Infographic: Distribution of NPS Units

A few weeks ago someone shared this strange Associated Press article which begins by saying "Idaho is the only state without a national park". That sentence is wrong twice! Not only does Yellowstone National Park have a western border within Idaho, there happen to be a lot of states without a National Park. With that AP sentence, a question was raised in my head that I just had to answer; which states have the most and least National Park Service units? First, a quick definition. A unit of the National Park Service includes more than just National Parks, it also includes National Monuments, National Recreation Areas, National Seashores, and more. There are 390 units in all. So, to answer my question, I have created this "heat map" of sorts with the states in red having the most NPS units (20+), and the states in dark blue with just one. Click on the map to see it in greater detail.



A couple things that you may find interesting as you look at the map. Delaware is the only state without a single National Park Service unit. And, there are five states with just 1 unit. Most states (32) have at least 5 park units (including Idaho). This map does not include the park units which exist in Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico. Washington D.C. is not represented on this map because it is too small in size to see, but it contains 19 park units.

For more information, the NPS website has a clickable map which shows the park units by state.