The fictional town in Parks and Recreation is located in Indiana.
The town is Pawnee, an invented mid-sized Indiana community where Leslie Knope works in the Parks and Recreation Department. The series uses Pawnee’s local government, eccentric residents, and civic disputes as the setting for its mockumentary comedy.
Pawnee is presented as being in south-central Indiana, roughly 90 miles from Indianapolis, though the show’s geography is intentionally loose. Its neighboring town, Eagleton, is portrayed as wealthier and more polished before eventually being absorbed into Pawnee after financial problems.
The town is fictional, but many of its details feel deliberately specific: Pawnee has a City Hall, a local newspaper, the Sweetums candy company, and a long, troubling history involving the Wamapoke people. Another common mix-up concerns filming locations. Although Pawnee is supposed to be in Indiana, much of the show was filmed in Southern California, including scenes using Pasadena City Hall.