Minneapolis and St. Paul are neck-and-neck when it comes to having the top park systems in the country according to the latest rankings released by Trust for Public Land.
For a third straight year, Washington D.C. sits atop the ParkScore rankings with an 84.9 out of 100 rating.
St. Paul was second on the list for the second straight year, scoring 80.8 while Minneapolis moved up two spots from last year's fifth-place ranking to third scoring an 80.4.
1. Washington D.C. (84.9)
2. St. Paul (80.8)
3. Minneapolis (80.4)
4. Irvine, CA (80.0)
5. Arlington, VA (78.9)
6. Cincinnati, OH (76.9)
7. San Francisco, CA (76.4)
8. Seattle, WA (74.7)
9. Portland, OR (73.7)
T10. New York, NY (72.7)
T10. Boston, MA (72.7)
The ParkScore scores five different categories including accessibility, acreage, investment, amenities, and equity.
St. Paul parks scored a 99 in the accessibility category with 99 percent of the city's residents living within a walkable half-mile of a park. St. Paul scored a 100 on investment with the city spending $246 per capita each year on publicly accessible parks and recreation, among the highest for this category.
The lowest scores came from the equity (71) and acreage (51) categories.
While St. Paul scores 100 out of 100 points for people of color living within a 10-minute walk of a park and 100 points for low-income households, St. Paul, residents living in neighborhoods of color have access to 32% less nearby park space than those living in white neighborhoods.
Lower-income neighborhoods have access to 34% less nearby park space than those in higher income neighborhoods.
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Minneapolis' scored highest in the investment category receiving 100 out of 100 points spending a total of $312 per capita is spent each year on publicly accessible parks and recreation. Accessibility also was a high scoring area for Minneapolis parks, 98 percent of the city's population living within a walkable half-mile of a park.
Minneapolis saw its lowest score when it came to park equity (59 out of 100).
According to the rankings, residents living in neighborhoods of color have access to 59% less nearby park space than those living in white neighborhoods.
Residents living in lower-income neighborhoods have access to 65% less nearby park space than those in higher income neighborhoods.
Minneapolis scored 83 out of 100 points for park amenities and 62 out of 100 points for acreage.
Other notable park rankings
13. Madison, WI
20. Milwaukee, WI
50. Oakland, CA
80. Los Angeles, CA
100. Gilbert, AZ