A recent survey revealed the dirtiest cities in the United States, and this year’s top spot was taken by none other than Houston, Texas, beating last year’s dirtiest city, Newark, New Jersey.
Houston’s ranking in LawnStarter’s study compared 152 U.S. cities in the areas of pollution, living environment, infrastructure and customer satisfaction.
The study said Houston, also known as Space City, was the third most polluted of the cities ranked, behind San Bernardino, Calif., and Peoria, Ariz. It also cited another study that found “Houston’s petrochemical facilities were in flagrant violation of EPA safety guidelines.”
According to LawnStarter data, Houston has the “third-highest greenhouse gas emissions from large industrial facilities” and “the largest cockroach problem.”
A spokesperson for the Houston Solid Waste Management Agency, which is responsible for waste collection, disposal and recycling, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Last year’s champion, Newark, dropped to second in the overall standings.
Rounding out the top 10 were San Bernardino, Detroit, Michigan, Jersey City, New Jersey, Bakersfield, California, San Antonio, Texas, Fresno, California, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Yonkers, New York. New York City came in at number 12.
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Houston, Texas skyline and I-45 commuter traffic at sunset. (Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
So why does this matter? LawnStarter says the study is meant to get people to look at more than just litter, pests, and poor waste management. It cites health issues like lung cancer, heart disease, and strokes that are caused by air pollution, and says the negative effects of living in dirty cities may be more severe than people realise.
“The bottom line is that dirty cities aren’t just unsightly, they’re damaging our bodies and our wallets,” says Lonestarter.
New York City, where stores were destroyed after being looted in 2022, didn’t even make it into the top 10 dirtiest cities in the US. (Andre Brown/Local News X/TMX)
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LawnStarter, which provides lawn care services to customers through a website and mobile application, used the survey as an opportunity to acquire new customers.
“Clean cities tend to have lots of tidy, healthy, green lawns,” they say.
