While we should all be trying to do our part to save the world for future generations, it seems some states are doing a better job at it than others. Ahead of Earth Day coming up on Saturday, April 22nd, WalletHub has done their research to determine which states are the greenest and which ones have the most room for improvement.
- To come up with their list of 2023’s Greenest States, WalletHub compared all 50 states in 25 key metrics related to caring for the environment broken down to three main categories.
- Environmental Quality includes air quality, water quality and soil quality, as well as energy-efficiency.
- Eco-Friendly Behaviors covers green buildings per-capita, share of energy consumption from renewable sources and alternative fuel vehicles per capita.
- And the Climate-Change Contributions category includes carbon-dioxide emissions per capita and methane emissions per capita.
- Based on all of that, WalletHub names Vermont as the Greenest State for 2023. It’s number one for Eco-Friendly Behaviors and number two for Environmental Quality.
- Hawaii, which is fourth overall, is number one for Environmental Quality, while Connecticut, sixth overall, is number one for Climate-Change Contributions.
2023’s Top 10 Greenest States
(Click here to see how your state ranks)
- Vermont
- New York
- California
- Hawaii
- Maryland
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Washington
- Maine
- On the flipside, West Virginia comes in dead last, making it the least green state in the country. It’s 50th for Climate Change Contribution and 48th for Environmental Quality and Eco-Friendly Behaviors.
Source: WalletHub
photo: Getty
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