Despite NYC’s notoriously garbage-strewn sidewalks and signature trash-scented air, it turns out other cities have it worse–way worse. A new ranking of America’s dirtiest cities is out and, in a surprising twist, NYC didn’t even come close to snagging the top spot.
According to a new study from LawnStarter, New York City is not the dirtiest city in America. In fact, it didn’t even make the top 10…or 20. Claiming the title of the dirtiest city in the United States is actually San Bernardino, California–for the second year in a row. San Bernardino ranked with an overall score of 55.34.
To uncover America’s dirtiest cities, LawnStarter first determined the most relevant metrics, assigned a weight to each based on its importance, and then grouped those metrics into 4 categories:
- Pollution
- Inadequate Living Conditions
- Inadequate Waste Infrastructure
- Resident Dissatisfaction
For each of the 500 biggest cities in the U.S., they then gathered data on each metric above from various federal agencies–including the CDC, the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Environmental Protection Agency–eliminating 197 cities lacking sufficient data, resulting in a final sample size of 303 cities.
Finally, each city was given a ranking out of 100 in each factor, each category, and overall. A city’s Overall Score is the average of its scores across all factors and categories. The higher the score, the dirtier the city.
Further down on the ranking–past nearby cities like Newark and Jersey City, NJ and further down than our friends over in Miami, LA, and Chicago–you’ll find NYC, ranking at #35. With an overall score of 39.86, NYC ranked as follows in each metric:
- Pollution Rank – #209
- Inadequate Living Conditions – #1
- Inadequate Waste Infrastructure – #290
- Resident Dissatisfaction – #20
Part of the reason NYC ranked lower is due to its population density, but its relatively strong scores in pollution and waste infrastructure are impressive for a city its size. That said, the ongoing air quality alerts lately, as well as wildfire-induced hazy skies recently becoming the new norm here, do suggest there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
To top it off, NYC didn’t exactly shine when it came to adequate living conditions, with residents reporting high levels of dissatisfaction–and honestly, who could blame them?
And this certainly isn’t the first time the city’s cleanliness has come under scrutiny. A separate study from a few months ago ranked NYC as the 17th dirtiest city in America based on sanitary complaints, with Bed-Stuy’s 11216 ZIP code earning the title of the city’s dirtiest.
Still, we have to admit we would have bet money on it that we’d rank in the #1 spot, so a win is a win!
Top 10 dirties cities in America
1. San Bernadino, California
2. Los Angeles, California
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. Reading, Pennsylvania
5. Ontario, California
6. Newark, New Jersey
7. Phoenix, Arizona
8. Jersey City, New Jersey
9. Las Vegas, Nevada
10. Corona, California
Top 10 cleanest cities in America
1. South Bend, Indiana
2. Wilmington, North Carolina
3. Des Moines, Iowa
4. Davenport, Iowa
5. Athens, Georgia
6. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
7. Fargo, North Dakota
8. Frederick, Maryland
9. Pleasanton, California
10. Lynchburg, Virginia
LawnStarter’s full ranking of the dirtiest cities in America can be found here.