A study ranked the dirtiest U.S. cities, and Phoenix needs a bath

The smoggy mountain views and crowded highways were the first clues that Phoenix’s environment is something short of pristine — and, sure, it is a city, after all. But a new national ranking of America’s “dirtiest” cities has slotted Phoenix among the worst of the worst.

Phoenix is the seventh-dirtiest city in the United States, according to an analysis released last week by LawnStarter — a startup that connects landscapers to people looking for yard services. The study ranked 303 of the largest cities in the country using 20 different metrics, each fitting into one of four categories: pollution, living conditions, waste infrastructure and resident dissatisfaction.

The cities ranked worse than Phoenix were, from the top: San Bernadino, California; Los Angeles; Detroit; Reading, Pennsylvania; Ontario, California; and Newark, New Jersey. Faring the best in this analysis were South Bend, Indiana; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Des Moines, Iowa.

Phoenix’s pollution was among the country’s worst. Using such data points as air quality, water quality violations, greenhouse gas emissions and number of residents exposed to roadway pollution, the ranking dubbed Phoenix the 16th-most polluted American city.

It gets worse. On waste infrastructure, Phoenix earned the third-worst spot. To calculate these rankings, analysts broke down the number of landfills per capita, state regulations, trash and recycling collectors per capita, junkyards and access to public bathrooms.

On living conditions, Phoenix was a middling 157th. Population density — which in Phoenix sprawls across the city’s vast grid — was combined with counts of homes without plumbing or kitchen facilities for this category.

Finally, public opinion among residents wasn’t great. The city fell in the public dissatisfaction ranking at spot 51. Phoenicians clearly know the city has room for improvement.

None of the nine Arizona cities on the list made it out of the top 150 — meaning all were among the dirtier half of cities studied.


Here’s where Arizona’s eight other cities fell on the list, along with their category rankings.

18. Mesa
Pollution: 31
Waste: 22
Living conditions: 160
Dissatisfaction: 67

27. Tempe
Pollution: 12
Waste: 24
Living conditions: 125
Dissatisfaction: 200

36. Peoria
Pollution: 10
Waste: 26
Living conditions: 276
Dissatisfaction: 212

38. Scottsdale
Pollution: 30
Waste: 10
Living conditions: 246
Dissatisfaction: 195

52. Tucson
Pollution: 70
Waste: 6
Living conditions: 203
Dissatisfaction: 194

61. Flagstaff
Pollution: 125
Waste: 28
Living conditions: 166
Dissatisfaction: 87

66. Chandler
Pollution: 29
Waste: 23
Living conditions: 147
Dissatisfaction: 274

117. Yuma
Pollution: 171
Waste: 8
Living conditions: 129
Dissatisfaction: 219