Texas·Management Occupations·SOC 11-9072

Best Entertainment programs in Texas, ranked by enrollment

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

144 schools in Texas run programs that feed this job, graduating 31,294 people a year. The job pays a median of $78,500 in Texas across about 2,880 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledEvents ManagerGolf Course ManagerRecreation DirectorRecreation SuperintendentClub ManagerPark ManagerPool ManagerCamp Director
Graduates / yr
31,294
in Texas
Median pay · Texas
$78,500
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
2,880
people employed
Schools
144
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
43%
across those schools
Median net price
$22,483
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Texas that lead to this job

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

5 programs in Texas that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Texas (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 Texas page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 52.0201In Texas
22,683
72.5%
134$43,506$25,000
2
CIP 52.0101In Texas
6,784
21.7%
56$44,700$24,000
3
CIP 31.0504In Texas
1,313
4.2%
35$30,426$25,643
4
CIP 52.0901In Texas
444
1.4%
19$34,218$23,364
5
CIP 31.0301In Texas
70
0.2%
3$33,076$25,000

Top 25 schools in Texas

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 92 of the 144 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Lee College
Baytown, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
1,883Business Administration and Management, General53%
2Lone Star College System
The Woodlands, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
1,544Business/Commerce, General$32,37621%
3Dallas College
Dallas, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
1,049Business Administration and Management, General$46,87432%
4Houston City College
Houston, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
1,027Business Administration and Management, General$34,73217%
5Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX Public · 4 feeder programs
926Business Administration and Management, General$53,52869%73%
6Texas A & M University - Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
889Business Administration and Management, General$44,26240%89%
7San Jacinto Community College
Pasadena, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
873Business/Commerce, General$33,57230%
8Lamar University
Beaumont, TX Public · 4 feeder programs
866Business Administration and Management, General$38,97037%86%
9University of Houston - Downtown
Houston, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
844Business Administration and Management, General$53,76433%90%
10The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
830Business Administration and Management, General$45,53454%80%
11Texas A&M University - College Station
College Station, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
790Business Administration and Management, General$59,30684%57%
12The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
731Business Administration and Management, General$66,28989%27%
13University of North Texas
Denton, TX Public · 4 feeder programs
646Business Administration and Management, General$53,19461%72%
14South Texas College
McAllen, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
645Business/Commerce, General$24,73827%
15The University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
615Business Administration and Management, General$44,76253%87%
16Tarleton State University
Stephenville, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
599Business Administration and Management, General$49,35348%90%
17The University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
564Business Administration and Management, General76%65%
18University of Houston
Houston, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
530Business Administration and Management, General$49,19265%74%
19Austin Community College District
Austin, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
505Business/Commerce, General$43,26720%
20Texas Woman's University
Denton, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
499Business Administration and Management, General$44,08449%96%
21Texas State University
San Marcos, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
485Business Administration and Management, General$45,30655%89%
22Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
472Business/Commerce, General$44,70055%90%
23West Texas A & M University
Canyon, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
451Business/Commerce, General$43,16755%99%
24Collin County Community College District
McKinney, TX Public · 4 feeder programs
450Business/Commerce, General$33,93720%
25The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Edinburg, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
407Business Administration and Management, General$33,57951%94%

All 144 schools in Texas

Every school in Texas 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 Texas that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Lee CollegeBaytownPublic1,8832
Lone Star College SystemThe WoodlandsPublic1,5442
Dallas CollegeDallasPublic1,0493
Houston City CollegeHoustonPublic1,0271
Texas Tech UniversityLubbockPublic9264
Texas A & M University - Corpus ChristiCorpus ChristiPublic8893
San Jacinto Community CollegePasadenaPublic8732
Lamar UniversityBeaumontPublic8664
University of Houston - DowntownHoustonPublic8442
The University of Texas at ArlingtonArlingtonPublic8301
Texas A&M University - College StationCollege StationPublic7903
The University of Texas at AustinAustinPublic7313
University of North TexasDentonPublic6464
South Texas CollegeMcAllenPublic6452
The University of Texas at San AntonioSan AntonioPublic6151

What entertainment and recreation managers earn in Texas

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

Median annual in Texas
$78,500
Mean annual
$83,640
Jobs in state
2,880
What the range looks like
10th pct$37,890Median$78,50090th pct$131,060
Versus the national median
-1.3%

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

Job concentration
0.84×

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

Metro areas in Texas

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
$81,570median
1,020 jobs
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
$81,780median
290 jobs
Killeen-Temple, TX
$77,030median
40 jobs
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
$76,810median
660 jobs
Corpus Christi, TX
$79,020median
30 jobs
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
$68,540median
220 jobs
El Paso, TX
$76,430median
40 jobs
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
$65,940median
50 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 Texas

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 Texas.

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 22,683 degrees in Texas in 2024-25, 72.5% 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, Hospitality Administration/Management, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 31,294 people a year in Texas.

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

The median is $78,500 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 1.3% 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 Texas?+

144 institutions in Texas 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 statesCaliforniaArizonaFloridaNew YorkIndianaNorth CarolinaVirginiaNew Hampshire

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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