Minnesota Now Has Two of the Cleanest Cities in America

I feel like Minnesota is a pretty clean state overall.

Don't get me wrong, I see my fair share of litter, which drives me bonkers. BUT, it's nothing compared to places like New York City. Believe or not, NYC was actually not that high on the list or at least not as high as I expected. It's the 16th dirtiest city in the country.

Living in bigger cities comes with its perks—endless fun and activities—but it also brings challenges. More people likely means an increase in air pollution, litter, and overall messiness!

I've participated in the Litter Bit Better campaign in Rochester for several years and most of the time I'm picking up a ridiculous amount of cigarettes' butts. I thought Rochester was a pretty clean city, but actually Rochester is the dirtiest of the Minnesota cities on the list.

To pinpoint which cities are the dirtiest and which are the cleanest, LawnStarter released their 2024 rankings for America's Dirtiest Cities.

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This year, the study evaluated over 300 major U.S. cities across four key categories: air pollution, water quality, waste management, and resident dissatisfaction levels, covering 21 total metrics.

Also See: This is the Most Charming Town in All of Minnesota. 

America’s dirtiest cities aren't solely about litter. Cities like San Bernardino, California (#1), and Detroit (#2), primarily deal with polluted air, high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and records of drinking water violations.

With that being said, how did Minnesota do? We had four cities on the list and all of them were fairly high. However, only ONE made the top 10. In fact, it was the second cleanest city in America.

Minnesota Now Has Two of the Cleanest Cities in America

Rochester came in at number 227 out of 303 on the dirtiest cities list. That means it's the 76th cleanest city. Not horrible, but nothing to write home to mom about ya know?

Next on the list for Minnesota cities was Minneapolis coming in at 258th dirtiest - aka the 45th cleanest.

St. Paul had an impressive appearance on the list as the 24th cleanest city in the country.

And finally, taking the 2nd cleanest spot overall is Duluth! The only city cleaner than Duluth is Lynchburg, VA.

According to Lawnstarter, these cleaner cities enjoy less noxious air and near-roadway pollution, low excess fuel consumption, and higher resident satisfaction.

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