Best Exercise Trainer programs in New York, ranked by enrollment
Instruct or coach groups or individuals in exercise activities for the primary purpose of personal fitness.
57 schools in New York run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,232 people a year. The job pays a median of $47,090 in New York across about 20,140 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in New York that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in New York that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in New York (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 New York page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 31.0504In New York → | 1,161 | 52.0% | 38 | $30,426 | $25,643 |
| 2 | CIP 13.1314In New York → | 771 | 34.5% | 25 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 3 | CIP 31.0501In New York → | 156 | 7.0% | 16 | $30,426 | $25,643 |
| 4 | CIP 31.0507In New York → | 144 | 6.5% | 7 | $30,426 | $25,643 |
Top 25 schools in New York
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 18 of the 57 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State University of New York at Cortland Cortland, NY Public · 3 feeder programs | 397 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | $42,132 | 68% | — | 60% |
| 2 | SUNY Brockport Brockport, NY Public · 2 feeder programs | 171 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | $37,167 | 55% | — | 71% |
| 3 | Adelphi University Garden City, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 114 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | $35,814 | 67% | $27,326 | 66% |
| 4 | Canisius University Buffalo, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 108 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $26,254 | 66% | $17,353 | 72% |
| 5 | Syracuse University Syracuse, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 107 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $34,821 | 84% | $28,851 | 46% |
| 6 | Focus Personal Training Institute New York, NY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 94 | Physical Fitness Technician | $17,562 | 79% | $19,748 | — |
| 7 | Monroe University Bronx, NY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 92 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $11,749 | 57% | $12,028 | 68% |
| 8 | St. John's University - New York Queens, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 88 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $27,534 | 66% | $27,359 | 83% |
| 9 | Manhattanville University Purchase, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 69 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | — | 58% | $23,949 | 87% |
| 10 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 66 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | — | 96% | $15,315 | 4% |
| 11 | Long Island University Brookville, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 66 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $24,096 | 57% | $24,639 | 86% |
| 12 | Niagara University Niagara University, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 57 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | — | 75% | $17,048 | 87% |
| 13 | CUNY Queens College Queens, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 54 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | $58,894 | 53% | — | 64% |
| 14 | Utica University Utica, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 54 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | — | 56% | $20,237 | 92% |
| 15 | CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 52 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | $46,233 | 54% | — | 58% |
| 16 | Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 46 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $29,717 | 53% | — | 63% |
| 17 | SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 46 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $36,119 | 69% | — | 70% |
| 18 | St Bonaventure University Saint Bonaventure, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 40 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $27,885 | 67% | $23,352 | 82% |
| 19 | Suffolk County Community College Selden, NY Public · 4 feeder programs | 39 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | — | 29% | — | — |
| 20 | Russell Sage College Troy, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | — | 56% | $22,451 | 53% |
| 21 | St. John Fisher University Rochester, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $36,273 | 74% | $25,213 | 66% |
| 22 | Hudson Valley Community College Troy, NY Public · 3 feeder programs | 26 | Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General | — | 35% | — | — |
| 23 | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred Alfred, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | — | 55% | — | 76% |
| 24 | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi Delhi, NY Public · 2 feeder programs | 26 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | — | 45% | — | 89% |
| 25 | Hofstra University Hempstead, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | $38,556 | 69% | $34,539 | 68% |
All 57 schools in New York
Every school in New York 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State University of New York at Cortland | Cortland | Public | 397 | 3 |
| SUNY Brockport | Brockport | Public | 171 | 2 |
| Adelphi University | Garden City | Private not-for-profit | 114 | 3 |
| Canisius University | Buffalo | Private not-for-profit | 108 | 3 |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse | Private not-for-profit | 107 | 3 |
| Focus Personal Training Institute | New York | Private for-profit | 94 | 1 |
| Monroe University | Bronx | Private for-profit | 92 | 1 |
| St. John's University - New York | Queens | Private not-for-profit | 88 | 1 |
| Manhattanville University | Purchase | Private not-for-profit | 69 | 2 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | New York | Private not-for-profit | 66 | 1 |
| Long Island University | Brookville | Private not-for-profit | 66 | 2 |
| Niagara University | Niagara University | Private not-for-profit | 57 | 1 |
| CUNY Queens College | Queens | Public | 54 | 1 |
| Utica University | Utica | Private not-for-profit | 54 | 3 |
| CUNY Brooklyn College | Brooklyn | Public | 52 | 1 |
What exercise trainers and group fitness instructors earn in New York
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $47,160. New York pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in New York
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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 Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors page.
How to become a Exercise Trainer
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in New York
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.1314Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
- 31.0501Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General
- 31.0504Sport and Fitness Administration/Management
- 31.0507Physical Fitness Technician
- 51.3602Yoga Teacher Training/Yoga Therapy
Common questions
Answers for people weighing exercise trainers and group fitness instructors programs in New York.
What degree do you need to become an Exercise Trainer?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Sport and Fitness Administration/Management, which awarded 1,161 degrees in New York in 2024-25, 52.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Exercise Trainer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Sports, Teacher Education and Professional Development. Together they graduate about 2,232 people a year in New York.
How much do exercise trainers and group fitness instructors earn in New York?+
The median is $47,090 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.1% below the U.S. median of $47,160. 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 trainers and group fitness instructors growing?+
BLS projects a +11.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 74,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in New York?+
57 institutions in New York reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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 trainers and group fitness instructors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Personal Trainer, Fitness Instructor, Aerobics Instructor, Group Fitness Instructor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 39-9031.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card