Our Impact
One of the largest municipal park systems in the nation — 600+ parks serving nearly 2.7 million Chicagoans, in every neighborhood.
The numbers below are the Chicago Park District's own published figures.
By the Numbers
As the Chicago Park District describes its own footprint.
600+
Parks
~8,800
Acres of green space
230+
Field houses
26
Miles of lakefront
~78
Pools
29
Beaches
Inside the System
More than 200 pickleball courts were added through 2025 under the District's “Pickleball Mania!” initiative.
Source: Chicago Park District FY2026 Budget Appropriations (adopted Dec 10, 2025).
378,000+
program enrollments in 2025 — up 4.7% over 2024
2025 figure is CPD's year-end projection.
Program Enrollments, 2015–2025
Recovered to roughly 91% of the 2019 pre-pandemic peak of 416,450.
Source: CPD FY2026 Budget Appropriations, p. 10. The gold point marks CPD's 2025 year-end projection.
Who Enrolls
Share of 2025 enrollments by age group (projection).
Early Childhood + Youth together make up 51.8% of all enrollments.
What They Do
Share of 2025 enrollments by activity type (projection).
61%
of 2025 registrations happened online
Up 2 percentage points since 2024 — the rest were registered in person at the parks.
Source: Chicago Park District FY2026 Budget Appropriations (adopted Dec 10, 2025). Enrollment mix and online share: pp. 9–10.
Programs for Every Chicagoan
Camps, culture, inclusion, and jobs — in all 77 community areas.
1,300
Night Out in the Parks events
~170,000 attendance across all 77 Chicago community areas (2025 projection).
~17,100
Summer day-camp enrollments
Regional day camps across the Central, North, and South regions (2025 projection).
42,642
Special Olympics event participation
Up from 5,681 in 2020 (2025 projection).
16,000
Special Recreation participants
Nearly double the 8,667 of 2020 (2025 projection).
~7,000
Individuals employed each year
About half of these positions are summer employment opportunities.
379
Lifeguard Explorers in 2025
Teens who completed the pipeline and joined CPD aquatics — enabling 7-day-a-week pool operations for the first time in 5 years.
Also in 2025 (projections): 39,500 aquatics enrollments · 22,000 teen-program participants · 25,000 wellness enrollments · about $365,000 in financial assistance provided to families.
Source: Chicago Park District FY2026 Budget Appropriations (adopted Dec 10, 2025). Program figures: pp. 7, 11, 29, 91, 111–127.
Growing a Greener Chicago
Trees, natural areas, and rebuilt playgrounds across the system.
Trees Planted by CPD
2022–2024 actuals; outlined bars are the 2025 projection and 2026 adopted-budget target.
Source: CPD FY2026 Budget Appropriations, p. 107.
200–250K
trees managed on parkland
A full tree inventory is underway, funded by a U.S. Forest Service grant (CPD, Dec 2025).
131
natural areas across the city
With $2.2M+ in grants received for park natural-area projects in 2025.
325
playgrounds rebuilt under Chicago Plays!
“So every child is within a 10-minute walk of a park or playground.”
Source: Chicago Park District FY2026 Budget Appropriations (adopted Dec 10, 2025). Trees managed: CPD board press release, December 2025.
Events & Iconic Venues
From neighborhood picnics to the lakefront's biggest stages.
~2,700
Special-event permits issued per year
2,715 in 2024; 2,700 projected for 2025.
568
Events at Soldier Field in 2025
A banner year — up from 386 in 2024 (2025 projection).
400–510K
Annual conservatory attendance
Garfield Park and Lincoln Park Conservatories (2024 actual to 2025 projection).
20M+
Visitors to Grant Park & Buckingham Fountain each year
CPD estimate — described by the District as the second-most-visited park landmark in the U.S.
Source: Chicago Park District FY2026 Budget Appropriations (adopted Dec 10, 2025). Venue figures: pp. 4, 39, 88, 107.
See It for Yourself!
Find a program, explore a park, or book your next event.
About This Data
Figures on this page come from the Chicago Park District's published budget documents — the FY2026 Budget Appropriations book (adopted December 10, 2025) and FY2026 Budget-in-Brief — and City of Chicago open data. 2025 figures are CPD year-end projections; 2026 figures are adopted-budget targets. This dashboard is part of a product demonstration built by Concourse and is not an official Chicago Park District publication.