Employee Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefits - Schedule of Pension Plan Asset Investments and Target Allocations (Details)	Dec. 31, 2024	Dec. 31, 2023
Fixed Income Securities
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of Fair Value	87.00%	72.00%
Fixed Income Securities \| Packaging Corporation of America
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Plan Assets, Target Allocation, Percentage	91.00%
Domestic Equity Securities
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of Fair Value	7.00%	11.00%
International Equity Securities
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of Fair Value	3.00%	15.00%
Other Securities
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of Fair Value	3.00%	2.00%
Other Securities \| Packaging Corporation of America
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Plan Assets, Target Allocation, Percentage	1.00%
Equity Securities \| Packaging Corporation of America
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Defined Benefit Plan, Plan Assets, Target Allocation, Percentage	8.00%

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanDisclosureLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage of target investment allocation to total plan assets. Includes, but is not limited to, percentage on weighted-average basis if more than one plan.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Topic 715
-SubTopic 20
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 55
-Paragraph 17
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147480482/715-20-55-17

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Topic 715
-SubTopic 20
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (d)(i)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147480506/715-20-50-1

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanPlanAssetsTargetAllocationPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Percentage of actual investment allocation to total plan assets. Includes, but is not limited to, percentage on weighted-average basis if more than one plan.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Topic 715
-SubTopic 20
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (d)(i)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147480506/715-20-50-1

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanWeightedAverageAssetAllocations
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanByPlanAssetCategoriesAxis=us-gaap_FixedIncomeSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	dei_LegalEntityAxis=pkg_PackagingCorporationOfAmericaMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanByPlanAssetCategoriesAxis=pkg_DomesticEquitySecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanByPlanAssetCategoriesAxis=pkg_InternationalEquitySecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanByPlanAssetCategoriesAxis=pkg_OtherSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanByPlanAssetCategoriesAxis=us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanEquitySecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: