
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
$78,060median
30 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+7.7%
Faster than average
Openings per year
5,500
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
3,300
43,200 → 46,500
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 Entertainment and Recreation Managers page.

How to become a Entertainment

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed
Less than 5 years

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

Active ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingWritingMonitoring

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Connecticut

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 9 majors mapped to Entertainment and Recreation Managers9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 03.0207Environmental/Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism
  • 31.0301Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management, General
  • 31.0302Golf Course Operation and Grounds Management
  • 31.0399Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management, Other
  • 31.0504Sport and Fitness Administration/Management
  • 52.0101Business/Commerce, General
  • 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
  • 52.0901Hospitality Administration/Management, General
  • 52.0906Resort Management

Common questions

Answers for people weighing entertainment and recreation managers programs in Connecticut.

What degree do you need to become an Entertainment?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 3,535 degrees in Connecticut in 2024-25, 86.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Entertainment?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Business/Commerce, Sports, Parks, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 4,098 people a year in Connecticut.

How much do entertainment and recreation managers earn in Connecticut?+

The median is $78,010 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 1.9% below the U.S. median of $79,520. 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 entertainment and recreation managers growing?+

BLS projects a +7.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 5,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

20 institutions in Connecticut reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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 entertainment and recreation managers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Events Manager, Golf Course Manager, Recreation Director, Recreation Superintendent among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-9072.

Entertainment and Recreation Managers in other statesCaliforniaTexasArizonaFloridaNew YorkIndianaNorth CarolinaVirginia

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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