Which American cities are the dirtiest places to live? Based on the results of a recent study, cities in two states stand out when it comes to factors like pollution, poor living conditions, inadequate waste infrastructure, and residents’ dissatisfaction.
Taking its information from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and County Health Rankings, the landscape care firm Lawnstarter evaluated more than 300 of the largest cities in the United States.
What they discovered was that six of the top 10 dirtiest cities in America are located in the states of California and New Jersey.
According to the LawnStarter study, San Bernardino, California, is the dirtiest city in America for the second year in a row. The city ranked in a tie for the worst air quality of the more than 300 cities evaluated, and worst in percentage of residents dissatisfied with pollution.
“Research suggests nitrogen dioxide — a harmful pollutant — is around 20% more prevalent near warehouses,” the report explained. “12 cities in San Bernardino County collectively have over 850 large warehouses (100,000 sq ft or larger). The South Coast Air Quality Management District now requires large warehouses to make sustainable investments to offset pollution.”
Coming in second on the list is Los Angeles, which ranked sixth worst in pollution, twelfth worst in living conditions, and 18th in resident dissatisfaction. Ontario’s residents ranked it as the fifth dirtiest city due to pollution and dissatisfaction, while Corona, California, secured the last spot in the top 10. Eight other California cities also made it into the top 24.
New Jersey also has multiple towns on the dirtiest cities list
The only other state with more than one entry into the top 10 dirtiest cities in America was New Jersey. The study placed Newark sixth-worst based on its third position in resident dissatisfaction and being 11th in living conditions. Jersey City followed closely in eighth place, largely due to its ranking as second-worst for living conditions. On the plus side, you have to go all the way to 70th on the list, Trenton, to find the next city from the Garden State.
The rest of the top 10 dirtiest cities in America, according to the study, were Detroit, Michigan, in third place, followed by Reading, Pennsylvania, in fourth, Phoenix, Arizona, in seventh, and Las Vegas, Nevada, in ninth.
The dirtiest cities to live in each state (and the cleanest overall)
The dirtiest cities in other states were Mobile, Alabama; Anchorage, Alaska; Fort Smith, Arkansas; Aurora, Colorado; Waterbury, Connecticut; Miami, Florida; Macon, Georgia; Honolulu, Hawaii; Boise City, Idaho; Schaumburg, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Iowa City, Iowa; Topeka, Kansas; Louisville, Kentucky; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Baltimore, Maryland; Newton, Massachusetts; Rochester, Minnesota; Jackson, Mississippi; Kansas City, Missouri; Billings, Montana; Omaha, Nebraska; Manchester, New Hampshire; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Yonkers, New York; Raleigh, North Carolina; Bismarck, North Dakota; Toledo, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Portland, Oregon; Providence, Rhode Island; Columbia, South Carolina; Rapid City, South Dakota; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Houston, Texas; Newport News, Virginia; Salt Lake City, Utah; Seattle, Washington; Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Vermont residents appear to be the lucky ones, as not a single city in the state made the list. Also ranking as being very clean were South Bend, Indiana; Wilmington, North Carolina; Des Moines and Davenport, Iowa; and Athens, Georgia.