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How many zoos are in the US?

By Louis-Marie Giudicenti. Published . Updated . Data read .

There are 1,719 zoos on Google Maps in the US as of November 9, 2026, one for every 197,854 residents. There is no official count of zoos alone: the Census files them with botanical gardens, and counted 781 of the two with paid employees in 2023.

1,719
zoos on Google Maps in the US
0.1
per 10,000 residentsone for every 197,854
145
in Texas, the most of any state
0.4
per 10,000 residents in Alaska, the most of any state

Source: Primavera’s database of Google Maps listings, snapshot 2026-11, read November 9, 2026. Population: Census 2024 estimates. See method.

Our count next to the Census and the official figures

Each source counts something different: Google Maps lists places, the Census counts businesses with or without paid staff, and federations count their members or their own definition. Here they are side by side.

Number of zoos in the US: Primavera’s Google Maps count next to official figures
Source and what it countsYearNumber
Primavera, Google Maps listings: zoos open on the map, service points left out20261,719
U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023: Zoos and botanical gardens with paid employees, counted together (NAICS 712130)2023781

Primavera’s count is 2.2 times the Census count of establishments with paid employees (781 in 2023).

Sources: Census national files and federation pages read on November 9, 2026; Primavera, snapshot 2026-11.

Why the numbers differ

  • Small zoos. Petting zoos, roadside zoos and farms that call themselves a zoo use the same Google category as the large city zoos.
  • Accreditation. Accreditation bodies count their members only: accredited zoos are a minority of the places listed as zoos.
  • Zoos and gardens. County Business Patterns counts zoos and botanical gardens together (781), and only those with paid employees.
  • What is left out. Aquariums, wildlife parks and safari parks have categories of their own and are not counted here.
  • Dates. The Census figure describes 2023; this count, November 9, 2026.

Which state has the most zoos?

Texas, with 145 listings, ahead of California (132). Per resident, Alaska has the most: 0.4 per 10,000 residents, against 0.1 for the US.

Zoos per 10,000 residents, by state

Google Maps listings counted November 9, 2026. US: 0.1 per 10,000 residents.

Delaware: 7 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsDE0.1District of Columbia: 19 zoos, 0.3 per 10,000 residentsDC0.3Florida: 132 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsFL0.1Georgia: 39 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsGA0.0Hawaii: 12 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsHI0.1Idaho: 14 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsID0.1Illinois: 79 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsIL0.1Indiana: 36 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsIN0.1Iowa: 12 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsIA0.0Kansas: 27 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsKS0.1Kentucky: 14 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsKY0.0Louisiana: 19 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsLA0.0Maine: 3 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsME0.0Maryland: 23 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsMD0.0Massachusetts: 30 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsMA0.0Michigan: 53 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsMI0.1Minnesota: 49 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsMN0.1Mississippi: 9 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsMS0.0Missouri: 58 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsMO0.1Montana: 1 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsMT0.0Nebraska: 35 zoos, 0.2 per 10,000 residentsNE0.2Nevada: 10 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsNV0.0New Hampshire: 6 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsNH0.0New Jersey: 20 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsNJ0.0New Mexico: 10 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsNM0.0New York: 63 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsNY0.0North Carolina: 74 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsNC0.1North Dakota: 4 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsND0.1Ohio: 77 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsOH0.1Oklahoma: 29 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsOK0.1Oregon: 15 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsOR0.0Pennsylvania: 64 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsPA0.0Rhode Island: 17 zoos, 0.2 per 10,000 residentsRI0.2South Carolina: 35 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsSC0.1South Dakota: 12 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsSD0.1Tennessee: 43 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsTN0.1Texas: 145 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsTX0.0Utah: 23 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsUT0.1Vermont: 1 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsVT0.0Virginia: 31 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsVA0.0Washington: 34 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsWA0.0West Virginia: 8 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsWV0.0Wisconsin: 51 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsWI0.1Wyoming: 2 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsWY0.0Alaska: 32 zoos, 0.4 per 10,000 residentsAK0.4Connecticut: 9 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsCT0.0California: 132 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsCA0.0Colorado: 25 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsCO0.0Arizona: 34 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsAZ0.0Arkansas: 13 zoos, 0.0 per 10,000 residentsAR0.0Alabama: 29 zoos, 0.1 per 10,000 residentsAL0.1
  • 0.0
  • 0.1
  • 0.2–0.4

Each square is a state, placed roughly where it is on a map. Darker means more per resident.

