How many people visit Yellowstone?
- 2025 visits
- 4,762,988
- +0.4% vs 2024
- Rank, 2025
- #3
- of 63 national parks
- Record year
- 2021
- 4,860,242 visits
- vs 2015
- +16.2%
- ten-year change
- vs 1979
- +151.6%
- since the first full year
- Busiest month ever
- Jul 2021
- 1,080,767 visits
1979–2025
Every year since the counts began
Show the full table (47 years) ↓
| Year | Recreation visits | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,762,988 | +0.4% | #3 |
| 2024 | 4,744,353 | +5.4% | #4 |
| 2023 | 4,501,382 | +36.8% | #4 |
| 2022 | 3,290,242 | −32.3% | #7 |
| 2021 | 4,860,242 | +27.7% | #3 |
| 2020 | 3,806,306 | −5.3% | #2 |
| 2019 | 4,020,288 | −2.3% | #6 |
| 2018 | 4,115,000 | −0.0% | #5 |
| 2017 | 4,116,524 | −3.3% | #6 |
| 2016 | 4,257,177 | +3.9% | #6 |
| 2015 | 4,097,710 | +16.6% | #5 |
| 2014 | 3,513,484 | +10.2% | #4 |
| 2013 | 3,188,030 | −7.5% | #4 |
| 2012 | 3,447,729 | +1.6% | #4 |
| 2011 | 3,394,326 | −6.8% | #4 |
| 2010 | 3,640,185 | +10.5% | #4 |
| 2009 | 3,295,187 | +7.5% | #4 |
| 2008 | 3,066,580 | −2.7% | #5 |
| 2007 | 3,151,343 | +9.8% | #4 |
| 2006 | 2,870,295 | +1.2% | #4 |
| 2005 | 2,835,651 | −1.1% | #6 |
| 2004 | 2,868,317 | −5.0% | #6 |
| 2003 | 3,019,375 | +1.5% | #6 |
| 2002 | 2,973,677 | +7.8% | #8 |
| 2001 | 2,758,526 | −2.8% | #8 |
| 2000 | 2,838,233 | −9.4% | #8 |
| 1999 | 3,131,381 | +0.3% | #8 |
| 1998 | 3,120,830 | +8.0% | #7 |
| 1997 | 2,889,513 | −4.1% | #8 |
| 1996 | 3,012,171 | −3.6% | #7 |
| 1995 | 3,125,285 | +2.6% | #7 |
| 1994 | 3,046,145 | +4.6% | #6 |
| 1993 | 2,912,193 | −7.4% | #4 |
| 1992 | 3,144,405 | +7.7% | #4 |
| 1991 | 2,920,537 | +3.4% | #4 |
| 1990 | 2,823,572 | +6.8% | #4 |
| 1989 | 2,644,442 | +21.2% | #6 |
| 1988 | 2,182,113 | −15.2% | #8 |
| 1987 | 2,573,194 | +8.9% | #6 |
| 1986 | 2,363,756 | +6.2% | #7 |
| 1985 | 2,226,159 | +0.2% | #7 |
| 1984 | 2,222,027 | −5.3% | #6 |
| 1983 | 2,347,242 | −0.9% | #7 |
| 1982 | 2,368,897 | −6.1% | #8 |
| 1981 | 2,521,831 | +26.1% | #5 |
| 1980 | 2,000,269 | +5.7% | #8 |
| 1979 | 1,892,908 | — | #8 |
By decade
The long view
- 1970s
- 1.89 million
- avg · 1 yr
- 1980s
- 2.34 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 1990s
- 3.01 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2000s
- 2.97 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2010s
- 3.78 million
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2020s
- 4.33 million
- avg · 6 yrs
Seasonality: in 1979–1983 the three busiest months carried 71% of the year’s visits; in 2021–2025 they carried 58% — visits have spread out across the year.
Average visits by month
2021–2025 · NPS IRMAQuietest: NovemberBusiest: July
The weather page puts these crowd levels beside each month’s temperatures.
About these numbers
Figures are the National Park Service’s monthly recreation-visit counts, retrieved from its public statistics service and summed by calendar year. A year is shown only when all twelve months were reported. The NPS revises recent months occasionally, so small differences from a later nps.gov table are normal. Rankings compare the 63 national parks for the same year. See every park ranked for 2025.
Sources · 2
- 1.NPS Visitor Use Statistics — monthly recreation visits by park, 1979–2025 · National Park Service (U.S. Department of the Interior)
- 2.NPS Visitor Use Statistics Definitions · National Park Service
FAQ
Yellowstone visitor questions
- How many people visit Yellowstone National Park each year?
- 4,762,988 recreation visits in 2025, ranking #3 of the 63 national parks. The 2010s averaged 3,779,045 a year.
- What was Yellowstone's busiest year?
- 2021, with 4,860,242 recreation visits — +2.0% more than 2025. The single busiest month on record was July 2021 (1,080,767 visits).
- Is Yellowstone getting more crowded?
- 2025 visits were +16.2% compared with 2015 and +68.0% compared with 2005.
- What counts as a recreation visit?
- The NPS counts a recreation visit as one person entering the park for recreation; someone who leaves and re-enters is counted again, and commuters, through-traffic and staff are excluded. Counts come from gate and traffic counters with park-specific multipliers, so they are estimates.
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