A neighbor to Minneapolis, St. Louis Park's convenient location means you're only minutes away from all of the Twin Cities' amenities: the chain of lakes, the downtown theater district, shopping, universities, and major league sports. To this cosmopolitan mix, St. Louis Park adds its long-standing tradition of friendliness, community involvement and commitment to excellence. St. Louis Park is an established community of 10.8 square miles. In a little more than 115 years, it's grown from a village of 45 families to a community of 44,126 residents. Residential areas comprise the largest portion of the community. Our community is home to retail stores, restaurants, medical facilities, family-owned businesses, corporations, and churches and synagogues. St. Louis Park has a sound economic base with commercial, industrial and apartment development comprising more than 60 percent of the tax base. Commercial uses comprise 13.8 percent of the community's land area. St. Louis Park has 51 parks to enjoy (11.5 percent of St. Louis Park's land is set aside for parks). Bike trails link St. Louis Park to downtown Minneapolis, the Uptown area, Hopkins and Chaska. Residents of all ages can participate in year-round recreational and educational activities offered by the city and school district. One of St. Louis Park's strengths is our nationally recognized school system. Unlike many other suburbs, our children can attend school within our community from preschool through high school. The school district's relatively small enrollment - 4,200 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade - allows for greater individual attention to learners, a strong sense of community and more opportunities for participation. Our residents speak highly of the community. In a random opinion survey conducted in 2000, 95 percent reported that they would recommend St. Louis Park to other people, and 95 percent said they feel welcomed in the community.