The most underserved North American cities for soft play (2026)

Name: Most Underserved North American Cities for Soft Play 2026
Creator: GetSoftPlay

Which North America markets have the most children per existing indoor playground? We ranked 18 cities across 2 countries by demand gap — the ratio of children in each catchment to the play venues already serving them. This is the North America cut of our Global Soft Play Opportunity Index.

countries

cities ranked

324

venues counted

0.9×

top demand gap

Key finding: The most underserved North American city for indoor playgrounds in 2026 is New York, United States (0.9× demand gap), followed by San Antonio (0.85×) and Los Angeles (0.74×). Across North America, an estimated 1,746,500 children in these catchments are served by just 324 venues.

North American cities ranked by demand gap

#	City	Country	Demand gap	Children / venue	Venues
1	New York	United States	0.9×	8,100	20
2	San Antonio	United States	0.85×	7,615	13
3	Los Angeles	United States	0.74×	6,650	20
4	Houston	United States	0.73×	6,600	20
5	Miami	United States	0.73×	6,600	15
6	Chicago	United States	0.69×	6,175	20
7	Phoenix	United States	0.69×	6,176	17
8	Dallas	United States	0.68×	6,111	18
9	Toronto	Canada	0.61×	5,474	19
10	Ottawa	Canada	0.57×	5,143	14
11	Philadelphia	United States	0.56×	5,000	19
12	Montreal	Canada	0.51×	4,632	19
13	Calgary	Canada	0.47×	4,211	19
14	Atlanta	United States	0.47×	4,235	17
15	Vancouver	Canada	0.42×	3,789	19
16	Edmonton	Canada	0.42×	3,789	19
17	Denver	United States	0.42×	3,778	18
18	Seattle	United States	0.37×	3,333	18

North America countries ranked

#	Country	Median gap	Cities	Top city
1	United States	0.69×	12	New York (0.9×)
2	Canada	0.49×	6	Toronto (0.61×)

How we measured demand

For each city we estimate children in the central catchment from metro population and national child-population shares, then count indoor play venues within a fixed radius via Google Places. Children ÷ venues gives children per venue; comparing to a regional benchmark gives the demand gap (above 1.0× = underserved). Full methodology and the worldwide ranking are in the Global Soft Play Opportunity Index 2026. Figures are planning estimates, not forecasts (2026-09). If you reference these findings, please credit GetSoftPlay with a link.

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