Greenest Cities in America (2026)

“Green” living means a choice to engage in cleaner, more sustainable habits in order to preserve the planet as much as possible. Around 54% of Americans think that protecting the environment should be prioritized above economic growth. The good news is that the market for renewable energy is growing.

Clean energy and other “green” practices, such as recycling programs and urban agriculture, help create jobs and benefit both the environment and public health, all of which contribute to America’s bottom line. Recognizing those advantages, cities across the U.S. have increased their sustainability efforts and benefited economically.

To determine the cities promoting an environmentally friendly lifestyle, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 28 key “green” indicators. Our data set ranges from greenhouse-gas emissions per capita to number of smart-energy policies and initiatives to green job opportunities.

“There are plenty of things that individuals can do to adopt a green lifestyle, from recycling to sharing rides to installing solar panels on their homes. However, living in one of the greenest cities can make it even easier to care for the environment, due to sustainable laws and policies, access to locally-grown produce and infrastructure that allows residents to use vehicles less often. The greenest cities also are better for your health due to superior air and water quality.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Main Findings

Green Cities in the U.S.

Notes: *No. 1 = Greenest
With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

Greenhouse-Gas Emissions per Capita

Lowest

• 1. Anaheim, CA
• 2. Oakland, CA
• 3. Honolulu, HI
• 4. Buffalo, NY
• 5. Riverside, CA

Highest

• 90. Tulsa, OK
• T-91. Houston, TX
• T-91. Denver, CO
• T-91. Baton Rouge, LA
• T-91. Corpus Christi, TX

% of Green Space

Highest

• T-1. Anchorage, AK
• T-1. Fremont, CA
• T-1. Scottsdale, AZ
• 4. Chesapeake, VA
• 5. Irvine, CA

Lowest

• 94. Laredo, TX
• 95. Lexington-Fayette, KY
• 96. Baton Rouge, LA
• 97. Fresno, CA
• 98. Hialeah, FL

Best City vs. Worst City: 49x Difference

Anchorage, AK vs. Hialeah, FL

% of Commuters Who Drive

Lowest

• 1. New York, NY
• 2. Jersey City, NJ
• 3. Washington, DC
• 4. San Francisco, CA
• 5. Boston, MA

Highest

• 96. Fort Wayne, IN
• 97. Laredo, TX
• 98. Wichita, KS
• 99. Bakersfield, CA
• 100. Corpus Christi, TX

Best City vs. Worst City: 4x Difference

New York, NY vs. Corpus Christi, TX

Bike Score

Highest

• T-1. Portland, OR
• T-1. Minneapolis, MN
• T-3. Chicago, IL
• T-3. San Francisco, CA
• T-3. Denver, CO

Lowest

• 96. Greensboro, NC
• T-97. Charlotte, NC
• T-97. Birmingham, AL
• 99. Nashville, TN
• 100. Winston-Salem, NC

Best City vs. Worst City: 3x Difference

Portland, OR vs. Winston-Salem, NC

Farmers Markets per Capita

Most

• 1. Honolulu, HI
• 2. Miami, FL
• 3. San Jose, CA
• 4. San Francisco, CA
• 5. New York, NY

Fewest

• 94. Irving, TX
• 95. Newark, NJ
• 96. San Bernardino, CA
• 97. Lincoln, NE
• 98. Arlington, TX

Best City vs. Worst City: 80x Difference

Honolulu, HI vs. Arlington, TX

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In-Depth Look at the Greenest Cities

San Jose, CA

San Jose is the greenest city in America, in part because it has the fifth-highest number of solar panel installations per capita. Over 47% of the city’s electricity comes from renewable sources, the fifth-highest percentage in the country.

One big positive impact of San Jose’s green practices is that it has the fourth-lowest Urban Heat Island Effect Index in the country. What that means is there’s only a relatively small amount of difference between the average temperature in the city and its less-developed immediate surroundings. In other words, the use of green energy in San Jose helps keep it from being an excessively hot city environment.

San Jose has plenty of other environmentally-conscious policies worth noting. For example, it bans plastic bags, has a bike-sharing program, and has numerous local initiatives that promote the use of green energy.

Washington, D.C.

Washington is the second-greenest city in America, in part because residents often grow their own food or buy it locally. Washington leads the country when it comes to the number of Community Supported Agriculture groups (CSAs) and community garden sites per capita. It also has the 12th-most farmers’ markets per capita.

In addition, Washington derives 48% of its energy from renewable sources, the fourth-highest percentage in the country. It also has the 18th-most alternative-fuel stations for vehicles and the ninth-most solar panel installations per capita.

Residents of our nation’s capital are good at conserving water, with the country’s fifth-lowest daily water consumption per capita. People also conserve gas by carpooling, as the city has the third-lowest percentage of commuters who drive alone to work.

Oakland, CA

Oakland is the third-greenest city in America, boasting the second-lowest greenhouse gas emissions and the 15th-best air quality in the country. In addition to not polluting the air, Oakland also has one of the lowest light pollution levels in the country, allowing residents to better see the night sky.

