The 15 Dirtiest Places in America

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.

City living comes with more entertainment, more job opportunities, and also more pollution, trash, and pests.

Which U.S. cities are the filthiest? To find out, LawnStarter ranked the dirtiest cities in America.

We expanded the scope of our study to encompass the biggest U.S. cities based on four categories. More specifically, we considered air pollution, water quality, waste management, and resident dissatisfaction levels in each city, among 21 total metrics.

Read on to see our ranking. To learn how we ranked the cities, see our methodology at the end.

1. San Bernardino, CA

• Overall score: 54.90
• Pollution rank: 2
• Living conditions rank: 56
• Infrastructure rank: 207
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 1

2. Detroit, MI

• Overall score: 52.89
• Pollution rank: 19
• Living conditions rank: 4
• Infrastructure rank: 163
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 5

3. Reading, PA

• Overall score: 51.85
• Pollution rank: 14
• Living conditions rank: 35
• Infrastructure rank: 220
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 2

4. Newark, NJ

• Overall score: 50.66
• Pollution rank: 33
• Living conditions rank: 11
• Infrastructure rank: 180
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 3

5. Ontario, CA

• Overall score: 49.02
• Pollution rank: 5
• Living conditions rank: 52
• Infrastructure rank: 206
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 13

6. Phoenix, AZ

• Overall score: 47.82
• Pollution rank: 20
• Living conditions rank: 150
• Infrastructure rank: 1
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 54

7. Trenton, NJ

• Overall score: 47.71
• Pollution rank: 95
• Living conditions rank: 14
• Infrastructure rank: 149
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 6

8. Las Vegas, NV

• Overall score: 46.82
• Pollution rank: 31
• Living conditions rank: 110
• Infrastructure rank: 3
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 53

9. Houston, TX

• Overall score: 46.73
• Pollution rank: 12
• Living conditions rank: 115
• Infrastructure rank: 27
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 50

10. Baytown, TX

• Overall score: 46.67
• Pollution rank: 1
• Living conditions rank: 122
• Infrastructure rank: 84
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 107

11. Los Angeles, CA

• Overall score: 46.37
• Pollution rank: 45
• Living conditions rank: 12
• Infrastructure rank: 193
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 20

12. Flint, MI

• Overall score: 45.67
• Pollution rank: 131
• Living conditions rank: 10
• Infrastructure rank: 166
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 9

13. Corona, CA

• Overall score: 45.65
• Pollution rank: 21
• Living conditions rank: 67
• Infrastructure rank: 85
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 36

14. Yonkers, NY

• Overall score: 45.64
• Pollution rank: 18
• Living conditions rank: 23
• Infrastructure rank: 252
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 23

15. Beaumont, TX

• Overall score: 44.96
• Pollution rank: 66
• Living conditions rank: 158
• Infrastructure rank: 54
• Resident dissatisfaction rank: 18

Methodology

First, we determined the factors (metrics) that are most relevant to rank the Dirtiest Cities in America. We then assigned a weight to each factor based on its importance and grouped those factors into four categories: Pollution, Living Conditions, Infrastructure, and Resident Dissatisfaction. Here are the factors:

• Median Air Quality Index
• Presence of Water Quality Violations
• Greenhouse-Gas Emissions (Metric Tons CO2e) per Capita
• Annual Excess Fuel Consumption (Gallons per Auto Commuter)
• Share of Residents Exposed to Near-Roadway Pollution
• RSEI Score
• Percentage of Smokers
• Population Density (Residents per Square Mile)
• Share of Overcrowded Homes
• Share of Homes Without Complete Kitchen Facilities
• Share of Homes Without Complete Plumbing Facilities
• Quantity of Waste in Landfills per 100,000 Residents (Tons)
• Rating of State Waste Regulations and Measures
• Refuse and Recycling Collectors per 100,000 Residents
• Alternative-Fuel Stations per 100,000 Residents
• Number of Junk Yards
• Access to Public Bathrooms (Per Sq. Mile)
• Share of Residents Who Find City Dirty and Untidy
• Share of Residents Dissatisfied with Pollution
• Share of Residents Dissatisfied with Garbage Disposal
• Share of Residents Dissatisfied with Greenery and Parks

For each of the 500 biggest U.S. cities, we then gathered data on each factor from the sources listed below the table. We eliminated 197 cities lacking sufficient data in a single category, resulting in a final sample size of 303 cities.

Finally, we calculated scores (out of 100 points) for each city to determine its rank in each factor, each category, and overall. A city’s Overall Score is the average of its scores across all factors and categories. The highest Overall Score ranked “dirtiest” (No. 1).