As is usually the case, both of the Twin Cities - Minneapolis and St. Paul - have scored well on an annual index ranking public parks in America's largest cities, even though they slipped slightly on this year's list. In 2024, Minneapolis was second and St. Paul third.
The Trust for Public Land announced Wednesday morning that Minneapolis placed third in the country for its parks, while St. Paul came in fifth. Washington D.C. claimed the top spot and Irvine, California jumped to second. Cincinnati rounded out the top five.
The rankings are based on things like acreage, amenities, investment and proximity. Minneapolis scored very well on access (99), investments (100) and amenities (96) but acreage and equity both fell.
It was a similar story in St. Paul with access, investments and amenities all scoring well, but falling short in acreage and equity.
They note that 99 percent of Twin Cities residents live within a 10 minute walk of a park. But not all neighborhoods are created equally creating an equity issue in both cities.
In Minneapolis, residents in neighborhoods of color have access to 23% less park space per person than the city’s average neighborhood and 58% less than those in white neighborhoods.
In St. Paul, residents in neighborhoods of color* have access to 35% less park space per person than the city’s average neighborhood and 17% less than those in white neighborhoods.
Both cities definitely put money towards park space. Minneapolis spends an average of $324 per capita over a three-year average, which is nearly triple the national average. St. Paul invests about $248 per capita.
In comparison, Washington D.C. in the top spot spends $393 per capita and is far ahead in investing that money in low-income neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color. Residents in the Nation's Capitol that live in low-income neighborhoods have access to 21% more park space per person than those in the average DC neighborhood and 12% less than those in high-income neighborhoods.
You can see the full list and breakdown of cities here.