US states ranked by zoos per 10,000 residents, with the number of zoos and its rank
#StateZoosRank by numberPer 10,000 residentsvs US
1Alaska32200.4+0.3
2District of Columbia19300.3+0.2
3Nebraska35160.2+0.1
4Rhode Island17320.2+0.1
5South Dakota12390.10.0
6Missouri5890.10.0
7Kansas27250.10.0
8Wisconsin51110.10.0
9Minnesota49120.10.0
10Hawaii12370.10.0
11Oklahoma29240.10.0
12Idaho14340.10.0
13North Carolina7460.10.0
14Delaware7450.10.0
15Utah23280.10.0
16Ohio7750.10.0
17South Carolina35170.10.0
18Illinois7940.10.0
19Tennessee43130.10.0
20Florida13230.10.0
21Alabama29230.10.0
22Michigan53100.10.0
23Indiana36150.10.0
24North Dakota4470.10.0
25Pennsylvania6470.0−0.1
26New Mexico10410.0−0.1
27Texas14510.0−0.1
28West Virginia8440.0−0.1
29Arizona34180.0−0.1
30Washington34190.0−0.1
31New Hampshire6460.0−0.1
32Arkansas13360.0−0.1
33Massachusetts30220.0−0.1
34Colorado25260.0−0.1
35Louisiana19310.0−0.1
36Iowa12380.0−0.1
37Maryland23270.0−0.1
38Virginia31210.0−0.1
39Oregon15330.0−0.1
40Georgia39140.0−0.1
41Wyoming2490.0−0.1
42California13220.0−0.1
43New York6380.0−0.1
44Nevada10400.0−0.1
45Mississippi9430.0−0.1
46Kentucky14350.0−0.1
47Connecticut9420.0−0.1
48Maine3480.0−0.1
49New Jersey20290.0−0.1
50Vermont1510.0−0.1
51Montana1500.0−0.1

US: 0.1 per 10,000 residents

In number, Texas (145), California (132) and Florida (132) lead. Per resident, Alaska has 49 times as many zoos as Montana, the lowest.

Source: Primavera, snapshot 2026-11, read November 9, 2026. 0 zoos without a public address could not be placed in a state and are only in the US total.

How zoos show up online

Zoos in the United States, by kind of contact listed

Share of all 1,719 listings.

Website link63.5%
Phone number64.2%
Email address36.7%
Zoos next to all US businesses: website builders, links, ad tags, ratings and chains
MeasureZoosAll US businesses
Websites read91412,846,647
Built with WordPress44.9%29.2%
Built with Wix7.8%7.1%
Built with Squarespace6.3%5.6%
Site links to Instagram75.9%35.1%
Site links to Facebook84.6%45.2%
Meta Pixel or other Meta script23.2%8.8%
Google Ads tag10.5%6.1%
Average Google rating4.554.44
Rated under 4 stars7.2%17.4%
Median Google reviews3511
Part of a chain0.1%7.9%

Zoos market themselves online more than most places: 75.9% of zoo websites link to Instagram and 23.2% load a Meta Pixel or another Meta script, against 35.1% and 8.8% of all US business websites.

Note: Builders, links and tags are shares of the websites Primavera could read (914 for zoos), social pages and booking platforms excluded. The Meta figure is an upper bound: Meta’s like buttons and chat load the same script as its ad pixel. Sites made with GoDaddy, Weebly or Duda are counted under none of these builders. Ratings: listings with at least one review.

Which chains have the most zoos?

Zoos are almost never chains: 0.1% of zoo listings belong to a network our rules recognize.

What these figures don’t say

  • Which zoos are accredited, or how many animals they keep.
  • Visitors. A petting zoo and a large city zoo count once each.
  • Aquariums and wildlife parks, which are left out.
  • How many companies own these places. A company with several locations counts once per listing.

Questions

Which state has the most zoos?

Texas, with 145 listings, ahead of California (132). Per resident, Alaska has the most: 0.4 per 10,000 residents, against 0.1 for the US.

Is there a zoo in every state?

Yes, on Google Maps: every state and the District of Columbia has at least one listing in the “Zoo” category. Montana and Vermont have the fewest, with 1 each (Primavera, November 9, 2026).

How many zoos have a website?

63.5% of zoo listings link to a website, and 64.2% show a phone number: small zoos often list neither.

Method and data

Snapshot 2026-11, read November 9, 2026
What is counted
Open listings on Google Maps in the United States whose main Google category is one of the categories below, or whose main category is generic and another of its categories is: 1,719 listings, counted on October 29, 2026 and read on November 9, 2026. Service points (lockers, charging stations) are left out.
Categories
1 Google Maps category: Zoo.
Per resident
Listings for 10,000 residents, with each state’s population from the Census 2024 estimates. States are ranked on the exact ratio.
Official figures
Census County Business Patterns 2023, read on November 9, 2026; federation and agency pages read the same day. Links are in the table above.
Chains
A listing belongs to a chain when its name starts with the chain’s name and its website matches. Agents or franchisees who put their own name first are not tied to the chain.
Cite and download
Louis-Marie Giudicenti (2026). “How many zoos are in the US?” Primavera. Data: snapshot 2026-11, November 9, 2026. https://primaverapp.com/en/data/zoos-in-the-us

Permanent link: https://primaverapp.com/en/data/zoos-in-the-us

Download: states (CSV), map (SVG)

Free to reuse under the CC BY 4.0 license, with a link to this page.

More on how the database is built: all trade counts and how Primavera builds its data.

Written by Louis-Marie Giudicenti

Founder of Primavera. Primavera sells lists of local businesses built from the same database.

Published
Updated

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