Special to the Gazette
Trust for Public Land announced that Boston was ranked the nation’s 12th best big-city park system on the 2025 ParkScore® index, climbing two spots ahead of last year’s 14th place ranking. Atop the ParkScore rankings, Washington, DC, retained the ParkScore title, outpacing Irvine (2nd), Minneapolis (3rd) and Cincinnati (4th). The annual ParkScore® index ranks park systems in the 100 most populous U.S. cities and is widely considered the gold standard for park evaluation.
Boston ranked highly on all ParkScore rating factors. According to Trust for Public Land, 100 percent of Boston residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Among all 100 ParkScore cities, only San Francisco and Jersey City match Boston’s park access achievement. Boston also scored highly for park amenities, leading the nation for “splashpads” and other park water features. Boston provides 85.2 of the popular summertime amenity per 100,000 residents, far above the national ParkScore average of 6.2.
Boston also scored well on park investment. The city spends an impressive $183 per resident in its park system, slightly ahead of last year’s $175 and far above the national ParkScore average of $133. However, Boston’s ParkScore was limited by below-average marks for park size. The median Boston park measures only 1.4 acres, below the national ParkScore average of 5.4.
Accompanying the annual ratings list, Trust for Public Land released new public opinion research reporting that residents throughout the United States value public parks and use them frequently. These findings remain steady across demographic and ideological lines, confirming that parks are among the least polarized spaces in the United States. Survey details are included in a special research report, Parks, The Great Unifiers, which also describes how four major U.S. cities—Atlanta, Fort Worth, Colorado Springs, and Chicago—have invested in parks to help bring people together and strengthen communities.
The research found that 89 percent of ParkScore city residents visited a public park at least once during the past year (90% self-recalled Harris voter; 92% self-recalled Trump voter) and 79% said they visit a local park regularly and feel comfortable spending time there (80% Harris voter; 83% Trump voter). Also, respondents said they wished they had spent more time outdoors during the past year (45% Harris voter; 35% Trump voter). By contrast, only 24% of respondents said they wished they had spent more time at home and 16% said they wished they had spent more time in bars or restaurants. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (66% Harris voter; 67% Trump voter) said they struck up a conversation in a public park with a person they had not known previously. The public opinion survey, National Survey on Outdoor Public Spaces, was conducted by national pollster YouGov in March, 2025 (N=2,000). Additional details about the survey are available upon request.
“Parks bring people together and deliver enormous physical and mental health benefits for visitors,” Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, President and CEO of Trust for Public Land, said.
“At a time when so much in our nation seems fractured or polarized, parks may be the last ideology-free zones, where everyone can come together, form meaningful relationships, and enjoy a few hours of peace and relaxation. At Trust for Public Land, we will continue to work with park departments and leaders at all levels of government to realize the full community-building potential for parks,” Hauser added.
Parkscore Rankings For 2025
Washington, DC, was rated the best big-city park system in the United States for the fifth consecutive year. The city scored well on all ParkScore rating factors. Twenty-one percent of land in the District of Columbia is reserved for parks, among the highest in the United States. The District also outperformed on ParkScore’s park access and park equity metrics.
Irvine jumped to a record ParkScore finish, powered by continued progress on its planned Great Park, one of the most ambitious public park projects in the United States. Cincinnati made a big move in the 2025 ParkScore rankings, climbing to fourth position this year, well ahead of last year’s eighth place rank. The Queen City’s rise was due primarily to the $5 million renovation of downtown’s Lytle Park and a citywide effort to improve public access to schoolyards and other open spaces.
Boise defended its title as the best park system for dogs, with a nation-leading 9.0 dog parks per 100,000 residents, outscoring Portland, Oregon, and Henderson, Nevada. St. Paul received top marks for basketball hoops, Las Vegas scored best for playgrounds, and Boston earned top marks for splashpads and other water features.
Other major ParkScore movers this year include Port St. Lucie, Florida (+25 to seventy-third); Buffalo, New York (+19 to twenty-second); and Chesapeake, VA (+14 to thirty-sixth).
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, and raised $110 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.7 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.