We’ve all heard about the mice scuttling along the subway lines in New York, or rats in Chicago so smart they wait at the crosswalk with the humans to cross the street when the light changes. Cities can be dirty—it’s part and parcel of so many people living there. A new study from Oxi Fresh has come out with a ranking of the cleanest metro areas in the U.S., so you can maybe skirt that creature scuttling along the floor when you turn on the lights at night. The metrics the study looked at included population density, rodent and cockroach prevalence (based on the percentage of housing units with signs of these pests within the last 12 months), reported vandalism, amount of litter, air quality and tap water quality, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other government sources. We’re able to see not only how 35 major cities rank, but also a letter grade they were assigned, from A to F. I hope your city got a good grade!
If you’re in Portland, Oregon, or planning to travel there, congratulations! Portland is the cleanest city according to this study, winning for strong environmental regulations, well-funded public services, lower population density and cleaner air and water. Portland gets an A+.
In second place is Seattle with an A, faring well in all the categories, and in third place is Rochester, New York with an A-.
Now, we always dislike sharing negatives about cities because civic pride is a beautiful thing and every city has something great about it. But we do have to share that New York City is dead last on this cleanliness list, earning a D grade. It’s followed by Los Angeles and then Philadelphia, both with D+ grades.
Who has the most rats? Boston. The most bugs? Houston. What is a major thing cities can do to abate many of these problems? Have an effective waste management program. Keeping streets free of trash lessens litter and the pests who love to crawl through food waste. The study noted that New York’s infrastructure doesn’t include enough back alleys for trash bins.
Hoo boy. Just... bring your hand sanitizer and don’t look at the corners too closely.
See the map here.
Here is the ranked list of clean and dirty cities in the U.S.:
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-
11. New Orleans, Louisiana: B-
12. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: B-
13. Atlanta, Georgia: B-
14. Las Vegas, Nevada: B-
15. San Jose, California: B-
16. Baltimore, Maryland: B-
17. Raleigh, North Carolina: B-
18. Boston, Massachusetts: B-
19. Riverside, California: B-
20. Cleveland, Ohio: B-
21. Miami, Florida: C+
22. Memphis, Tennessee: C+
23. Tampa, Florida: C+
24. San Antonio, Texas: C+
25. San Francisco, California: C+
26. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: C+
27. Cincinnati, Ohio: C+
28. Birmingham, Alabama: C
29. Dallas, Texas: C
30. Chicago, Illinois: C
31. Washington, D.C.: C
32. Houston, Texas: C-
33. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: D+
34. Los Angeles, California: D+
35. New York, New York: D