8 of the nation's 50 "dirtiest cities" found in SoCal, according to new study
A new study finds that eight of the nation's 50 dirtiest cities are found in Southern California, with one Inland Empire spot finding itself in the top three.
The LawnStarter "2023's Dirtiest Cities in America" report took factors like living conditions, city infrastructure, pollution and consumer satisfaction into account for the study. Data was taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Energy amongst others.
While the top two spots were taken by cities located farther east, San Bernardino earned the unfortunate title of the nation's third-dirtiest city, up one spot from a year ago. This comes thanks in large part to their No. 1 overall pollution and consumer satisfaction rankings when it comes to their city's cleanliness.
Other Inland Empire cities like Ontario (No. 14), Riverside (No. 47), Fontana (No. 30) and Rancho Cucamonga (No. 99) tied for the worst air pollution in the study as well.
The study partially attributes these rankings to the "sea of warehouses east of LA" that earned San Bernardino and Riverside the top two spots on the State of the Air Report released by the American Lung Association.
The I.E. wasn't the only SoCal region represented on the list though, with several Los Angeles County cities also earning spots in the top 50 — starting with Los Angeles, the so called "poster child of pollution."
The City of Angels is ranked No. 15 overall, but surprisingly comes in 30th overall in terms of pollution but 12th in customer satisfaction, meaning people are generally displeased with their time spent in the city.
Other cities that made the list include Palmdale (No. 17), Glendale (No. 28) and Long Beach (No. 43).
The list's top 10 dirtiest cities are:
- Houston, Texas,
- Newark, New Jersey,
- San Bernardino, California,
- Detroit, Michigan,
- Jersey City, New Jersey,
- Bakersfield, California,
- San Antonio, Texas,
- Fresno, California,
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
- Yonkers, New York.