Oakland is also a great city for going outside and experiencing green spaces, due to the fact that over 12% of the city is designated as parkland, the 31st-highest percentage among the 100 cities in our study. Oakland also has a bike sharing program, along with the 20th-most bicycle lanes and paths per capita, making it easy to travel without burning gas and to get in some extra exercise.

To top things off, Oakland makes locally-grown produce easily accessible. It has a high number of community garden sites and farmers’ markets per capita. And for people who want to work in an environmentally-sustainable industry, Oakland has the 23rd-most green job openings per capita.

Ask the Experts

Environmental sustainability is one of the biggest challenges of our time. For additional insight, we asked a panel of experts to share their advice on living a greener lifestyle. Click on the experts’ profiles below to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:

1. Should cities invest in going green? What are the benefits?
2. What types of green policies or investments offer the biggest bang for the buck?
3. How can state and local authorities attract renewable-energy companies and other green businesses?
4. What are some easy ways individuals can go green without much cost or effort?
5. In evaluating the greenest cities, what are the top five indicators?

Ask the Experts

Dr. Wolfgang Bauer
University Distinguished Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy - Michigan State University
Read More

Nancy J. Engelhardt
Ph.D. – Professor Emeritus, Marketing - Marymount University
Read More

Barry D. Solomon
Professor Emeritus of Geography and Environmental Policy - Michigan Technological University
Read More

Robert B. Richardson
Ph.D. – Professor Emeritus, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources - Michigan State University
Read More

John P Holdren
Faculty Co-Chair, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; and Teresa and John Heinz Research Professor of Environmental Policy; John F. Kennedy School of Government Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, Emeritus; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Affiliated Professor in Environmental Science & Engineering, Emeritus; John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science – Harvard University
Read More

Paul Sutton
Professor, Geography & the Environment, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics – University of Denver
Read More

More Experts

Methodology

In order to determine the greenest cities in America, WalletHub compared the 100 most populated cities across four key dimensions: 1) Environment, 2) Transportation, 3) Energy Sources and 4) Lifestyle & Policy.

We evaluated those dimensions using 28 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the greenest practices and policies. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), we used the square root of the population to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities.

Although recycling is vital to the sustainability efforts of each city, the types and sizes of recycling facilities vary widely by city. We therefore were unable to include — due to the lack of comparable city-level data — metrics that either measure the availability of recycling programs or the amount of waste recycled in each city.

Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample. In determining our sample, we considered only the “city proper” in each case and excluded surrounding cities in the metro area.

Environment – Total Points: 40

• Air-Quality Index: Full Weight (~4.44 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the average exposure of the general public to particulate matter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5) or less in size.
• Greenhouse-Gas Emissions per Capita: Full Weight (~4.44 Points)
• Urban Heat Island Effect: Full Weight (~4.44 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the intensity of the urban heat island effect for a given metropolitan area.
• Green Space: Full Weight (~4.44 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the share of parkland.
• Water Quality: Full Weight (~4.44 Points)
• Daily Water Consumption per Capita: Full Weight (~4.44 Points)
• Share of Green Hotels: Full Weight (~4.44 Points)
• Population Density (Proxy for Overpopulation): Full Weight (~4.44 Points)
• Light Pollution Level: Full Weight (~4.44 Points)

Transportation – Total Points: 25

• Share of Commuters Who Drive Alone: Double Weight (~4.55 Points)
  Note: This metric includes commuters who do not carpool, walk, ride public transit or bike.
• Average Commute Time by Car: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Walk Score: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Bike Score: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Miles of Bicycle Lanes: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Presence of Bike-Sharing Program: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
  Note: This binary metric measures the presence or absence of bike-sharing programs in a city.
• Annual Excess Fuel Consumption: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
  Note: This metric measures gallons per auto commuter and was used as a proxy for “congestion level.”
• Intersection Density: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Accessibility of Jobs by Public Transit: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the number of jobs that are accessible by a 30-minute transit ride per 100 civilian employed population.
• Alternative-Fuel Stations per Capita: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

Energy Sources – Total Points: 20

• Share of Electricity from Renewable Sources: Double Weight (~10.00 Points)
• Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installations per Capita: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Number of Smart-Energy Policies & Initiatives: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Lifestyle & Policy – Total Points: 15

• Farmers Markets & CSA Programs per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
  Note: “CSA” refers to community-supported agriculture.
• Certified Organic Farms per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Community Garden Sites per Capita*: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• “Green” Job Opportunities: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Number of Local Programs Promoting Green-Energy Use: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
• Presence of Plastic Bag Bans: Full Weight (~2.50 Points)
  Note: This binary metric measures the presence or absence of policies that have banned the use of disposable plastic bags in a city.

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of September 3, 2025 from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Trust for Public Land, U.S. Department of Energy - The Alternative Fuels Data Center, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, U.S. Energy Information Administration, Environment America, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, Walk Score, Alliance for Biking & Walking, Center for Neighborhood Technology, The Meddin Bike-Sharing World Map, Indeed, Climate Central, U.S. Geological Survey, TripAdvisor, USDA Organic INTEGRITY Database, American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, lightpollutionmap.info and Yelp.

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