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Behind the park and recreation spaces and programming where we connect, play and learn, hundreds of thousands of full- and part-time and seasonal staff work nationwide to bring these valuable resources to our communities.
Competitive salaries and robust benefits attract and retain the best staff for these teams. And, compensation and salary benchmarks assist both employers and candidates to make informed decisions based on current trends. That is why NRPA conducts the Park and Recreation Salary Survey to collect these data across the park and recreation field for the 13 most common positions. The findings of the 2024 survey will be released in late September. Here we present to you a sneak peek of some of those findings.
Salaries and Wages Increased in 2024
This year, median salary increases for the 13 positions ranged from 3 to 9 percent, with the highest increase for fitness center managers. Like 2023, the two most common salary changes resulted from cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) (reported by 77 percent of agencies) and individual performance (reported by 55 percent of agencies). Park and recreation agencies that offer bonuses increased from 46 percent in 2023 to 53 percent in 2024.
Salaries vary by role and responsibilities, with agency directors receiving the highest compensation among the 13 positions. However, compensation for the same role also can differ, depending on the agency’s size, type, region and the individual’s education and years of experience. In the report, readers can review a compensation summary for each position broken down by these characteristics. Following previous years’ trends, typical agencies that are larger, located in special park districts or in the West tend to offer higher salaries. In addition, professionals with university degrees, park and recreation certifications and more years of experience tend to earn greater compensation than those without.
The report also presents findings on current minimum wage policies for hourly workers, like part-time and seasonal employees. This year, 88 percent of agencies reported paying minimum wages at or greater than the locality/state minimum and higher than the federal hourly wage of $7.25 (up three percentage points from 2023). This trend was seen across agencies of all sizes and types. Furthermore, 46 percent of agencies reported paying a minimum wage of $15 or more per hour.
Agencies Continued to Offer Benefits Comparable to 2023
The report also includes an overview of benefits that park and recreation professionals may receive. Generally, benefits in 2024 were comparable to those offered in 2023, including paid time off, health insurance and defined benefit or defined contribution retirement plans (reported by at least 99 percent of agencies surveyed).
Other continuing benefits of note were continuing education (i.e., courses, conferences) offered by 96 percent of agencies, funded fully by 76 percent; life insurance offered by 95 percent of agencies, funded fully by 53 percent; and employee assistance/counseling offered by 92 percent of agencies, funded fully by 79 percent.
There also were some positive changes in 2024 for parents and people using healthcare. This included an increase in available leave associated with the birth or adoption of a child from 39 to 50 percent (up 11 percentage points) and increases in 100 percent coverage of health insurance premiums.
Check Out the Report
The full report provides valuable insights into what a career in the park and recreation field can offer. Use NRPA’s 2024 Park and Recreation Salary Survey report to help set expectations using benchmarking data from the field. Check it out at nrpa.org/Research.
Thank you to the many park and recreation professionals and their agencies for contributing to this survey.
Samantha Serrano is Senior Research and Evaluation Manager at NRPA.