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St. Louis, MO

St. Louis, MO

How we calculate the St. Louis ParkScore® Ranking

The ranking for St. Louis is based on how it compares nationally on five characteristics of an excellent park system: access, investment, acreage, amenities, and equity.

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Access

96 pts

Acreage

32 pts

Investment

45 pts

Amenities

61 pts

Equity

72 pts

97% of St. Louis residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.

Median City, 100 most populous U.S. cities: 74%
Median City, all urban cities and towns in U.S.: 55%

We’re working to ensure that every person, in every neighborhood, in every city across America has a quality park within a 10-minute walk of home.

See Our Work in Missouri

St. Louis residents who live within a 10-minute walk of a park

By Age (%)

Children (0 - 19)

Adults (20 - 64)

Seniors (65+)

By Income (%)

High Income

Middle Income

Low Income

By Race/Ethnicity (%)

Native American*

Asian*

Black*

Hispanic

Pacific Islander*

White*

2 or More Races*

Other*

*Excludes those that report Hispanic origin (which is captured separately from race by the U.S. Census).

Comparing amount of park space between neighborhoods by race/ethnicity

Residents in neighborhoods of color* have access to 25% more park space per person than the city’s average neighborhood and 15% less than those in white neighborhoods. Additionally, we compared park space in the city’s average neighborhood with others by specific race and ethnicity:

*Neighborhoods of color are defined as those in St. Louis with the highest concentrations of people who identify as Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and Native American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, multiple races, or other communities of color (more information).

Comparing amount of park space between neighborhoods by income

Residents in low-income neighborhoods have access to 10% less park space per person than those in the average St. Louis neighborhood and 37% less than those in high-income neighborhoods.

10% of St. Louis’s land is used for parks and recreation.

National median 15%

How do park amenities measure up?

These six amenities reflect activities popular among a diverse selection of user groups (kids, teenagers, adults, seniors). For each amenity, St. Louis is awarded points based on their abundance relative to the other 99 cities.

Basketball Hoops

1/100pts

0.9 per 10,000 people

Playgrounds

46/100pts

3.1 per 10,000 people

Rec & Senior Centers

36/100pts

0.7 per 20,000 people

Dog Parks

91/100pts

2.4 per 100,000 people

Bathrooms

89/100pts

2.6 per 10,000 people

Splashpads

100/100pts

3.7 per 100,000 people

How much is St. Louis investing in parks?

We compared St. Louis with the other 100 most populous cities in the nation on total park investment per person, aggregating all public and private spending for any publicly accessible park in the city.

Park Investment (Three-Year Average)

City agency

$15 (13%)
Other public agencies

$43.09 (38%)
Private organizations

$53.44 (47%)
Monetized volunteer hours

$1.16 (1%)

$113

Total Spending Per Capita

National benchmark: Relative park spending by organization type
Average among 100 most populous cities
City agency: 85.5%
Other public agencies: 7%
Private organizations: 5.5%
Monetized volunteer hours: 2%
Total per capita spending: $108 per person

See the map

Where are the parks most needed?

St. Louis has 362 parks.

Trust for Public Land has mapped park access for every urban area in the U.S., including Puerto Rico. Our ParkServe® mapping platform helps you pinpoint park investments to address park need, climate, equity, and health.

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