Arlington County's Park System Climbs To No. 3 In The Nation

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County’s park system climbed to No. 3 in the nation, behind only Washington, D.C., and St. Paul, Minnesota, according to the Trust for Public Land's 2022 ParkScore Index

Arlington scored 79.1 points out of 100 in the ParkScore Index. The calculation is based on an average of five categories: access, investment, amenities, acreage and equity. The county moved up to No. 3 from the No. 4 spot in 2021.

Arlington scored near the top in the investment — in both dollars and volunteerism — and access categories. The county scored about average on the percentage of the city’s overall area that is dedicated to parkland and below average on park size.

According to the county, 99 percent of Arlington residents live within a 10-minute walk to a park.

"Our parks and recreation opportunities are a key contributor to quality of life in Arlington County. From livability, bikeability, fitness, health and more, our community benefits from our parks,” said Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol.

The ParkScore index is a national comparison of park systems across the 100 most populated cities in the United States.

In the No. 1 spot, D.C.’s park system scored 84.9 and St. Paul scored 79.7 in the No. 2 spot. Behind Arlington in the rankings is Cincinnati, Ohio in the No. 4 spot and Minneapolis in the No. 5 spot.

Arlington scored among the highest in the nation for its availability of basketball hoops, dog parks, playgrounds, recreation and senior centers, permanent restrooms and spraygrounds.

In 2021, the Trust for Public Land added equity to the ParkScore. The equity score measures the distribution of parks between neighborhoods by race and income. This category is an average of two types of metrics.

Arlington said the addition of this new category coincides with the county's adoption of a vision of an equitable Arlington is one where all are valued, educated, healthy and safe regardless of race.

Arlington scored 99 out of 100 points for people of color living within a 10-minute walk of a park, and 99 points for low-income households.

For the distribution of park space, Arlington residents living in neighborhoods of color have access to 36 percent less nearby park space than those living in white neighborhoods. Residents living in lower-income neighborhoods have access to 32 percent less nearby park space than those in higher-income neighborhoods.

Arlington said it is committed to make improvements so people of color and residents living in lower-income neighborhoods have better access to park opportunities. An important step in this direction is the openings of the John Robinson, Jr. Town Square and the renovation of Jennie Dean Park in the coming weeks, the county said.

Here are the top 10 park systems in the nation for 2022, according to the ParkScore Index:

1. Washington, DC: 84.9
2. St. Paul, MN: 79.7
3. Arlington, VA: 79.1
4. Cincinnati, OH: 78.9
5. Minneapolis, MN: 78.6
6. Chicago, IL: 76.8
7. San Francisco, CA: 76.7
8. Irvine, CA: 76.6
9. Seattle, WA: 76.2
10. New York, NY: 75.5