San Diego sustainability efforts: WalletHub ranks greenest cities in U.S.

SAN DIEGO — San Diego is considered the “greenest” city in the country, according to a recent study by WalletHub.

“Green living,” according to the personal finance company, means a choice to engage in cleaner, more sustainable habits in order to preserve the planet as much as possible.

Researchers at WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities by population across key indicators that were subcategorized into four groups: energy sources, transportation, environment, as well as lifestyle and policy.

Things that were taken into consideration included factors like water quality, green space, light population, miles of bicycle lanes, community gardens, presence of plastic bag bans, the number of smart-energy initiatives, among several other components.

More on the methodology can be found here.

San Diego ranked No. 1 nationwide with a total score of 71.76. Here’s a breakdown of some factors this study determined for America’s Finest City:

“Greenness” of San Diego (1=Best; 50=Avg.)

Overall rank for San Diego: 1^st
44^th – Greenhouse-Gas Emissions per Capita
12^th – % of Green Space
23^rd – Annual Excess Fuel Consumption
31^st – % of Commuters Who Drive
29^th – Walk Score
7^th – Farmers Markets per Capita

Slightly trailing San Diego, Honolulu, Hawaii ranked No. 2 and Portland, Oregon ranked No. 3. On the contrary, Gilbert, Arizona was listed in last place at No. 100.

This is the second year in a row WalletHub ranked San Diego as the “greenest city” in America. Their full rankings for 2023 can be found below:

Overall Rank*	City	Total Score	Environment	Transportation	Energy Sources	Lifestyle & Policy
1	San Diego, CA	71.76	4	26	2	3
2	Honolulu, HI	69.53	3	2	26	10
3	Portland, OR	68.79	14	12	13	1
4	Washington, DC	68.20	7	5	15	8
5	Seattle, WA	67.22	37	10	11	2
6	San Jose, CA	66.83	13	16	1	25
7	San Francisco, CA	66.65	22	3	20	6
8	Oakland, CA	66.59	18	14	3	13
9	Fremont, CA	66.47	2	25	5	35
10	Minneapolis, MN	64.45	12	1	31	14
11	Irvine, CA	62.45	20	31	5	23
12	Sacramento, CA	62.24	61	13	16	7
13	Denver, CO	61.00	75	7	21	5
14	Albuquerque, NM	59.85	28	58	14	29
15	Madison, WI	59.58	5	4	62	31
16	Buffalo, NY	59.37	30	8	47	19
17	Riverside, CA	57.14	83	55	19	4
18	St. Paul, MN	57.07	27	50	28	34
19	Stockton, CA	56.90	34	97	25	11
20	Long Beach, CA	56.85	88	9	10	30
21	Boston, MA	56.52	9	11	37	72
22	Los Angeles, CA	56.37	87	38	12	21
23	Austin, TX	56.29	32	32	36	32
24	Chula Vista, CA	56.04	57	63	4	46
25	New York, NY	55.26	64	36	34	18
26	Bakersfield, CA	55.05	86	22	22	24
27	Pittsburgh, PA	55.03	11	17	76	22
28	Anaheim, CA	54.96	60	56	5	33
29	San Bernardino, CA	54.92	70	62	5	20
30	Boise, ID	54.69	73	21	23	42
31	Lincoln, NE	54.66	23	15	33	89
32	Fresno, CA	53.95	85	65	18	12
33	Reno, NV	53.74	50	42	35	40
34	Las Vegas, NV	53.19	82	30	17	48
35	Baltimore, MD	52.89	42	34	58	15
36	Cincinnati, OH	52.67	21	24	90	17
37	Colorado Springs, CO	51.86	49	46	32	62
38	Orlando, FL	51.79	56	39	60	16
39	Atlanta, GA	51.55	24	23	56	49
40	Philadelphia, PA	50.87	41	33	70	27
41	Santa Ana, CA	50.23	94	48	5	37
42	Anchorage, AK	49.62	54	47	54	45
43	Scottsdale, AZ	49.56	53	43	71	44
44	San Antonio, TX	49.49	67	59	30	66
45	Lubbock, TX	49.05	63	61	40	54
46	St. Louis, MO	48.93	44	85	57	26
47	Milwaukee, WI	48.87	43	29	82	36
48	Aurora, CO	48.81	77	70	24	58
49	Raleigh, NC	48.74	28	40	75	53
50	Omaha, NE	48.38	19	44	61	79
51	Kansas City, MO	48.32	52	27	59	64
52	Garland, TX	48.14	48	100	40	41
53	Charlotte, NC	48.06	31	52	64	52
54	Nashville, TN	47.78	16	60	67	78
55	Toledo, OH	47.72	15	35	98	67
56	Tampa, FL	47.66	45	19	94	43
57	Wichita, KS	47.37	35	96	49	90
58	Miami, FL	47.33	81	20	88	9
59	El Paso, TX	47.30	47	64	53	85
60	Virginia Beach, VA	47.11	1	98	83	65
61	Henderson, NV	47.00	65	79	48	56
62	Tucson, AZ	46.71	72	18	69	47
63	Lexington-Fayette, KY	46.59	17	74	95	82
64	New Orleans, LA	46.43	51	37	65	88
65	Phoenix, AZ	46.18	74	83	38	51
66	Indianapolis, IN	46.10	36	66	63	73
67	Columbus, OH	45.99	39	41	80	70
68	Laredo, TX	45.88	66	81	40	80
69	Tulsa, OK	45.80	89	45	27	99
70	Chesapeake, VA	45.63	6	90	92	81
71	Jacksonville, FL	45.25	10	49	91	96
72	Durham, NC	45.24	55	67	66	93
73	Dallas, TX	45.19	76	72	52	50
74	Irving, TX	45.13	68	99	40	61
75	St. Petersburg, FL	45.11	26	77	78	87
76	Jersey City, NJ	44.96	92	6	99	38
77	Fort Wayne, IN	44.76	46	76	85	98
78	Winston-Salem, NC	44.68	25	87	79	95
79	Norfolk, VA	44.27	40	84	92	75
80	Chicago, IL	44.16	95	51	55	28
81	Oklahoma City, OK	43.86	90	68	39	76
82	Fort Worth, TX	43.85	80	80	51	63
83	Memphis, TN	43.56	38	69	77	97
83	Birmingham, AL	43.56	8	92	96	69
85	North Las Vegas, NV	43.48	84	73	29	100
86	Louisville, KY	43.27	58	53	89	55
87	Cleveland, OH	43.20	33	91	86	68
88	Arlington, TX	43.11	69	82	40	94
89	Plano, TX	42.53	71	95	40	86
90	Corpus Christi, TX	42.27	79	94	40	92
91	Greensboro, NC	41.59	59	93	81	71
92	Detroit, MI	41.18	62	54	84	84
93	Hialeah, FL	41.14	78	86	97	39
94	Newark, NJ	40.59	93	28	87	57
95	Houston, TX	37.96	99	89	50	60
96	Chandler, AZ	36.83	96	78	71	74
97	Baton Rouge, LA	36.22	91	57	100	77
98	Mesa, AZ	36.20	97	71	68	83
99	Glendale, AZ	35.70	98	75	71	91
100	Gilbert, AZ	35.17	100	88	71	59