Contrasting shades: Greenest and least green cities in the US revealed

The delay has sparked an outcry from environmentalists, who saw the law as a major breakthrough in the fight to protect nature and the climate – Copyright AFP/File Jim WATSON

October, in the U.S., is National Energy Awareness Month. This autumnal event falls at a time when 52 percent of U.S. citizens say that protecting the environment should be prioritised above economic growth.

To mark this period, the personal-finance website WalletHub has released a report on 2024’s Greenest Cities in America, to identify the places where people prioritize living sustainably and protecting our environment.

To gather these data WalletHub compared the 100 largest U.S. cities across 28 key indicators of environmental friendliness and sustainability. The data set ranges from greenhouse-gas emissions per capita to the water quality to green job opportunities.

From the analysis, the ‘greenest’ cities were found to be:

1. San Diego, CA

2. Washington, DC

3. Honolulu, HI

4. San Francisco, CA

5. San Jose, CA

6. Seattle, WA

7. Oakland, CA

8. Portland, OR

9. Fremont, CA

10. Irvine, CA

In contrast, those cities deemed ‘least green’ were establishes as:

91. Louisville, KY

92. Detroit, MI

93. Newark, NJ

94. Chandler, AZ

95. Gilbert, AZ

96. Baton Rouge, LA

97. Mesa, AZ

98. Houston, TX

99. Hialeah, FL

100. Glendale, AZ

Behind the rankings there are some interesting variances. Taking pollution, Lubbock, Texas, has the lowest median air-quality index, which is 4.2 times lower than in Riverside and San Bernardino, California, the cities with the highest (in this context, having the lowest level equates to the best air quality).

With green spaces, Anchorage, Alaska, has the most green space, which is 46.3 times more than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the least. Green spaces provide opportunities for exercise and recreation. To promote this, San Francisco, California and St. Paul, Minnesota have the highest walk score, which is 4.2 times higher than in Chesapeake, Virginia, the city with the lowest.

Another measure is home-produced foods. Here, Honolulu was discovered to have the most farmers markets (per square root of population), which is 75.4 times more than in Arlington, Texas, the city with the fewest.