Socioeconomic Monitoring (SEM) Visitor Survey Park Selection is designed so that each year's park units combine to form a representative sample of the park system as a whole. This is achieved by:
- Identifying all parks with adequate visitor use data (5 years) for sampling and analysis purposes
- Classifying these parks as one of 4 categories: Nature, Recreation, Historic-Urban, Historic-Other
- Splitting each category into low and high visitation groups (8 total groups)
- Randomly selecting 3 parks from each of the 8 groups, for 24 total selected
![SEM Park Selection Flow Chart A flow chart working from left to right showing how all available park units are broken down into categories based on park type and then by visitation level (high or low). Each year, three parks are selected from each subsection for a total of 24 parks.](/subjects/socialscience/images/SEM-Park-Selection-Flow-Chart-crop.png)
NPS Social Science Program
2022 Selected Parks
Park Type | High Visitation | Low Visitation |
Historic, Non-Urban | Cumberland Gap NHP Mount Rushmore NM Vanderbilt Mansion NHS |
Fort Bowie NHS Fort Laramie NHS Martin Van Buren NHS |
Historic, Urban | Gateway Arch NP Korean War Veterans NMEM Thomas Jefferson NMEM |
General Grant NMEM Morristown NHP Thomas Edison NHP |
Natural | Capitol Reef NP Grand Teton NP Rocky Mountain NP |
Guadalupe Mountains NP Isle Royale NP Pinnacles NP |
Recreation | Cape Hatteras NS Natchez Trace PKWY National Capital Parks Central |
Catoctin MP Lake Meredith NRA Niobrara NSR |
2022 results will include park specific reports, a national level report, and an interactive data dashboard.
Last updated: June 27, 2022