Washington Parks and Recreation Statewide Survey

Results/Analysis -- August - October, 2020

This project was a collaboration between the Washington Recreation & Park Association, the Washington State Association of Counties, the Association of Washington Cities, and Metro Parks Tacoma.

The focus of the survey was to gather data on service demand and operational challenges, both preceding and as a result of COVID-19. Since all agencies are different, the goal is not to compare or benchmark between agencies. The intent is to see the degree of change between increasing demand and declining resources that all park and recreation agencies have experienced.

33% Response Rate

City, County and parks and recreation special purpose district leaders were asked to complete the survey and the survey was sent to 227 agencies - 109 cities, 39 counties, 79 Special Purpose Park Districts with 74 responses - a 33% response rate.

Below are interactive charts analyzing the responses.

  • Filters - click on one or several of the jurisdiction types to see just that data - City/City & Metropolitan Park District/County/Park and Recreation District
  • Scroll on name of agency to see more on the list and then click on one or several of the agencies to see just that data.
  • Hover over bar charts to see actual data numbers and detailed data.
  • Use your mouse to scroll through charts.

Annual Operating Expenditures/Estimated Number of Users/Full-Time Equivalents/Total Acres/2020 Operations Funding

Percentage of Change from Year to Year for Annual Operating Expenditures

Percentage of Change from Year to Year for Estimated Number of Users

Change in demand in the following specific programming areas from your 2015 to 2019 use levels:

Challenges Experienced in Managing your Park System due to COVID-19

Next Steps

This survey will serve as a "baseline" with plans to replicate the survey in the future to establish trends among Parks & Recreation throughout the state of Washington.

For further questions, please contact WRPA Legislative Chair Roxanne Miles at roxanne.miles@piercecountywa.gov or Intergovernmental Relations Lobbyist Doug Levy at doug@outcomesbylevy.onmicrosoft.com with any questions, comments, or concerns.

For questions on how to use or maneuver the interactive dashboards contact Amy Johnson at amyj@tacomaparks.com.

Acknowledgements

Survey Administration and Support made possible by the cooperation of the following individuals:

  • Derek Anderson, Washington State Association of Counties
  • Christian Belcher, Association of Washington Cities
  • Candice Bock, Association of Washington Cities
  • Amy Johnson, Metro Parks Tacoma
  • Matthew Kerns, Metro Parks Tacoma
  • Doug Levy, Outcomes by Levy, LLC
  • Peter Mayer, Metro Parks Tacoma
  • Roxanne Miles, Pierce County Parks & WRPA Legislative Chair

This project was a collaboration between the Washington Recreation & Park Association, the Washington State Association of Counties, the Association of Washington Cities, and Metro Parks Tacoma.