The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) has released their ranking of the top 15 greenest American cities in three different categories. In order to compile the list, the NRDC considered the following areas: Standard of Living, Green Building, Air Quality, Environmental Standards and Participation, Transportation, Recycling, Green Space, Energy Production and Conservation, and Water Quality. According to the NRDC, “An annual investigation of cities progress toward sustainability is the cornerstone of the Smarter Cities project.” Seattle, Washington topped the overall list as well as several of the aforementioned categories.
In addition to the areas mentioned previously, the NRDC solicits the “advice of academic, non-profit and government experts to come up with a broad set of criteria by which to measure and compare sustainability efforts in cities across the U.S.” Data from the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Census, and other databases were consulted in the generation of this list. The NRDC sent online surveys to the mayoral or environmental officers in all cities with a population of greater than 50,000 residents. To read about the criteria and methodology, click here.
Search the database of cities (big and small) to see where your hometown ranks. The NRDC ranked 67 large (250,000+), 176 medium (100,00-249,999), and 402 small cities (50,000-99,999). The top 15 for each can be found below.
Top 15 Large Cities (250,000+)
- Seattle, WA
- San Francisco, CA
- Portland, OR
- Oakland, CA
- San José, CA
- Austin, TX
- Sacramento, CA
- Boston, MA
- Denver, CO
- Chicago, IL
- San Diego, CA
- New York, NY
- Los Angeles, CA
- Dallas, TX
- Columbus, OH
Top 15 Medium Cities (100,000–249,999)
- Madison, WI
- Santa Rosa, CA
- Fort Collins, CO
- Springfield, IL
- Eugene, OR
- Spokane, WA
- Huntsville, AL
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Tallahassee, FL
- Laredo, TX
- Berkeley, CA
- Ann Arbor, MI
- Irvine, CA
- Athens, GA
- Everett, WA
Top 15 Small Cities (50,000–99,999)
- Bellingham, WA
- Mountain View, CA
- Norwalk, CT
- Sarasota, FL
- Burnsville, MN
- Fayetteville, AR
- Mission Viejo, CA
- Arlington Heights, IL
- Nashua, NH
- Redmond, WA
- Charleston, SC
- Dubuque, IA
- Beaverton, OR
- Canton, OH
- Denton, TX
[Image source]
