How Much Does Going to the Zoo Cost?

In a recent conversation, someone asked me how much does going to the zoo cost. It’s a basic question, one that most ask before taking a trip. But their follow up question was “Is that an expensive zoo, or a cheap zoo?” Like many venues, prices between zoos vary and there really isn’t any consistency. But it did get us wondering how close they are. And if it is expensive, how do you get around that and make going to the zoo a cheap activity? You might not realize it, but you might be doing that already.

In an upcoming zoocation this summer in which we’ll visit eight zoos, the membership will save us over $265 !

For our family, even if a zoo is more on the expensive side we find ways to make it cheap. These include bringing a packed lunch on our trip to Brookfield Zoo. While travelling on our ‘zoocations‘ we’ll still pack a lunch, frequently using coupons or credit card points to get subway gift cards, and take our lunch with us into the zoo. We’ll also frequently buy a zoo cup, which usually allows unlimited refills.

Our biggest money saver has been zoo memberships. Although the membership at Brookfield Zoo has gotten more expensive each year, the unlimited option that we purchase enables us to visit at will, see shows if we want to, and never worry about “getting our money’s worth” since we’ll soon be back. Our membership to Cosley Zoo in Wheaton is what gets us discounts at AZA zoos across the country. In an upcoming zoocation this summer in which we’ll visit eight zoos, the membership will save us over $265!

In our research of nearly 50 zoos in 12 mostly Midwestern states, we found that the average adult zoo admission costs $12.39. The average child admission is $8.87. The chart below includes these prices, and highlights yellow the zoos which have prices above the average. Despite the seemingly easy comparison, please note that the size, activities, and inclusions in all of these zoos differ from each other. In many cases there could be good reasons why zoos cost more than each other. Despite this, zoos like the St. Louis Zoo stand out for being free for everybody.