Scattered trash and bird on city street – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Margy Crane
According to recent research, one of the biggest cities in the South has overtaken an urban East Coast region to become the “dirtiest” city in the country.
An assessment of over 150 of the largest American cities was conducted by lawn care company LawnStarter, with an emphasis on infrastructure, pollution, quality of life, and resident happiness.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Census Bureau, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency were among the federal agencies whose data was evaluated for this study.
Due to its high pollution levels, serious cockroach infestation, and greenhouse gas emissions from huge industrial units, Houston topped the list of “dirtiest cities.”
A article from the nonprofit media group Grist from 2022, which discovered that some of Houston’s “petrochemical facilities severely violated EPA safety guidelines,” was also referenced by the researchers.
The EPA said back in April that in order to protect public health, chemical factories such as those in “Louisiana’s Cancer Alley” and the Texas Gulf Coast had to cut back on harmful air pollution.
Despite these obstacles, some Houstonians are more satisfied with their city’s cleanliness than citizens of thirty-three other major cities.
San Bernardino, California; Detroit, Michigan; Jersey City, New Jersey; and Newark, New Jersey—which had previously held the distinction of dirtiest city—rounded out the top five. This is the complete top 20:
- Houston, Texas
- Newark, New Jersey
- San Bernardino, California
- Detroit, Michigan
- Jersey City, New Jersey
- Bakersfield, California
- San Antonio, Texas
- Fresno, California
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Yonkers, New York
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- New York, New York
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Ontario, California
- Los Angeles, California
- Modesto, California
- Palmdale, California
- Hollywood, Florida
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Several of the dirtiest cities in California were also Bakersfield, Fresno, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino. For the second year in a row, San Bernardino had the least happy citizens with regard to cleanliness.
The research also emphasized the water problems in the Southwest, which are being made worse by climate change and drought. At No. 19, Las Vegas was found to be the dirtiest city in the region, while Chandler, Arizona, came in at No. 71 as the cleanest.
According to the survey, cigarette litter is a widespread issue throughout Ohio. Despite tight regulations, Cleveland had the greatest rate of smokers (29.1 percent), which contributed to littering issues. Columbus, ranked 137th out of all the cities with the cleanest overall, had the lowest percentage (22.1 percent).
Conversely, Virginia Beach, Virginia, distinguished itself as the cleanest city for the second consecutive year, with low levels of pollution and high levels of customer satisfaction. Fremont, California; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Des Moines, Iowa were among the other top performers.
Click here to see the full study.
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Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
