Säsongen 5 av Parks and Recreation sändes på NBC från jeudi 20 septembre 2012 till jeudi 2 mai 2013. Den består av 22 avsnitt, det första heter "Ms. Knope Goes to Washington" och det sista "Are You Better Off?"..
The series follows Leslie Knope, the deputy head of the Parks and Recreation department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Knope takes on a project with a nurse named Ann to turn a construction pit into a park, while trying to mentor a bored college-aged intern. However, Leslie must fight through the bureaucrats, problem neighbors, and developers in order to make her dream a reality, all with a camera crew recording her every gaff and mishap.