Greenest of green: Best states in the US for environmental protection revealed

Swaths of rural land between San Francisco and Sacramento, in the western US state of California, were secretly purchased by tech tycoons keen on building a new city – Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File MARIO TAMA

With nearly half of the rivers and streams in the U.S., and more than one-third of the country’s lakes, being considered so polluted that they are unfit for swimming, fishing, and drinking, urgent action is required.

The non-profit organization SmileHub has released new reports about the Best Charities for Environmental Protection and the Best States for Environmental Protection in 2024.

To derive at the findings, SmileHub compared the eco-friendliness of all 50 states across 23 key metrics. The data set ranges from energy efficiency scores to industrial toxins per square mile of land area to climate change vulnerability.

This found the best states for green measures to be:

1. California

2. New York

3. Washington

4. Massachusetts

5. Maryland

6. Vermont

7. Colorado

8. Hawaii

9. Oregon

10. Connecticut

At the other end of the scale, the worst states were identified as:

41. Nebraska

42. Kansas

43. Wyoming

44. Oklahoma

45. Kentucky

46. North Dakota

47. Alabama

48. West Virginia

49. Louisiana

50. Mississippi

Within these rankings there are some interesting comparative findings. Often measures to boost the environment come from charitable bodies, picking up the inefficiencies of the market. Here, California has the highest number of environmental protection charities per capita at 9.8 times higher than in Oklahoma, which has the lowest number.

Another important measure is the green economy. Here, New York has the highest share of workers that use green transportation. This is 3.3 times higher than in Mississippi, which has the lowest share.

Renewable energy is a measure of the commitment to reducing pollution from carbon fuels. South Dakota has the highest share of renewable energy consumption. This stands at 18.3 times higher than in Delaware, which has the lowest share.

The final measure of interest falls with Vermont, which has the least industrial toxins per square mile of land area. This is 95.3 times less than in Nevada, which has the most industrial toxins.