When you travel somewhere, you can usually get an idea of how clean the place is. Whether or not there’s trash on the streets. The level of vandalism you might see. If you’ve read they have a problem with rats or cockroaches and what the air quality is like.
Professional carpet cleaning company Oxi Fresh is in the business of keeping things clean. So they wanted to see which metropolitan cities were the cleanest and which…were not.
Their methodology
To make this determination, they analyzed air quality, tap water quality, rodent and cockroach infestations, vandalism, litter levels, and population density, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other government sources.
The factors they used:
- Population Density: The number of people per square mile.
- Rodents: The percentage of housing units with signs of mice, rats, or other rodents inside the home in the past 12 months.
- Cockroaches: The percentage of housing units with signs of cockroaches inside the home in the past 12 months.
- Vandalism: The percentage of homes without vandalized or abandoned buildings within a half-block radius.
- Litter: The percentage of homes without litter, trash, or junk on the streets or properties within a half-block radius.
- Air Quality: The number of days in 2024 that the daily Air Quality Index (AQI) values were classified as ‘Good’ (values of 50 AQI or less) for all AQI pollutants: CO, NO₂, Ozone, PM10, and PM2.5.
- Tap Water Quality: The number of different types of contaminants detected in the metro area’s drinking water that exceeded the Environmental Working Group (EWG) health guidelines.
What Each Factor Means
- Air quality was assessed based on the number of days in which the Air Quality Index (AQI) remained at safe levels. A city with consistently clean air typically indicates lower pollution levels and more effective environmental policies.
- Tap water quality was measured by evaluating the presence of contaminants that exceed health guidelines, offering a clear indication of how well a city maintains its drinking water systems.
- Pest infestations serve as an indicator of sanitation practices. A city with frequent rodent or cockroach problems may struggle with waste management or overcrowding.
- Vandalism and litter levels reflect the effectiveness of public maintenance efforts and community engagement in maintaining clean and welcoming neighborhoods.
- Population density plays a crucial role. More people means more waste, so cities that successfully manage waste, pollution, and public space upkeep despite a high population density demonstrate strong urban planning and effective governance.
Each metro area received a score across those seven criteria, which were then formed into a final grade that reflected its respective overall environmental cleanliness and public health standards. That, in turn, established their rankings.
The 10 Cleanest Cities in the U.S.
Here are the top 10 cleanest cities, and the ranking each city received, according to Oxi Fresh’s study:
1. Portland, Oregon: A+
2. Seattle, Washington: A
3. Rochester, New York: A-
4. Detroit, Michigan: B+
5. Minneapolis, Minnesota: B+
6. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: B
7. Richmond, Virginia: B
8. Denver, Colorado: B
9. Phoenix, Arizona: B
10. Kansas City, Missouri: B-
The cleanest urban city ranked, Portland, “has a decades-long history of investing in robust recycling and composting programs, which reduce landfill waste and keep streets free of excess trash.”
The 10 Dirtiest Cities in the U.S.
1. New York, New York: D
2. Los Angeles, California: D+
3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: D+
4. Houston, Texas: C+
5. Washington, D.C.: C
6. Chicago, Illinois: C
7. Dallas, Texas: C
8. Birmingham, Alabama: C
9. Cincinnati, Ohio: C+
10. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: C+
New York was ranked as the dirtiest city in the country. Says Oxi Fresh: “New York City has struggled with waste removal for centuries, due largely to a lack of back alleys for trash bins,” the study explained. “As a result, it’s now notorious for its rampant rat infestations, though many efforts have been made in recent years to combat the problem.”
More Highlights From the Study
To be fair, none of the cities in the survey won (or lost) for each factor. Case in point, although New York City was rated the dirtiest city, other cities had more rats, cockroaches, vandalism, litter, etc. It was just that the Big Apple had the overall highest scores to be the dirtiest city.
Anyway, here are some highlights from the study:
- City with the most amount of rats: Boston, MA // with the least amount: Phoenix, AZ & Las Vegas, NV (tie)
- City with the most amount of cockroaches: Houston, TX // with the least amount: Portland, OR
- City with the most vandalism: Birmingham, AL // with the least amount: Raleigh, NC
- City with the most litter: Los Angeles, CA // with the least amount: Raleigh, NC
- City with the worst air quality: Phoenix, AZ // best air quality: Portland, OR
- City with the worst water quality: Milwaukee, WI & Philadelphia, PA (tie) // best water quality: Detroit, MI
You can click here to see the full list of 35 cities, along with other information.
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1 comment
Interesting that Houston is the city with the most cockroaches as cockroaches were not originally native to Texas. Most all the original cockroaches in the state came in from the east with more recent cockroaches coming in from the west. Although most of southern Florida has a hot and humid climate somewhat like Houston, it does not seem to host as many cockroaches as southern Texas.