Austin Rises in National Park Rankings

Across the city, Austin's park system is becoming a bigger part of the region's quality-of-life infrastructure.

The numbers are moving:

• No. 5 park system in Texas
• No. 47 nationally among the 100 largest U.S. cities
• Up from No. 54 last year
• 76% of Austinites now live within a 10-minute walk of a park
• Up from 68% last year and 48% ten years ago
• $236 spent per resident on parks, compared with the national average of $154
• $260M parks and recreation bond under consideration

Taken together, these numbers show how much of Austin's future is being shaped not just by private development, but by investment back into the city's public spaces.