[Objective] Socioeconomic monitoring of national parks constitutes a critical basis for analyzing the relationship between national park conservation and regional high-quality development. Given the relatively short history of national park development in China, drawing lessons from the experiences of mature countries can provide valuable references for the systematic development of China’s national park socioeconomic monitoring system. [Methods] Based on various U.S. socioeconomic monitoring reports from 1979 to 2024, combined with a literature review and relevant policy analysis, this study reviews the evolution of the U.S. national park socioeconomic monitoring system. It analyzes the characteristics of major monitoring programs in terms of organizational models, monitoring content, and methods. Furthermore, it summarizes the experience of U.S. national park construction and its implications for China. [Results] The results indicate that: (1) The socioeconomic monitoring system of U.S. national parks shows a trend of continuous improvement in continuity, comprehensiveness, and standardization, and long-term, systematic, and standardized socioeconomic monitoring of national parks is conducted at a national scale. (2) Regarding the organizational model, the socioeconomic monitoring of U.S. national parks emphasizes multi-stakeholder participation and cross-sectoral collaboration. The monitoring content covers public preferences, visitor spending, and economic impacts, reflecting multi-scale characteristics. Methodologically, it achieves the standardization and systematization of indicators and analytical methods, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of data application through the dynamic nature and openness of monitoring data. [Conclusion] The U.S. national park socioeconomic monitoring system holds significant reference value for China, though it also presents limitations regarding monitoring scope, methods, and impact types. While China has preliminarily established a national park socioeconomic evaluation indicator system, a significant gap remains compared to the U.S. system. China should leverage its institutional potential and late-mover advantages to optimize the balance between conservation and utilization, strengthen multi-stakeholder engagement and regional coordination, formulate unified monitoring standards and indicators, build a dynamic and long-term monitoring system, and enhance data transparency and public participation. Wuyishan National Park can serve as a representative pilot to support the refined management of national parks in China.