San Diego is the most environmentally sustainable city in the United States, according to a detailed report from WalletHub.
Washington, D.C. came in second place, followed by Honolulu, San Francisco, and San Jose.
The annual report from the personal finance website, which says that it uses environmental sustainability as a measure of future economic growth, looks at multiple factors to assess regions: environment, transportation, energy sources, and lifestyle and policy issues.
San Diego came in second in the lifestyle and policy metric, after Portland, OR. It also ranked third in energy sources, behind San Jose and Tulsa, OK, and fourth in environment — but 26th in transportation, meaning there is still room for improvement.
“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,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo in a release.
“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.”
San Diego came in first because of its focus on sustainable energy and alternative transportation. For example, the city currently generates a respectable percentage of its electricity from renewable resources — over 43% — as well as leading the country in the number of solar panel installations per capita.
Another factor researchers looked into was the Urban Island Heat Effect Index, which measures the difference between the average temperature in a city and its less-developed immediate surroundings in order to estimate how much heat a specific urban environment generates. San Diego’s was the second-lowest in the nation, WalletHub said.
Finally, the study noted that San Diego has other environmental policies in place, such as bike-sharing programs, plastic bag bans, and the number of certified organic farms per capita.
The cities that scored lowest on the list were Baton Rouge, LA; Mesa, AZ; Houston, TX; Hialeah, FL; and Glendale, AZ.
The full results of the survey can be read here.
