College Recreation and Fitness Instructors

Median Salary: $55,400

Many college recreation and fitness instructors across the country share a handful of key professional attributes. For example, leadership, self control, and initiative can be crucial for success in the industry, especially when combined with career training. Around 16,850 people were employed as college recreation and fitness instructors nationwide in 2009. With that much workplace competition, it's vital to utilize these traits and receive excellent training, particularly if you're looking to progress in the field.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual income for college recreation and fitness instructors in the U.S. was $55,400 in 2009, which works out to a median hourly wage of $26.60. Of course, income can vary with training and by place. Below, you'll find more data about college recreation and fitness instructors, including wages and job density for metro areas all over the country.

College recreation and fitness instructors should be skilled in:

Speech Clarity
Near Vision
Problem Sensitivity
Originality
Fluency of Ideas

Different people go into different careers; college recreation and fitness instructors are typically:

Social
Realistic
Investigative

Working as a college recreation or fitness instructor requires knowledge in subjects like:

Psychology
Customer and Personal Service
Computers and Electronics
Personnel and Human Resources
Clerical

Related Occupations

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Below, you'll see links to more information on the top cities for this occupation (based on the number of people employed as college recreation and fitness instructors). Note: "Job density" refers to the proportion of college recreation and fitness instructors in each city as compared to the national average.

Alabama
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Huntsville	30	$50,900	$24.50	$62,500	$30.00	15.5%

Arizona
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Phoenix	90	$28,000	$13.50	$33,900	$16.30	-59.7%

California
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Fresno	80	$87,300	$42.00	$100,500	$48.30	96.9%
Los Angeles (Area)	960	$80,000	$38.50	$106,500	$51.20	35.7%
Oakland	130	$90,700	$43.60	$120,100	$57.80	3.9%
Oxnard	NA	$80,900	$38.90	$99,600	$47.90	NA
Riverside	240	$97,900	$47.00	$136,700	$65.70	52.7%
Sacramento	120	$75,400	$36.20	$96,900	$46.60	5.4%
San Francisco (Area)	130	$90,700	$43.60	$120,100	$57.80	3.9%

Colorado
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Denver	60	$47,100	$22.60	$56,200	$27.00	-63.6%

Connecticut
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Hartford	40	$71,600	$34.40	$91,300	$43.90	-40.3%

District of Columbia
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Washington (Area)	NA	$59,000	$28.40	$78,700	$37.90	NA

Florida
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Orlando	50	$51,600	$24.80	$74,500	$35.80	-57.4%
Pensacola	30	$61,200	$29.40	$75,500	$36.30	65.1%

Georgia
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Atlanta	140	$56,700	$27.30	$71,800	$34.50	-51.2%

Illinois
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Chicago (Area)	240	$45,600	$21.90	$60,100	$28.90	-48.8%

Indiana
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
South Bend	NA	$51,300	$24.70	$67,100	$32.30	NA

Louisiana
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
New Orleans	40	$43,900	$21.10	$54,600	$26.30	-31.8%
Shreveport	30	$16,100	$7.80	$45,600	$21.90	43.4%

Maryland
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Baltimore	240	$60,800	$29.20	$77,200	$37.10	50.4%

Massachusetts
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Boston (Area)	90	$49,200	$23.60	$68,800	$33.10	-60.5%
Springfield	60	$60,700	$29.20	$75,000	$36.00	73.6%

Michigan
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Detroit (Area)	30	$67,100	$32.30	$90,700	$43.60	-78.3%

Minnesota
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Duluth	70	$50,300	$24.20	$60,300	$29.00	314.7%
Minneapolis	110	$57,100	$27.40	$65,800	$31.60	-48.8%

Mississippi
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Jackson	90	$48,900	$23.50	$60,900	$29.30	171.3%

Missouri
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Kansas City	70	$42,400	$20.40	$61,000	$29.30	-45%
Springfield	50	NA	NA	NA	NA	90.7%
St. Louis	170	$50,000	$24.00	$65,000	$31.20	-0.8%

New York
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
New York (Area)	NA	$59,500	$28.60	$83,300	$40.10	NA
Rochester	80	$41,400	$19.90	$54,500	$26.20	25.6%
Utica	60	$84,000	$40.40	$103,200	$49.60	270.5%

North Carolina
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Asheville	40	$44,500	$21.40	$52,100	$25.10	72.1%
Charlotte	50	$47,100	$22.70	$56,000	$26.90	-57.4%
Greensboro	110	$49,600	$23.90	$59,600	$28.70	143.4%
Hickory	30	$55,700	$26.80	$62,200	$29.90	84.5%
Raleigh	170	$53,000	$25.50	$73,300	$35.30	165.1%
Winston-Salem	80	$64,200	$30.90	$83,400	$40.10	188.4%

Ohio
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Akron	90	NA	NA	NA	NA	113.2%
Cleveland	140	$50,300	$24.20	$67,500	$32.40	10.9%
Columbus	130	$54,900	$26.40	$88,100	$42.30	10.1%
Dayton	140	$42,700	$20.50	$62,200	$29.90	189.1%
Toledo	70	$55,300	$26.60	$70,900	$34.10	77.5%

Oklahoma
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Tulsa	40	$42,000	$20.20	$53,000	$25.50	-29.5%

Oregon
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Portland	180	$75,800	$36.40	$103,800	$49.90	37.2%

Pennsylvania
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Allentown	50	$73,700	$35.40	$94,700	$45.50	16.3%
Harrisburg	70	$64,400	$31.00	$75,900	$36.50	85.3%
Philadelphia (Area)	270	$58,700	$28.20	$81,800	$39.30	13.2%
Pittsburgh	140	$66,400	$31.90	$79,600	$38.30	-0.8%
Scranton	50	$52,900	$25.40	$73,700	$35.40	38%

South Carolina
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Columbia	60	NA	NA	NA	NA	43.4%

South Dakota
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Sioux Falls	30	$49,700	$23.90	$60,200	$29.00	82.9%

Tennessee
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Memphis	70	$47,900	$23.00	$66,900	$32.20	-15.5%
Nashville	NA	$43,000	$20.70	$54,600	$26.20	NA

Texas
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Austin	90	$40,500	$19.50	$65,000	$31.20	-7%
Dallas (Area)	40	$48,000	$23.10	$62,200	$29.90	-86%
El Paso	60	$37,500	$18.00	$59,300	$28.50	82.2%
Houston	150	$63,600	$30.60	$82,000	$39.40	-53.5%
Lubbock	80	$55,100	$26.50	$82,200	$39.50	381.4%
San Antonio	80	$35,300	$17.00	$62,100	$29.90	-25.6%

Virginia
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Lynchburg	40	$45,500	$21.90	$58,400	$28.10	191.5%
Richmond	70	$34,100	$16.40	$46,200	$22.20	-10.1%
Virginia Beach	120	$53,900	$25.90	$66,200	$31.80	25.6%

Washington
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Bellingham	40	NA	NA	NA	NA	266.7%
Seattle (Area)	210	$46,000	$22.10	$53,100	$25.50	42.6%
Spokane	140	$44,400	$21.40	$53,100	$25.50	431%

Wisconsin
City/Area	Employees	Median Annual Salary	Median Hourly Wage	Top 25% Annual Salary	Top 25% Hourly Wage	Job Density
Milwaukee	NA	$56,200	$27.00	$73,900	$35.50	NA