A recent study evaluated each state in the United States on how environmentally friendly they are, looking at various factors such as air quality, water quality, number of alternative fuel stations, green buildings, and many more.
The evaluation concluded that California was the third greenest state, following Hawaii in second place and Vermont in first place.
What makes a state environmentally friendly?
Determining how eco-friendly states are is subjective, but to give a broad overview, the study draws from three different categories: 1) Environmental Quality, 2) Eco-Friendly Behaviors, and 3) Climate-Change Contributions. Then, there are various factors within each category, such as water and soil quality, or gasoline consumption per capita. Each factor is assigned a weight, and then the points are totaled to determine a state’s score.
Why is California the third greenest state?
California ranked very well in both the eco-friendly behaviors and climate change contributions categories. The state has low energy and gasoline consumption per capita, and 33% of the population in California uses eco-friendly transportation options like public transit.
California had the highest energy efficiency score in the country, and it also boasts low carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions per capita.
Top 10 greenest states
Vermont took the top spot for the greenest state, followed by Hawaii. Fellow West Coast city, Washington, also made the top 10, ranked fifth overall. Vermont notably has the most organic farm acreage per capita, and Hawaii boasts the best air quality. Check out what states made the top 10 according to the study:
- Vermont
- Hawaii
- California
- New York
- Washington
- Maryland
- Maine
- New Hampshire
- South Dakota
- Colorado
You can read the full study from WalletHub here.
