The 15 Most Sustainable Cities in 2023

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

Which American cities are leading the way toward a sustainable future, and which ones are lagging behind?

Find out in our ranking of 2023’s Most Sustainable Cities.

LawnStarter compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on five sustainability categories.

We looked at the number of zero-energy buildings, alternative fuel stations, and greenhouse-gas emissions, among 26 total metrics.

See how your city compares below. To learn how we ranked the cities, see our methodology at the end.

1. San Francisco, CA

San Francisco, California
IM_photo / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 77.205
  • Policy Rank: 5
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 1
  • Pollution Rank: 77
  • Transportation Rank: 2
  • Food Production Rank: 16

2. Boston, MA

Boston skyline summer day.
Danica Chang / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 71.567
  • Policy Rank: 7
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 6
  • Pollution Rank: 92
  • Transportation Rank: 3
  • Food Production Rank: 1

3. New York, NY

New York Skyline
THONGCHAI.S / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 70.684
  • Policy Rank: 1
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 11
  • Pollution Rank: 164
  • Transportation Rank: 1
  • Food Production Rank: 89

4. Oakland, CA

Oakland, California
EddieHernandezPhotography / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 69.363
  • Policy Rank: 4
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 8
  • Pollution Rank: 57
  • Transportation Rank: 14
  • Food Production Rank: 39

5. San Diego, CA

San Diego cityscape
Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 66.561
  • Policy Rank: 18
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 2
  • Pollution Rank: 104
  • Transportation Rank: 19
  • Food Production Rank: 56

6. San Jose, CA

San Jose California
Uladzik Kryhin / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 66.204
  • Policy Rank: 23
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 10
  • Pollution Rank: 37
  • Transportation Rank: 12
  • Food Production Rank: 63

7. Seattle, WA

Seattle, Washington
cdrin / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 66.174
  • Policy Rank: 47
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 9
  • Pollution Rank: 44
  • Transportation Rank: 7
  • Food Production Rank: 11

8. Baltimore, MD

Baltimore, Maryland
sean-pavone / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 65.479
  • Policy Rank: 2
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 51
  • Pollution Rank: 35
  • Transportation Rank: 39
  • Food Production Rank: 14

9. Sacramento, CA

California Capitol building in Sacramento
SnapASkyline / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 65.128
  • Policy Rank: 9
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 4
  • Pollution Rank: 141
  • Transportation Rank: 29
  • Food Production Rank: 26

10. Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles
ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 64.804
  • Policy Rank: 10
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 5
  • Pollution Rank: 175
  • Transportation Rank: 9
  • Food Production Rank: 37

11. Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at dusk
f11photo / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 63.911
  • Policy Rank: 3
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 74
  • Pollution Rank: 62
  • Transportation Rank: 8
  • Food Production Rank: 71

12. Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis Minnesota
photo-ua / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 62.155
  • Policy Rank: 44
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 34
  • Pollution Rank: 54
  • Transportation Rank: 11
  • Food Production Rank: 9

13. Chicago, IL

Chicago, Illinois
f11photo / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 61.507
  • Policy Rank: 6
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 67
  • Pollution Rank: 66
  • Transportation Rank: 6
  • Food Production Rank: 118

14. Portland, OR

Portland, Oregon
Nadia, Yong / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 61.329
  • Policy Rank: 54
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 12
  • Pollution Rank: 101
  • Transportation Rank: 13
  • Food Production Rank: 5

15. Providence, RI

Providence, Rhode Island
Nagel Photography / Shutterstock.com
  • Overall Score: 60.978
  • Policy Rank: 26
  • Sustainable Development Rank: 62
  • Pollution Rank: 60
  • Transportation Rank: 15
  • Food Production Rank: 17

Methodology

Business analyst woman working in an office on a computer and analyzing data
Undrey / Shutterstock.com

First, we determined the factors (metrics) that are most relevant to the Most Sustainable Cities. Here are the factors:

  • Number of Incentives and Policies Supporting Renewables and Energy Efficiency
  • Local Clean City Coalitions Present
  • Number of Global Green Partners
  • Member of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
  • Urban Heat Island Program Present
  • Number of Zero-Energy Buildings
  • Self-Sustainable Homes-Friendliness
  • Share of Land Used for Parks
  • Alternative-Fuel Stations per Square Mile
  • State Waste Management Performance
  • Greenhouse-Gas Emissions (Metric Tons)
  • Tons of Waste in Landfills per 100,000 Residents
  • Annual Excess Fuel Consumption
  • Median Air Quality Index
  • Water Quality Violations Present
  • Population Density (Residents per Square Mile)
  • Thrift Shopper-Friendliness
  • Car-Free Lifestyle-Friendliness
  • Transit Score
  • Biking-Friendliness
  • Share of Average Household Income Spent on Local Transportation
  • Share of Average Household Income Spent on Gasoline
  • Annual Tonnage of Excess Food from Commercial and Industrial Facilities
  • Urban Gardening-Friendliness
  • Locavore-Friendliness
  • Number of Green Restaurants

We then assigned a weight to each factor based on its importance and grouped those factors into five categories: Policy, Sustainable Development, Pollution, Transportation, and Food Production.

For each of the 200 biggest U.S. cities, we then gathered data on each factor.

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 “Best” (No. 1).

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