Albuquerque park systems ranked 23rd in the nation

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A brand-new study shows the parks in the Duke City have cracked the top 25 in the nation. 

The ParkScore study evaluated 14 measures across five different categories in access, investment, amenities, acreage, and equity. Albuquerque’s park system ranked 23rd in the nation this year, compared to 34th in 2022.

People love their neighborhood park weather you’re getting your game right or just learning. Folks at the Westgate Community Park are grateful. 

“I think it’s important for kids to be able to have these types of athletic outlets at parks,” said Jorge Hernandez.  

91% of people in the Duke City live within a 10-minute walk to a park – which helped Albuquerque’s higher ranking.

“I think it’s great, especially, you know, when you are ranking low in some of those more prominent things. And you know, a lot of it starts with the youth,” said Hernandez. 

But one area that is not listed in the ranking is maintenance.

“You’ll see glass or sometimes alcohol bottles or whatever it might be, which is dangerous for the kiddos, obviously. But the city can’t always pick everything up, or knows when everything is there,” Hernandez said. 

But folks say the city is doing a good job here.

“Not a lot of Albuquerque parks that have a full size court, you know, they’re a little bit smaller, or the rims are messed up, or there’s graffiti, glass. They maintain this park pretty good,” said Dominic Gutierrez. 

Albuquerque ranked highest for access but lowest for investment. However, that might be changing.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Department sent KOB 4 a breakdown showing an increase in funding from the state Capital Outlay grants from 2019 to 2023:

• 2019:  $17.3 million
• 2020:  $10.2 million
• 2021:  $9.7 million
• 2022:  $13.1 million
• 2023:  $22.1 million

The Parks and Recreation Department are also working on over 70 projects ranging from park developments and renovation projects to parks like Los Altos and Phil Chacon, including small renovations to the Rio Grande Triangle Dog Park. All projects range in cost from $10,000 to $15 million. 

Click here to see more on ranking and evaluations.